When Things Don't Go As Planned

It's been over a month since I started writing seriously again. I've learned many things with research and tried applying them as I go along with finishing my novel. I discovered that having a plan really helps avoid writer's block, but what happens when you stray from the original plan?

Having an outline can be a lifesaver for some writers and it helped me keep track of the story as I type away. However, I do admit that I'm the kind of writer who doesn't follow the outline all the time. There are times when a better idea presents itself to me when I'm writing based from the outline. So I write the scenes which I see as more fit, but then there are also times when I stray away from my plan and get stuck in the end.

So how do I move forward from that? If you've been self-studying about fiction writing like I do, I would assume that you would at least have a bunch of papers stuck on your wall with scenes written on them. If you don't, I suggest you start making room for it. I call it my storyboard.

My storyboard consists of one giant paper taped on my wall written with a bunch of scenes for every chapter connected by arrows. It also has tiny Post Its with notes next to the scenes. That way I would know why I put the scene there in the first place. When I'm stuck after changing a scene, I write the changes in a Post It and replace it over the original. Then I would write a series of questions on tinier Post Its on why I decided to do that. One by one I try to answer the questions. Once I figure out the logic behind my decision I would tie the new scene to the next one based on my answers. It usually works for me since it is my novel, but I'm not really sure if it's for everyone.

So when things don't go as planned just stop and ask yourself why the new plan seems better. If you're really serious about your novel, you'll be able to answer your own questions easily. Why? Because it's your creation. Nobody knows your characters and the story more than you do, so getting past this obstacle isn't really that hard.

^_^