How to write a novel

I am a very systematic writer.  I get an idea.  I let it simmer in my head; maybe for a few months, maybe some years.  If I think it’s viable, I’ll start researching if that’s required.  When it’s time to get started I require at least six sheets of blank A3 paper, sometimes 50 or 100 sheets of blank A4.  If I’ve done research, I’ll have an A4 hardcover on my desk to go with all of my notes. Now it’s time to do the pre-work: plot maps, character bibles, structure maps, sometimes even  chapter summaries if the plot is complicated and contains puzzles and mysteries I need to keep a handle on. 

But a writer like The Kite Runner author Khaled Housseni thinks my method is rubbish. He said, “I don’t outline at all. I don’t find it useful and I don’t like the way it boxes me in.  I like the element of surprise and spontaneity of letting the story find its own way”.