The truth is, plotting or outlining works for some writers, and it does not for others.

Me? I am finding I like to surprise myself. And, in that, I hope to surprise my readers.

In my current work in progress novel, the protagonist is not who I thought it would be. The narrative time is a tenth of what I imagined. There were sub-plots, but no main plot until 25,000 words in when it revealed itself to me.

Also, at 25,000 words, the ending was clear, prompting me to skip straight to the last chapter. Still no plotting, I wrote what I knew to be significant to the ending of my novel.

Then, I jumped forward with the first chapter of a sequel because my story did not end. I had not yet introduced someone special.

I will forever continue to learn from my mentors and peers. Many of them are writers who find the plotting method extremely helpful.

I struggle with wanting to stop and plot out the sequence of events between 30,000 words and the last chapter.

What is stopping me? The fact that I cannot wait to get back to my laptop to let the words that are piling up spill out onto the page.

Also, I wonder…

If I plot out a book before writing, what are the chances someone else would plot something similar given the premise of the storyline? Does that mean that it is possible my reader would be a step ahead, as well? Hmmm…writing workshop exercise?

In the meantime, I will not force the plotting thing on this project….at this point. Will it make sense to produce an outline at 40,000 words? Will I use that technique on a different project?

Stay tuned.