Losing the Plot

I know it was only 5 weeks ago that I committed myself to plotting, but I’m ditching the plot. It’s just not working for me. If it doesn’t work, it’s got to go!

Here’s what has happened with that nice, structured plot I mapped out. 

The chapters are organized by season, starting with summer. For each chapter, I have a little summary of what needs to be written.

But sometimes what I want to write doesn’t fit neatly into one of my planned chapters. This led me to create a “Working” folder to capture those scenes and snippets. 

During the month of February, the Working folder grew larger and larger while my orderly, plotted main story stagnated. I realized that I had found the narrator’s voice in the Working folder. I realized that the novel was being written in the Working folder. 

At least I made someone in the writing group Slack laugh-cry.

Yesterday, I opened a blank Scrivener project and transferred over all the pieces of writing from the Working folder. Going forward, there is no plan. I am free! I know generally what will “happen” in the book, but I’ll write it by feeling. It’s got to be the kind of book I would want to read.