The importance of planning with purpose is vital to novel writing. Here’s how.

The Importance Of Planning With Purpose

I have often heard the importance of planning with purpose as a writer, but I used to think I knew better. So many times, when I sit down to write a blog, the Sun is shining and the skies are blue. This time, it is the opposite. The skies are grey and I had to run from my car to a local café to dodge mammoth drops of rain that hit me so hard I feel I ought to get checked out for possible concussion!

Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating and making a mountain out of a molehill but the fact that I’m wet, and proper wet, means there is at least some element of truth to my claims.

Last time I posted, I said I was in the midst of a very busy week and that week has now come to an end. I am now free to engage with those who read this author blog.

A few days ago, I sat down to write this piece but was side-tracked by a flood of inspiration to write one of the main missing plot points of the pair of books I am planning at the minute. I woke up with a feeling that I needed to write it down and, over the last two days, I let the idea pour out into the relevant Word Document and that was that.

At least now, as I sit here in Starbucks typing away, I have something to share that is very relevant to my work and could be considered by others when it comes to their current works in progress.

What is the importance of planning with purpose anyway? Shall we begin?

On average, how much time do you set aside to write a week? Comment below.

My Purpose

Ever since I started taking the planning of my writing seriously, I have seen the importance of ensuring that everything I write has a purpose. In a previous creative writing blog, I spoke about the need to find time to write and make it worthwhile and this is exactly what I do my utmost to do each and every day.

For a while, I was increasingly frustrated with the feeling that I was writing ‘next to nothing’ but, the more I looked at it, I decided to take the approach to view it that at least I had written something.

This in turn led to me using short stories and flash fiction to explore the world of Hexingham and, though this media, I was able to write short stories that helped me with the 360-degree view of the metropolis in which the Inside Iris Trilogy was set.

Only I know who the characters are and became through the books in the Iris Trilogy, but the process I used and the progress I made has helped me so much in relation to shaping the novels in my young adult series.

I have also taken the time to draw out maps of areas in the stories. These maps and the plans of these key areas help me to visualise the places that the characters explore and live in. Having this visualisation allows me to see things in a slightly different way and, as we all work in different ways, I am interested in finding out whether you guys do anything similar.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you agree and, if you disagree, what do you do in your process of planning fiction for a work in progress?

Comment below and share how you are planning with purpose.

Click the image to watch Scott’s creative writing series Two-Minute fix on his YouTube channel, SG Fiction.

My Planning

Over the past two days, I have written huge swathes of planning for Kyle’s backstory. He really is one of those characters who I wrote and just wanted to dig into and explore more and more of.

He is such a deep, rich character and, over the next year or so, I look to write Inside Iris Book 3 and Kyle’s prequel adult fiction novel. I will be busy, but I am honestly so excited to get the pieces done and finish Iris’ story – a character I have had in my mind since I was 18 years old. The girl has been so patient, and I will be so glad to have her story told in full and to be able to share it with the world.

I never thought I would ever get around to writing a novel, never mind the multitude of them that I have either written, am planning, am writing and have lain seeds for.

Isn’t it funny how momentum gathers pace and you feel like you are holding back a tide from sweeping you away, miles away from everything you know?

The parts I wrote over the past few days are pivotal to the third Iris book and also Kyle’s novel so, now that they have been penned, I can now look to link them into the third Iris novel to explain choices and decisions that were made in book two, which is to be published in the coming months.

The depth that I knew was there within Kyle is now clear for me to see and, upon peeling back more and more layers, I am unearthing someone who excites me and is driving me to type and write like I have never written before.

Within The Hexingham Chronicles, there are some stories that I have used to aid my planning and shape the stories I will be telling within the coming months and the final Iris book.

What are your thoughts on this issue, ladies and gents? When have you written a character who has truly excited and inspired you? Who was it and how were they integral to the piece you were writing at the time?

Comment below with how you feel you are planning with purpose in relation to this topic.

Click the image to watch Scott’s reading of chapter of from Inside Iris on YouTube.

Knitting It All Together

Now that I have a destination to get to, I now just have to scythe a path through the forest to get there.

There are many processes to writing fiction and we all have our own little creative writing tricks and tips. This is one aspect of social media that I love! I love seeing how all of my fellow writers and followers knit together their world, characters, dialogue and plot points to ensure they tell a story they set out to tell in the first place.

Now, as I set out on the journey to draft the final Iris book, I have to decide on an approach to take. I know that this will be a more complex story to plot and arrange within the novel itself but, once I decide on the path to take, I will push on until the final sentences are written and I lean back into my big black office chair and say the word, ‘done’.

Do I go linear and go from start to finish, or do I construct the set pieces as they come to me and connect them once done? This is the dilemma I am facing but I know I will get there in the end, no matter which path I decide to follow.

What do you think about these approaches, dear reader? Are you a linear writer or do you write as you feel inspired, then connect later?

Comment in the appropriate social media comments section.

The Importance Of Planning With Purpose As An Author

I have a world inside my head and tens of characters screaming to get out and onto the page, now that Iris has managed to get out into the world.

When I write and try to utilise the time I have to is maximum, I always take the risk and the time to explore other options and see what characters have to offer inside all the nooks and crannies within their consciousness.

This is what I did with Jade, with Iris and with Kyle.

One thing is for sure, if I didn’t make the decision to start planning with purpose, I possibly may never have written with a purpose and, in turn, Iris would still be sitting in a corner of my subconscious, waiting for her time to be called.