There are as many theories of how to write a novel as there are writers. Maybe even more, since many people who have never written a novel have opinions on how novels should be written. From a macro view of suggested ways to write a novel, there are two main camps and they go by the names of Plotter, or Pantser.
There's even books written on the pros and cons of each style. They have their strengths and their weaknesses. If I had to choose a side to describe my style, I'd have to go with Pantser, or "writing by the seat of your pants" over Plotter, or one who outlines the story before they write the actual story.
Personally, I like just running with a story and seeing where it takes me. The problem is, I run out of steam, sometimes at 5000 works, sometimes at 20,000. The story I'm currently writing has over 33,000 words. That may sound like a lot of words (and, to be honest, it is a lot of words...), but depending on the genre, that could be halfway, or just a scratch. For my story, it's about a third of what it needs to be.
I've had this story in my mind for years. I'm excited because I've gotten farther in the story than ever before (I've re-written the beginning several times...). I'm pleased with the progress and I do like the characters. I can see several novels coming from this universe. Of course, I've got to finish this one first.
One reason I don't do a lot of plotting is because my mind thinks it's unproductive, even though that's not true. I could spend weeks writing several hundred words of outline. If I were writing the story, I could write tens of thousands of words in that same time. But, then I hit walls where I'm not sure where I want it to go. And thus, I hit a lull.
I think I'm going to have to do some serious outlining on this story so I can finish it. If I can pull it off, I could write the remaining 60,000 words relatively quickly. So, maybe plotting isn't for me, nor is pantsing, but a combination of both. I wonder if anyone's written books about that...
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