On Writing: I Didn’t See That Coming

When writing the first draft of a novel, I frequently think, “I didn’t see that coming.” A character says or does something I didn’t anticipate. When I have explained this to friends, they are surprised. They think I know the action and dialog that will occur in each chapter. While I know these things, it is only in a broad sense. I don’t know the details of the action or dialog, and that is what surprises me as I write.

The outlines for my novels identify the main action in each chapter. For example, for one chapter in All Men are Created Equal, my outline states, “James threatens Samuel, and Samuel threatens to expose his father’s adultery.” This conflict could unfold in countless ways, and when I began the chapter, I didn’t have anything specific in mind. My outline provided an order to my subconscious, and my subconscious provided the details as I wrote.

When I was developing the characters in the novel, I identified traits that each would have. This information was stored in my subconscious. The outline gave an order to my subconscious to provide me with actions and dialog according to the traits I had assigned to the characters and the action that would occur in the chapter.

This illustrates why we must rely on our subconscious when writing our draft. Our conscious mind can only keep a limited number of items in its awareness. It would be impossible to be consciously aware of all of James’ and Samuel’s traits. I could not have written the chapter if I had attempted that. However, by relying on my subconscious, initiating the conflict and Samuel’s response became relatively easy to write.

So, while I knew there would be a conflict between father and son, and I knew Samuel would be assertive, I didn’t know the specific details of how the scene would unfold. That was a job for my subconscious.

I’ve only had the experience of “not seeing that coming” when writing fiction. And that isn’t surprising. I don’t have as much latitude when writing nonfiction. I can’t invent dialog or actions. When writing nonfiction, I am limited to what people have said, written, or done. Those limitations don’t exist when writing fiction.

I still rely on my subconscious when writing nonfiction. However, what my subconscious provides me is much different. For example, when I need a quote, a statistic, or some other detail, my subconscious will inform me of relevant facts and information.

Readers are often surprised by plot twists. Sometimes, the author is as well.