WHY YOUR STORY REFUSES TO FOLLOW YOUR PLAN_ BY SUMAILA UMAISHA

Have you ever started a creative piece with a preconceived outline, only to find it heading in a completely different direction as you progressed? Don't be alarmed. You are not alone. 

Writing a story or a poem is like embarking on a journey. You may visualise it from beginning to end, but you cannot fully predict its twists, detours, duration, or even its destination.

To guard against unforeseen diversions, some writers create detailed outlines before they begin. They plan plots, characters, themes, and structure in advance. Yet, in many cases, they still fall short of controlling the narrative completely.

This is because many creative writers are intuitive writers. By force of natural habit, they rely primarily on instinct, imagination, emotion, and an internal sense of the story or poem rather than on detailed planning, outlines, or rigid rules. They often begin writing without knowing exactly where the piece will end. They discover characters, themes, meanings, and even plot developments during the writing process itself.

So, do not regard the tendency of your creative works to seemingly take on a life of their own as a fault or a sign of incompetence. You may simply be an intuitive writer.

Enjoy the ride while paying attention to the turns, details, and unexpected detours that present themselves along the way. Trust your feelings, images, and spontaneous insights, allowing the work to develop organically rather than forcing it into a predetermined structure.

This is not to suggest that you surrender to every intuitive impulse. Rather, navigate carefully through them, selecting and refining what serves the work best, until intuition and craftsmanship meet in the creation of something excellent.

© Sumaila Umaisha

- Nigeria.