Writing advice is difficult to give because everyone writes differently. It tends to be a very personal
experience, since it’s primarily done alone and inside the writer’s head. One of the few pieces of advice I
believe would be useful to most writers is to make sure not to neglect proper planning.
This isn’t very sexy advice, sounding more like sober DIY instruction than a creative technique. In my
experience, however, it is very true. Before writing anything, no matter its length, I make at least a
skeleton of how the plot will work even if only in flow chart form. This makes sure the basics of the plot
are sound, with events flowing logically and everything required for the ending being set up in the story
earlier. This is a surprisingly easy aspect of a story to get wrong, and writing oneself into a corner is best
avoided by working out every significant event before penning the first line of prose. I try to plan out
everything, such as when to introduce characters, where to put events that illustrate their personalities, and
key conversations.
Personally, I’ve never suffered from writer’s block, when inspiration and motivation vanishes. I have,
however, suffered from a failure to plan properly. When I have found myself noodling around unable to
move the plot forward or staring at the page unable to get to the next paragraph, it’s always been because I
haven’t got a clear enough idea of what to write next. In this case I will often get a notebook and jot down
a basic structure for the next section, which removes the painful uncertainty about where to go.
I don’t feel there can be too much planning, especially when embarking on a novel. The longer the piece
of writing, the easier it is to get lost and drift off-course. It can feel awkward to plan out every event, but it
is worth doing even if it leads to a rather peculiar and stilted-reading synopsis document. I have often
found myself writing down a plotline in detail, and then cutting it down to the length a publisher or editor
prefers for a synopsis.
Finally, I have found that planning helps as much with confidence as it does with the craft of writing
itself. It is a lot easier to have faith in getting to a destination if the map is complete.
