Last month, the Guardian featured an article on how to write 'chick lit'--novels about and maybe for single young women. Of course it's not a fair label; Kathy Lette points out in a sidebar quote, "When it comes to women's fiction, critics have a condescension chromosome." But the same sidebar features what may be the worst writing advice I've ever read, from novelist Freya North:
"I never bother to structure a book. And the worst thing you can do is to concentrate on plot at the expense of the characters. As long as the characters live and breathe, not an awful lot need happen. Don't get too complex."
Now, I think I know what she's saying, and she's right that plot demands shouldn't drive the characters to do things not in keeping with who they are. But I'm sure more than one editor groaned when reading this quote; they've all seen more than enough unstructured manuscripts in which nothing happens.
I've never ready any of Freya North's books, maybe she's such a good intuitive writer than not bothering to structure her book doesn't hinder the result. For those of us who are not such geniuses, giving some thought to structure beforehand is the way to go.