writing a book: to plan or not to plan

Teens & Self-Publishing: How to Tackle a Big 'Ole Overwhelming Konstruct (a.k.a. BOOK)

5/10/2018

First off, Yes, I know Construct is spelled with a "C." You find an appropriate letter K word and I will totally change it.

To Plan or Not to Plan

Okay. You decide to write a book. And you decide you would, at some point, actually like to finish writing said book. There are a few ways to go into such a large project, and writers can be pretty attached to their favorite method (even if they've never tried another).

If you are writing a book for your English project this year, part of the idea is to learn about becoming an author, not just tripping through the dictionary and hoping you end up with something usable. So take a few minutes to ponder the following approaches and decide which works for you...

Your Basic Options

Wing It. Just sit down and Word Vomit until you run out. This is called writing by the seat of your pants. I did this with The Pillar of Light. I had spent a great deal of time ruminating on the story, and I could pretty much watch it like a movie in my head whenever I put on my Gladiator soundtrack. I was happy with the story, but I no longer have that much time to sit around thinking.
Write Out the Points You Want to Hit and Then Start Writing. These are typically known as beats. I had read that this was a better way and decided to try it with my second book. Personally I don't think there's much difference between this and just winging it. To be honest, when I sat down and did that draft, I ended up with a massive script that I later had to break down into books two, three, and four. This was a HUGE pain in the neck. The writing was good, but the plot was not structured in a satisfying way, and you would not believe how much work it is to fix it.
Write Out Your Points and Examine the Structure. I have come to believe that this (at least for me) is the smartest, least painful way to prep for my writing. I write out the points I want to hit on index cards (because I can rearrange these as much as I like), and then I examine the structure of my book. More on why in the world you would want to do that in a minute...
Outline Every Living Thing. There are writers who create complicated outlines that pencil in every single detail. Some people need this, but most writers feel this turns their creativity into a dried out lump of play dough.

Why Examine the Structure Before You Start?

Oh man. I can hear you now: But Anna, I just want to write! I can't be creative this way! Stephen King lets his stories just unfold, I am sure that will work for me!

Sitting down and flying by the seat of your pants can be awesome. And it is super fun if you just want to write for yourself, or if you have a team of editors at your beck and call, or if you have an established, Stephen King-sized fan base.

But if you are writing a book for high school English this year, or if you have limited time to write, or if you just want to finish the thing, then you need to know your story makes sense. If you want to have readers shout, "Man! That was a ride! Where's the next one?" then, well, you are going to have to examine the structure of your book at some point.

And let me tell you, 100k words in is not a fun place to examine structure.

Shuffling index cards around, adding in new ones, or even trashing cards, is way easier. You will save yourself lots of precious time, but you will still be able to sit down with whatever card you are working on and have a creative good time.

The time you save is not having to edit as much later. If you love deconstructing plots and mercilessly cutting up your work and rearranging it, then go for it. I for one would rather chew on my flip flops.