To plan or not to plan, that is the question.

I have just read an interesting interview with Lynn Cullen about her book Mrs Poe. I'm so grateful to Kimberly Eve who posted it on her blog. It seems that Lynn did not plan her novel in minute detail before writing it. Occasionally I teach creative writing and have a lesson on planning. I look at various planning techniques and how writers use different methods to help them achieve their goals. I on the other hand rarely plan much at all. I do of course research topics that I'm writing about thoroughly, but when I create a character, that person usually takes over and leads me into all sorts of trouble. It is sometimes a struggle to get back on track and continue around my intended plot. Quite often the story will develop in a way that astounds me, often leaving me thinking, 'I didn't see that coming, now how do I get out of this?' Maria, my wife, constantly asks me how can I work in such a hap hazard way. I find it works for me, but very often when speaking to writers I realise how rigid they are in sticking to their carefully thought out plan. That's not the way I work I'm afraid, and it works for me, and so it seems Lynn Cullen.