"Holy sh**!"
These are the words I've just written on paper. Hand-written, in ballpoint pen, in my multi-coloured Crayola notebook (all the cool kids have them! 😉😎)
They're words I've given to one of the characters from my Work in Progress (WIP), Dan, as he realises something ground-breaking that makes everyone look at the situation entirely differently.
...It's a sentiment I fully endorse, because I have no clue where this plot twist came from.
And, with wide eyes, my only statement at this moment can only be an echoed, 'Holy sh**.'
(Only I can't swear because my mother, so it was more like 'Holy...' and then trailing off.)
Because it makes sense. The plot twist makes sense. And I didn't see it coming.
Sure, there are a few pre-written sections which no longer fit with this development, but due to the patchwork way I write, that's really nothing new.
I write each section with the expectation that it may never make it into the finished novel -
(...if there ever is a finished novel, because at this rate I will be 105 years old by the time it's 'done' 😅)
- a lot of it is exposition and random, pointless, filler, which honestly just isn't needed in the 'finished' novel.
The thing is, how can I just be writing along one day, and then scribble something and I'm like OH MY GOD! IT ALL MAKES SENSE!?!
Like, don't get me wrong - I needed this plot-hole filled. Badly.
(Not that the filling-in of said plot-holes hasn't already created more... someone needs to invent plot-hole Polyfilla, and then sell me some. Please! 😅)
And that's always been a big part of writing, for me, anyway: the story and the characters are in charge, rather than me. I am not in control here!
But there's a slightly unnerving sense, sometimes, that maybe I should know where this stuff is coming from?
And yes, I know - me + 'should' = a recipe for misery and mental health issues.
But I can't help but find it a little unnerving when I'm just as surprised as my characters are, y'know?
But then... I guess it's kind of true of my non-writing life, too. Things about myself have a tendency to surprise me.
I've had so many big, life-changing, realisations about myself that I've only reached in my 20s - being Sexually Fluid/Queer, having synaesthesia (turns out most people don't taste words,) being Dyscalculic...
And every time there was that same feeling of puzzle pieces falling into place and a light suddenly being turned on that I've had, albeit on a smaller scale, while writing plot twists.
I have my own plot twists. And they continually surprise me.
Do you have any control over plot twists in your writing?
Do they surprise you?
Have you ever had a realisation/plot twist about yourself?
Talk to me! 😊💬
Previous 'The Writer Diaries' Posts:
Sharing and commenting is beautiful, dearest nerdlets! 💖
Hahaha! I LOVE this post. I've definitely had times like this when I'm writing where I suddenly figure something out. I love that it happened that way for you as a plot twist. :-)
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Ha, thanks! I literally put the pen down and was like, 'wtaf?' Lol! :)
DeleteIsn't it so great when the plot twist just finds itself? That is one of my favourite things about writing. I don't usually like to plan my writing out before I do it, which may sound weird to some, but this is exactly the reason why. I like the plot to fall into place without me having a say lol.
ReplyDeleteHa, I can't plan plot. It just ends up even more of a mess than it already is! Lol. I am not the one in charge here! <3
DeleteAs a firm planner my plot twists don't surprise me as I know they are coming ahead of time. But sometimes my characters go off and do things I don't expect and then I am surprised by how they have come to life on their own. I love that your writing can surprise you that way!
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, that's even more impressive. Your characters are like, 'nah, I'ma do this instead!' Lol XD
Delete