The whole process of writing fascinates me endlessly.
I love how every writer approaches it differently. Some outline in great detail, others barely at all. Some write utterly sequentially, while others write the ending first and then work out how to get there. I know others who write key scenes when the mood strikes them and fit them together at the end like a jigsaw of words.
I only started writing fiction again relatively recently, having not written anything with characters or a story since I left school (far too long ago). And the thing that has amazed me most, is how the story and the characters take on a life of their own. I know this isn’t news to people who other people who write, but I honestly didn’t get that before I began to write fiction again, and now I do.
Just today, my pre-reader side-eyed me for stopping at a critical point in my doc, because she wanted to know how my character was going to react to the latest plot event. She asked me what he was going say next (I left them mid telephone conversation), and I realised that actually – I have no idea.
But I do know that when I get back to them and start to type again, the characters will work it out for themselves. I just have to trust them.
