Hey, Who’s Telling This Story?

A few weeks ago, I was asked this writing question–one that struck me as the kind that would be fun to discuss here on the blog. So, to the mailbox we go! 

Q: How extensively do you outline and if you do, how far do you allow your story to veer off course?

A: I outlined a mystery once and broke it… again and again. That experience alone taught me that I work better with nothing more than a few basic bullet points (who did it and why, who the various suspects are, etc.). That’s it. The rest sort of writes itself.

To help keep myself on track, I often bullet point out a few chapters. Meaning something like this:  in chapter two–so and so need to cross paths, in chapter three–main characters stumble across red herring, and on and  on, usually working about three chapters out at all times.

And here’s why. When I was writing one of my earlier books, Forecast of Evil (the one I outlined), I had a particular person planned as the bad guy. About fifty pages into the book, I realized he was wrong. He was simply too easy. So I had to go back and rework things. Then, about fifty pages into the book the second time around, I was happily typing away my day when a teenager showed up in my head. He had dark hair, blue eyes, and he was standing in the snow with a letter in his hand. I had no idea who he was…he wasn’t part of the cast of characters I’d planned. So I kept typing. And he kept standing there. Eventually I looked up and realized he was there for a reason. Sure enough, he became part of a side story–one of my favorite parts of that book, as a matter of fact.

And that’s how it’s gone with my writing ever since. I can have the best intentions, but once I start writing, the story takes over. Literally. And I’ve learned that the story is always, always better when I listen to the way it wants to be told rather than the way I want to tell it.

This happened again with a story nugget I had about a year ago–one I was sure would make a great mystery. Only the story wanted to be a romance. I resisted it for a long time, finally giving up only after months of realizing I wasn’t going to win. And you know what? I sold it right out of the chute. As a romance.

Go figure.

Sometimes the story takes over at the keyboard. Sometimes it takes over in the shower of all places which is why, on the advice of a fellow writer, I’ve taken to calling my “voice” by the name of Moen. As in Moen shower fixtures.

Thoughts? Questions? Fire away!

~Elizabeth

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