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Planning Your Book

Writers are often asked about the process of writing their book(s). Questions regarding the plot, characters, length, and ending are always topics for discussion. And just as there are authors who write with different styles, so also are there varying ideas on how to organize or plan a book.

A successful writer, John Connolly, said this:  "Again, every writer is different. The two most extreme examples I've found are James Lee Burke, who doesn't even know what the book is going to be about when he starts writing, and Jeff Deaver, whose outline is nearly as long as the eventual book, even down to including paragraph breaks. The rest of us fall somewhere in between. I don't plan anything on paper, but I have a rough idea of the plot and I'm prepared to watch it change as I go along." 


As for me, I have an idea about the book I'm about to write and the main characters. I put that on paper, not in any outline form, but as generalized notes. As I get further along in the book, I expand on the story or sub-plot and create additional characters, ensuring I write them down for the sake of consistency. In my case I write thrillers/mysteries, so I ensure I note clues and pieces of evidence to ensure I've addressed all of them by the book's end.


The bottom line: don't worry so much about the process, sit down and start writing.