I'm gearing up to start in on SKINNERS #2 and it's gotten me thinking about series writing in general. I've written a couple other series in other genres and I've always had a pretty good idea of where the whole thing was headed. You need to have some sort of plan to sell the thing, anyway, so that's no surprise. However, the whole writing process should be very fluid and little things should be allowed to change the course of larger events. I used to know someone who despised water analogies, but the whole "ripple in a pond" seems to fit here. Sorry about that.
The thing that I'm wondering is if it's good or bad to have a whole timeline, story arc, flow chart and plot points drawn onto a diagram of some sort or if it's better to fly by the seat of your pants and go where the story takes you. The author needs to be in control of the world they created, but I've had plenty of things evolve into something that turns out to be a lot better than what I'd originally thought up. As with anything, it's probably a middle ground somewhere, but I'm leaning more toward the fluid process as opposed to multiple outlines and all that mess. Isn't that what creativity is? If a series could just be diagrammed, then a computer could be programmed to write it.
I believe it all boils down to the characters that are created. They're the ones that need to be thought out and strictly recorded as they go along. If characters are good enough, a writer can let them go and record what happens. That's my approach to a lot of it. By the time I get to know a character, I know they would never do what I had originally planned for them and forcing them to do it wouldn't seem right. Of course, this approach makes it a little scary going into a new project. Those outlines and diagrams are very comforting. Then again, a big recliner is comforting, but skydiving is a hell of a lot more fun than sitting and enjoying all the padding framed around your ass.
