Writers tend to fall into two camps: those who plan their work meticulously, like JK Rowling, who outlined the entire Harry Potter series before writing it, and those like John Steinbeck, who dive into their stories with no real idea of where they are going while relying on instinct and intuition to guide them. They operate by the ‘seat of their pants’ to use an idiom derived from the dawn of aviation, where fliers had to use all their senses to fly their planes, including interpreting the vibrations felt through the aircraft’s seat. So-called ‘pantsers’ are writers who explore their literary world and characters in real-time. However, this approach can also lead to tangents and unnecessary plot divergencies that may need to be cut during editing. The other disadvantage of a structureless process is that the narrative may run out of steam too quickly. If your characters in a romantic novel fall in love and are married by chapter five, you may have a book that requires extending. Similarly, you may have to cull hundreds of pages if your aliens still have not attacked in a sci-fi book by page 900.

On the other hand, ‘plotters’ are more organised with their time. They plot out the story and then fill in the gaps. This approach can help keep the story focused but can create a narrative that may suffer from a lack of spontaneity.

Regardless of the approach taken, one thing is guaranteed: There will be surprises. One of the greatest joys of writing a novel is the discoveries made. Characters may reveal information you never anticipated, or you may discover far more exciting plot pathways hidden in the shrubbery.