I plot as I write-my writing system

Do I plot the whole novel before I start writing?

The answer is no.

I plot as I write.

When I begin a new novel, I start with the basic idea and map out possibly the first three chapters. I do this using plot lines on a piece of paper, with all my workings out in pencil.

As I've explained in my previous Author Insights, pencil is important to my writing system because it allows me to change things. And change is an essential part of writing a crime novel.

My workings out are held together with Treasury Tags, another simple but useful part of my system. Pages can be added, moved around and changed as the novel develops.

But there is another reason why I don't plot the entire novel before I start writing.

The characters don't really come alive until I start writing about them.

I may have an idea of who they are when I begin, but it is through writing scenes and putting them into situations that I start to discover more about them.

And as the characters develop, so does the plot.

That's when I can add to my storyboard and plot lines, introduce new ideas, change direction and develop the story further.

So I don't know the entire story before I start writing it.

I know where I'm beginning.

I may have an idea of where I might be going.

But the story itself develops as I write.

I discover it as I write.

That's what works for me.

And it's another reason why my writing system needs to be flexible enough to allow a crime novel to evolve.