Most people use ledger boards attached to the house, with joists running perpendicular to the ledger, and decking thus parallel to the house. But there's no reason you have to do it that way. My deck is freestanding and I made the deck boards run perpendicular to the house on purpose so that I didn't have any cut boards butted up together.

yes i have joists that are perp to house. so decking should be parallel to house. is on north side of house. much shade. any type of composite decking that is preferred for mildew resistance?

If you have a view, or a area you wish to highlight, then the boards should run towards that view. Your eyes will follow the gaps in the boards, towards the view.

That said, if your framing is already set up to run your boards parallel to the house, you are stuck.

You could lay the new boards on a diagonal. That would allow you to shovel away from the house, albeit at an angle. If you go diagonal your joists need to be 12" OC, though, so you might have to add a few more.

current decking is diagonal. with 3 board perimeter herringbone detail in corners. i also put in extra joists for the diagonal project. did it 15yrs ago. treated wood. am bored with it now. so 2 sides have deck boards that are parallel to joists so i had to add a bunch of perp joists to hold it up. will just pull up decking and put down new decking. will not touch joists.