One of my blog-readers, John Chester III, posed the question of whether it is better to write a book in chapter order or write a section wherever the mood strikes us. I replied to him that I have done both and this makes an excellent subject for a blog … so, thank you, John, here goes!
Follow the Plan or Follow the Pen
Plot Structure
Let’s take one step back from what John was talking about and first look at the two main approaches to writing a novel … when starting from scratch. I call them Follow the Plan or Follow the Pen.
By Follow the Plan I refer to the approach where the writer takes an initial concept and works it into a plot, before even making a start on Chapter One, perhaps even writing out the story as a brief summary, so they know where they are headed when they start the actual writing. Some writers go to meticulous lengths with all plot points and sub-plots identified, plus chapter summaries and character profiles written.
This approach is useful in that the writer can see the entirety of the plot structure and establish that all the essential plot elements are in place (and where to strengthen weak areas) before they start the writing. I cover this in my How-to book, Good Plot Structure: the Seven Essential Steps.
Seat-of-the-Pants Writing
The alternative to ‘Follow the Plan’ is to Follow the Pen … that is, to take that initial bright idea, just start writing and see what falls onto the page. This approach suits many writers, and I often use it myself – initially. It is useful, in that the first burst of creative energy is not shackled by the need to labour over a detailed plot. Writing is always a battle of wills between the unconscious mind that churns out new ideas and the conscious mind that wants to put everything neatly into boxes and to know how it all ends.
However, at some point, the seat-of-the-pants writer will have to assess what he or she has written, discard what is not useful, delete a few false starts and blind alleys and somehow haul this mess of creativity into the shape of a commercial novel.
Even if the Follow the Pen process takes you right to the end of the book, the second draft will need to pull the conscious, editorial mind into gear and, like it or not, those seven essential components of good plot structure I mentioned above will need to be addressed. Many new writers surge through the opening chapters and then flounder in the middle section. This is usually because a major element of plot structure is missing or weak.
Follow Chapter Order or Write as the Mood Strikes?
Having acknowledged that there are two basic approaches to making a start on a novel, let’s now address John’s question. On a daily basis, when we ‘come to the page’, do we steadfastly follow chapter order … or start anywhere in the book that attracts us.
1. Personal preference
First of all, one or other of these processes is going to be attractive to each of us individually and, very likely, the soundest advice will not move us from that choice of writing process. In a similar way, many of us are drawn to a specific narration style – first person or third person or to a specific genre we love. It would be only with difficulty that we could make the switch.
2. The Value of Chapter-by Chapter
a) Whether you follow the plan or follow the pen, it is possible to write progressively through the chapters in the order that seems logical to you. This has the advantage that your writing has a structure – either a pre-planned one or one that you are formulating as you go.
b) When you have a sense of what comes next, you are able to devise satisfying chapter endings and beginnings – bridges between the two.
c) Knowing what comes next will also allow you to create hooks at the end of chapters to keep readers turning the page.
d) I think, also, you will likely have a greater sense of progress and control of the ‘product’ in having six consecutive chapters, rather than six disconnected chapters from anywhere in the novel. However, the writer who plans and plots meticulously should always be open to new ideas that will certainly emerge and to what the characters themselves might suggest. Don’t let a written plot summary control your creativity.
3. The Value of Following your Mood
a) Writing what we want to write, chapters and scenes that we feel inspired and excited to write, is a sure way to get us ‘to the page’ on a regular basis, to help us resist the demands of the real world that might otherwise be an excuse for not writing. Even if you have picked the eye out of the best scenes and written them all, I feel sure that would be an incentive to write the more mundane chapters that are needed to string them together.
b) Even when you choose to write chapter-by-chapter, sometimes, as you know, you can get writer’s block… you just don’t know what comes next or, even if you do, your writing seems lifeless. This is a good time to ‘treat’ yourselves to a fun chapter or scene, one you are looking forward to. Writing a section out of synch, one that you know you will enjoy writing, can break through writer’s block and restore your enthusiasm for the manuscript.
c) Following your mood can be a variation of the Follow the Pen writing strategy. OK, you have a great idea, a basic concept, but no idea of a plot. You find it hard to ‘start at the start’ because you really don’t know what the story is about. Nevertheless, key scenes have emerged to grab you … a major battle or confrontation; the Darkest Moment and Climax, a betrayal; a piece of dialogue that appeals. Even where there is no connection yet between them, or you have no idea where they will fit into the story (if at all), it makes sense to enjoy the writing of those disconnected bits. It is almost guaranteed that, the more scattered episodes you write, the more an overall story will emerge and put out feelers to connect them. This is rather like the writing prompt of cutting lines out of newspapers and magazines and selecting some to link together to build a plot.
I think we can conclude that the process of writing a novel will always be an interplay between creativity – letting your imagination loose – and editorial discipline – beating the raw material into shape. After all, no less a writer than Ernest Hemingway said (in a letter to F. Scott Fitzgerald), “I write one page of masterpiece to ninety one pages of shit. I try to put the shit in the wastebasket.” We each find our own favourite way of getting the raw material onto the page. We can sweat over it later. As Jodi Picoult said, “You can’t edit a blank page.” My advice is get something out of your head and onto the page by whatever means you can.
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