One of the questions people me is how do you write your stories?
This is a difficult question to answer because I am dyslexic brain, so I guess the answer is quite weirdly…
I find the story comes easily. It just plays through like a film in my mind and I act as a recorder and just write the events down as they unfound. This is why I always get very excited when a new character appears in the story or some background information on a character is revealed – it’s usually as surprising for me as it is for the reader.
Therefore, at the end of each chapter, I have to write a chapter summary of what has actually happened and any developments in any of the characters. I then update my maps to show new places and their position in the world. Finally, I draw lines all over my scribbled spider diagram of information, interpersonal relationships, and spatial relationships. I probably spend more time on this background information sorting than writing but I do like complicated plots. So, I actually think I plan my stories backwards.
I much prefer to write freely and let the characters and places tell me what happens rather than inflicting my ideas on the story and limiting the characters actions to the confines of my plans. Subsequently, when I start the story I have a vague notion of what it’s going to be about and after that I let the story tell itself… and that is the way I write!
The Worlds of Fantasy by P.J. Reed
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