Why I Plot My Novels
The case for plotting before writing
This is the graphic that I posted to Instagram last week (@conniebriscoeauthor). Now I’m actually done with plotting about a third of the novel (yes!) and ready to dive into the writing. Some people will wonder why I bother to plot. Why not just write?
Many authors do just that, likely after spending a lot of time thinking and maybe taking a few notes. But for me, plotting is essential and takes the form of detailed summaries of each chapter. It usually takes me several days, sometimes longer, depending on how much time I’ve spent turning my ideas over in my head.
Contrary to what many think–that plotting is unnecessary drudgery–plotting for me is extremely creative. I have a blank slate before me and I get to let my imagination go wherever it wants. I’m not locked into what I have written before, because I’ve only written paragraph summaries that are easily revised. This thing that I imagine in my head can be turned and twisted around freely until it begins to take shape in a meaningful way on the page, becoming scenes and chapters as the characters come to life.
It feels a lot like a chaotic yet rhythmic dance between the right (creative) and left (critical) sides of the brain as I go back and forth devising, pruning, and adjusting, and it all becomes REAL right before my eyes. If creativity is defined as using the imagination to produce original work, then there’s nothing more creative than this moment for me.
And doing this hard work early frees me to focus on what I’m writing at the moment once I get into the novel. I won’t have to worry too much about what happened before and what should happen ahead because I have already worked that out. That doesn’t mean I don’t ever revise as I write the novel. My ideas may change as I go along–they WILL change–but the plotting is the raw, beginning phase of creativity for me.
Do you plot before writing? If you’re a subscriber, hit reply and drop me a line or two to let me know. Or you can leave a comment.