It is so strange how characters seem to take the rug out from under you sometimes. I had so many plans for Ivy… I had an OUTLINE. An OUTLINE people! I’m a panster, Im not a planner. But because this was a “sequel,” and I wanted to make sure that I had a plan for getting this story out in a certain amount of time so that I could have it edited and ready to publish by my set self imposed deadline I thought it woudl be a smart thing to follow an outline. I had plt points, and character motivations, and complete map of how I wanted this story to go. Then I sat down, and Ivy threw her head back and laughed at me. She laughed and laughed, and took this story ina direction that I had never in a million years intended it to go.
Now, as it sits at just over 40,000 words, I’m concerned that this story might be bigger than the box I’m trying to put her story in. As it unfolds, I find myself both thrilled by where Ivy is taking me, and concerned as to how this is going to turn out.
Its the part of writing that I both love and loathe. This magic that happens, when you turn off your brain and allow the story to just evolve, but it is also hard to give up that control when you had a PLAN, and a path you had intended this story to follow. I guess if I truly want to fly, I juyst need to close my eyes and give myself over to the process.