on Fiction University:

The plot illustrates the story, but sometimes, it has a mind of its own and takes your novel in the wrong direction.

It’s a common enough tale. You’re writing away, listening to your characters and letting them run the show. They’re diverting a little from your outline, but that’s okay because where they’re going is good stuff. Or maybe you’re the kind of writer who doesn’t have an outline, and you’re enjoying this unexpected path your characters have taken.

And they keep doing it.

And doing it.

And doing it.

You follow, because the plot is moving and it seems like a good idea, and the words are coming fast and furious. You’re getting a huge amount of writing done. You’re feeling so productive!

But then it happens.

You realize the plot has veered so far off the path from what the original story was supposed to be you don’t know how to get it back on track. Even worse, all those wonderful words you’ve just written don’t match the story that came before them.

The book you have is no longer the book you wanted to write.