Should I plan my novel before I start?

Should I plan my novel before I start?

Russell Celyn Jones (Published writer. Professor of Creative Writing and Director of the MA Programme at Birkbeck College (University of London).) gives expert video advice on: Where do I start and what should I write about?; What qualities does a writer need?; How long does it take to write a novel? and more...

A novel can be planned. How much planning you do is debateable because when you start writing a novel you don't really have very much. You will find out more what of you are doing when you've written maybe 100 pages and you've gone into the characters to some extent. Then you can start looking at the planning. On the other hand, having some idea of where the book is going in terms of plot and story is probably useful, although some writers do actually start with very little.