King's aversion to plotting novels stuck with me. He writes that, "Plotting and the spontaneity of real creation aren't compatible." Instead, he thinks of a situation and begins without planning the ending. He lets the characters and story take shape as he goes along.
This seemed unusual to me at first. I've heard authors talk about jotting down a rough outline of a novel before they start, to prevent writer's block and keep from going off on tangents. King's view resonates with what I've heard other writers say: once you set pen to paper, a story can take you someplace unexpected. The advice not to plot is easier said than done. Without at least a vague idea where a story is going my writing would meander around without saying anything important.
It’s a Beeping Problem
2 months ago
Very interesting, Abby. Let me expand a bit on your point. When King dismisses plot, he replaces it with "situation": "my books tend to be based on situation rather than story." He further notes that character comes after situation. This differs from some other novelists I know, who may start with character. Most good novelists, in my experience, point out that without real characters (E.M. Forster would call them "round" rather than "flat"), a novel can't succeed. But King is unusual in admitting that characters come after situation. (He also thinks that some novelists such as Tom Clancy are successful despite having flat characters. I disagree, but hey -- that's life.)
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