Quote:
Originally Posted by Ursa major  It depends what is meant by plot, and what is meant by 'connecting all the dots'.
I find it hard to believe that it's possible to connect all the dots before one starts writing the book. It either: - presupposes that one can see into the heart of all one's characters before one has written a word about how they behave (including to one another); or
- assumes that one doesn't mind if one's characters are forced to behave out of character, as long as they do the right thing by the plot.
This is why the middle bit of a book (or series) is hard: you have the destination and the road map, but the characters may be walking determinedly towards the bits on that map marked terra incognita. |
I agree. I think though that if you try to connect, well, some of the dots in the beginning it probably helps. No matter how much you plan in the beginning, as you write out scenes, the act of writing will cause you to have new ideas, and things you did decide in the beginning will almost certainly change somewhat.
The more I write though, the more I feel that I should have spent more time in the beginning trying to piece it all together so to speak. I would have still changed the plot later but I think it would have made things easier later.