Jeff Hargett
asked
Jeremy Bates:
Based on your writer's block answer I wonder, how extensively or firmly do you plot the entire book beforehand? Beginning and ending with some mileposts or do you let your characters take the reins?
Jeremy Bates
Hey Jeff,
Thanks for replying. I don't plan very much in the sense I don't plot out each chapter. Nor do I really do intensive character sketches. Most important, for me anyway, is to get an idea or hook I like, then basically go with it from there. I try to have an understanding of what's going to happen in the novel, but it never usually turns out exactly that way, which is why I keep away from making too detailed outlines.
For Suicide Forest, for example, I knew I wanted some English teachers to get lost in Suicide Forest. At that time, I wasn't sure if the enemy was going to be real or supernatural or what. All that kind of just evolved based on how the story was progressing.
So, as you said, I guess I let the characters take the reins!
Thanks for replying. I don't plan very much in the sense I don't plot out each chapter. Nor do I really do intensive character sketches. Most important, for me anyway, is to get an idea or hook I like, then basically go with it from there. I try to have an understanding of what's going to happen in the novel, but it never usually turns out exactly that way, which is why I keep away from making too detailed outlines.
For Suicide Forest, for example, I knew I wanted some English teachers to get lost in Suicide Forest. At that time, I wasn't sure if the enemy was going to be real or supernatural or what. All that kind of just evolved based on how the story was progressing.
So, as you said, I guess I let the characters take the reins!
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