The Plot Thickens

Hmm... it's an interesting statement, don't you think? Mentally, it's an 'ah ha!' moment accompanied by a 'mwahaha'. That's the way the reader thinks, but what of the writer?

Plots are the essential ingredient for a book; without plot, you have nothin' but a string of words, more or less, in a particular order. It's like cake without the sugar, pancakes without the maple syrup, a car without the petrol.

Some writers are rabid plotters. They'll have reams of paper filled with plots, how they work, how they intertwine, how they begin and end, how the characters interact with them; diagrams, maps, Post-It notes strewn across the wall and monitor. In short, they create a thick plot before the real writing begins.

Other writers will have a vague idea of the plot as they begin their writing. The book will be done in it's first draft before any formal plot is set down elsewhere.

In the first instance, the plotting is the safety net for when the writer gets edgy about which direction to take the book in, a road map, if you will. In the second instance, it doesn't so much matter at first, because the writer is making it up as they go along. There is much freedom, grasshopper, in this second approach, but too much freedom can lead to confusion and indecision.

I'm not a great plotter. I find it sucks the creative juices right out of me, leaving no room for exploring what's up that off ramp, or dirt track. And yes, it's all about discipline. The 'don't look down there, stay on the highway you've built' will get you to where you're going, but when you're writing, you want adventure, to study the scenery and enjoy it.

I'm not criticising any writer who does this. I admire them for their discipline and ability to surround themselves with the comforts of all the worldbuilding, character profiles, research, and so on. I just can't do it. Tried, didn't work. For me.

My version is ass backwards: I'll write the book, then write everything else down. I'll take each scene and study it, decide whether it progresses the book or not, whether there is enough description, whether the conversations are right, whether there is action on every page. I make note of where it breaks down, why and how to fix it. Of course, I can hear people saying 'if you plotted it out to begin with, you wouldn't have this problem'. But like I said, it doesn't work for me.

Plots are not carved in stone. Plots are flexible, deleteable, moveable. Nor is there a right way to write a book, and there are plenty of authors out there who have their own way of doing things, and successfully. The point is to find your own way.

As a craft, writing is a never ending learning curve. With every book you write, you learn something new. I can tell you catagorically that without initial plotting, my writing has still improved since that first woeful effort. I know more of the technicalities, how to make dialogue flow better, how not to use 'weasel' words, have better sentence construction, worldbuilding and so on. Am I publishable yet? Maybe. Is it my aim? Well, yes. Am I bothered by not being published? No, my stress levels are high enough, thank you all the same. The important thing is that I enjoy creating people, worlds and problems that need to be solved.

Plotting, for me, comes after the book is done. I can take a thin consomme of populated worlds, and make it a rich, thick and tasty soup of heroes, villains, love, hate, tragedy, triumph, scenery, dialogue, evil plans and brilliant solutions. But... the book has to be written first.