Has anyone ever accidentally set up plot points for later use in their work? I've done that all the time, to the point where I'm starting to suspect that most writers do it and then pretend they just had that much foresight.
Of course there are full, point-by-point plotters out there who outline everything in excruciating detail, but I believe they're the exception. Maybe that's just arrogance, assuming most writers are like myself, with some plotting and some pantsing(ie, writing by the seat of your pants), but it seems to be most of the folks I talk to.
As for me, I plot out some stuff to a point, but then the writing, while given guiderails, is somewhat spontaneous. This can create some corners I find myself being written into, but it can also create some opportunities I didn't see when I originally envisioned the story. Take Schism, for example(spoilers for those who haven't read it) - when General Roland was fighting on the Korean Peninsula, that was originally meant just to establish both his credibility and the fact that our country was so paralyzed that it couldn't handle an external threat with all the turmoil going on. By the end of the book, as I was looking for a way to get Roland out of power without the need for a violent uprising that would execute him, a Korean Republic grateful for what he'd done seemed the perfect place for his exile. None of that was intended when I wrote the war chapters, but it sure came in handy.
Few writers will admit to this kind of stuff, but, in private, colleagues will dish on themselves. Remember that the next time you find all these intricate plot points wrapping themselves up in your favorite story. 😉
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