Who's in charge here, then?

[John Dean]

As you may know from my previous blogs, I am fascinated by the way that stories evolve during the writing process, which can provide the author with a balancing act between the need to plan and the requirement to let the story develop organically.

I am being given a striking example of that the more I write of my latest novel (26,000 words in).

Like many/most/all novelists, I always plan before starting to write a new book, a process which can take several weeks as I explore the various ideas (usually while walking the dog. Ivy, since you ask).

However, for all the thought that goes into the planning, it is still a loose process – rather like a painter putting in the basic shapes that will provide the skeleton of the final picture.

When it comes to my planning, I have a basic idea (sometimes very basic indeed) of what the story is about and where it will go. That initial planning process is important because, to mix metaphors again, the plan is your route for the journey.

However, I am also prepared to let the story throw up new angles. The trouble is that they can disrupt your original idea, even to the extent that you tear up the original plan.

Do you let that happen? Yes, of course. That means that the story is alive and talking to you as a writer. If it talks to you as a writer, hopefully it will also talk to the reader.

The latest novel illustrates the point, taking me in directions that I did not expect and diverting me from my original idea. If I am honest, I did not really intend to write about the new theme, although I’m getting used to the idea now, and if the story is talking to you, then you have to listen.

The result of all this turmoil is that the writer often has to go back and rework sections to weave in the new plot – I have just spent a week on chapter eleven, worrying away at it so that it is right.

The result, I hope, is a story that will turn out to be as closely plotted as if I had planned it all along!