UNEXPECTED WRITING TWISTS

Sometimes a story begins with a clear destination, only to turn down an unexpected road and reveal that it has been leading somewhere else all along.

Sometimes an idea begins as something small—a scene, a character, a conversation, or even a single thought. You have an idea of where it might lead, and you begin writing with that destination in mind.

Then, something unexpected happens.

A character says or does something you didn’t anticipate. A scene develops differently than you imagined. A new question appears that you hadn’t considered before. And suddenly, the story is moving in a direction of its own.

I’ve experienced those moments while writing, and I’ve learned not to fight them too quickly. Sometimes the unexpected direction is exactly what the story needs.

That is one of the things I love about writing fiction. You begin with an idea, but somewhere along the way, the characters and the world you’ve created can start opening doors you didn’t know were there.

Some of those doors lead to places you expected.
Others lead somewhere completely unexpected.

And sometimes those unexpected moments become the parts of a story that stay with you the longest.

As a writer, I think there is something exciting about not always knowing exactly what will happen next—even when you are the one holding the pen.

I’m P.S. Kessell, an independent author of gothic horror, dark fiction, and poetry.

I’d love to know: Have you ever written a story that surprised you by going in a direction you never expected?