“One day I was speeding along at the typewriter, and my daughter – who was a child at the time – asked me, “Daddy, why are you writing so fast?” And I replied, “Because I want to see how the story turns out!” — Louis L’Amour

This quote highlights what to me is the most wonderful part of writing — seeing a story forming as you keyboard it. Characters appear and begin talking, the environment starts to take form, and the story darts off in unexpected directions. I always thought that stories must be plotted out beforehand, and some probably do. But leave yourself open to the magic that happens when your characters start taking the story away from you.