In just about every conference I’ve attended, every online discussion I’ve been privy to, and every “How To” book I’ve read about writing, one piece of advice always seems to surface; “Have a plan for your story.” Well, I can honestly say I have tried it, twice, and that was three times too many for me. I find it infinitely easier to let the story write itself. And not necessarily in the right order.

More often than not when I sit in front of my laptop I have no idea what I am about to write. Every now and then I have an inkling of where a particular scene will go, but for the most part the book is the boss. I am simply the transcriber.

For instance, Amorous was complete and ready for its release when my “advisors” pushed me to write a prequel and release it first. I had absolutely no idea what the short story would be about but the “plan” was to write about the hero or the heroine. As it turned out I sat down in front of my laptop and Conceit was born, the introduction of the antagonist and ultimate bad boy, Jake Winston.

My second attempt to “plan” a story was Mind Games. I was actually quite proud of my outline. But then I began to write. The story wanted to take another route and I fought it at every turn. I forced it to follow the plan, but then I got stuck. I couldn’t make the final scene fit with the story. It sounded great in the outline but it was very out of character for both the hero and the heroine.

So, I put the book away and worked on another project. Six months later I pulled Mind Games back out and conceded defeat. I started from the beginning and rewrote the story, this time letting the story write itself. It was so much better than my outline I was actually embarrassed to take credit for my first draft.

When it came time to write Redemption, Jake’s story, I took a huge leap of faith and threw the plan right out the window. I let Jake walk his own path, and what a path it is. The story is expected and unexpected at the same time. Jake has amazed me as I have gotten to know him better and the people in his life are just as interesting, especially his heroine, Sophia. I can’t wait for its release later this year.

Now, I am far from an expert in proper writing techniques and I am certainly no J.K. Rowling, but the best advice I can give to any aspiring author is to trust the story. Its plan will be infinitely better than yours. I guarantee it.

Happy writing!

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Titles by Susan M Baer:

Mind Games, The Lincoln Series, Book II

Amorous, The Lincoln Series, Book I

Conceit, It’s All About Jake, The Lincoln Series, Prequel

Come Home to Lincoln, The Lincoln Series, Prequel

And coming soon:

Redemption, The Lincoln Series, Book III

The post To Plan or Not to Plan, That is the Question appeared first on Susan M Baer, Author.