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Maybe
it was the atmosphere of the "deep south" which was
beginning to affect me, but when the very English Jo Beverley
got up to speak at the RWA New Orleans conference in July it was
all I could do not to leap to my feet my hands upraised and cry
out "I hear you, sister!"
Conferences are full of workshops on plotting - using story
boards, plot arcs, brainstorming - all sorts of wonderful
suggestions to aid in pre-plotting a novel. The topic Ms
Beverley (multi-published, RWA Honors List, historical writer)
was talking on was the art of not plotting your book, or as she
calls it, "Flying into the Mist".
It
may surprise Jo Beverley fans to know that she does not pre-plot
any of her books. For her, writing a novel is an ongoing mystery
that unfolds before her when she sits down at her computer and
the reason she chose to speak on this topic was to give
permission to "flimmers" (and yes I am one of them!)
to work this way.
I
have been to the conferences, read the books, devoured the
articles and in the earnest belief that I must be doing
something wrong, I made several concerted attempts at
pre-plotting a story. Instead of sailing into stress free
writing I found I had got so bored with the story before I even
started that I never got around to writing it. All the pleasure
of writing had been taken away from me. So you can understand my
enthusiasm when this evangelist of the non-plotters told me it
was quite acceptable not to pre-plot and that I was not alone!
So
what does "Flying into the Mist" mean? In Ms.
Beverley's words, it means "that the writer does not
pre-plot. No scene outlines, no plan for key scenes and dark
moment. Not even a plan for theme or metaphor. These things
reveal themselves as the writer writes."
That
does not mean that a "flimmer" flies into the mist on
autopilot. A good "flimmer" will have something in
mind when they start - it may be a character, a setting, a scene
or an incident. If you are writing romance you generally know
the ending - the hero and heroine will end up together in a
happily ever after embrace. How they get there is, for a "flimmer",
the excitement!
Of
course there are inherent risks in this method of writing and
the obvious one is that you can waste an awful lot of time,
flying in the wrong direction and then having to back track to
put the story back on the right course. However I consider no
writing wasted and in that diversion you may discover things
about your characters that you can use at another point in time.
One
thing I love about "flimming" is that the characters
take on life and start to tell me things about themselves. It is
almost as if a character will stop in the middle of the action
and look at me, arms crossed, with a quizzical expression and
the following conversation ensues:
Character:
"I wouldn't do that."
Author: "Why not"
Character: "Because you have missed my motivation for
acting the way I am. You know I am really looking for my
brother."
Author
(with surprise): "You have a brother?"
Character
(with studied patience). "Yes, I have a brother. He is
being held prisoner on an island…"
And
so the conversation continues and a whole new character and plot
line enters the story.
Jo
Beverley overcomes problems with her characters by holding
"character interviews", much along the line I have
just outlined or she will use "mind mapping". Here a
large sheet of paper or a whiteboard is essential. She will put
the hero and heroine in circles in the middle of the sheet with
some minor characters in smaller circles around them and then
using lines map out the relationships between the characters and
their problems and motivations.
How
does she know that a particular plot line is (or is not) going
to work? Jo will give herself three or four chapters into a
story before she makes a decision on whether to continue or
abort. She may find that the characters need rearranging or that
the story is only just starting by Chapter Three .
Once
the first draft is done, then Jo will go back with "all the
tricks of the plotters trade" which she will use to
strengthen the story: Key points, hero's journey, scene and
sequel, metaphor and theme will all be used to turn that first
draft into yet another best seller.
So
why doesn't an experienced writer like Jo Beverley pre-plot her
books? Because she feels pre-plotting drags her out of the
present. She can have her characters conduct their interactions
in a natural way without feeling she has to move them onto the
next scene. "If I know what's supposed to happen next or
later that distracts me from what's happening in the moment. I
might even push the characters to certain words or actions
instead of letting them do and say what they truly would."
Flying
into the mist is a method of plotting (or non-plotting) that
does not suit everyone. Do what feels natural to you, there is
no right or wrong way to write your novel and if what you are
doing works for you then go with it. Every writer is different.
For
those closet-"flimmers", quietly reading your Hearts
Talk in the comfort of your living room, I hope, like me, you
are leaping from your chair, with your hands in the air shouting
"I hear you sister!". Thank you Jo Beverley for giving
us permission to "fly into the mist"!
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