Pantser or Plotter or

The Writing Life
#10

When I wrote my first novel back in 2017, every day was the same question, “What happens next?” I had no outline for the story, and I started with nothing but the first scene in my head.

I wanted to follow my characters throughout the whole story and let them make the decisions of what would happen next. It was freeing at first since I didn’t have to worry about getting from one plot point to the other, but as the pages grew it became more and more cluttered and harder for me to follow. I got it finished, but the biggest problem was I had no idea how to finish the story and when to do it because I was a complete passenger in the story. I believe I could’ve continued to write these characters and the rest of their lives forever because I was just watching them in my head.

Now that I have a better understanding of story structure and plotting, I have more confidence in myself to get at least a vague picture of where the story might lead. That way, I have some legs to move in a specific direction, but I still pay attention to my characters needs and what they do. If they don’t want to go where I want for a time, then I follow them for a bit before getting back on track, but I’m a strong believer that the story can change at any moment, so too much plotting can stress me out if the story ends up going another way. So, These days I’m trying to find a nice balance between the two.

5 Likes
#11

Both. Pantser on the first draft, then plotter to tighten things up on subsequent revisions.

6 Likes
#12

That’s me, exactly, Suo2328. I’ve always been an intuitive short story writing pantser. Following my characters and my gut instinct always worked for me with short stories. When I began writing my middle grade mystery a few years ago, I hit a wall at chapter three. No matter what I tried, I couldn’t find a way forward. That’s when I started searching for a method to plot that I could understand and embrace, one that didn’t feel restrictive and unnatural to my creative process.

7 Likes
#13

Exactly. I’ve been afraid that planning too much will demotivate me from actually writing, but I know that not knowing where I’m going with my longer project has been worse. I’ve procrastinated, and got nowhere fast.

4 Likes
#14

I consider myself to be a planter. Like I plot a little bit while I write. I’m trying to get better at structuring my plot before writing. It’s definitely a process.

5 Likes
#15

Sometimes this is the only way to discover what we want to say.

4 Likes
#16

Writing strictly as a hobby for years meant that I could pants away with no fear/pressure to actually finish anything. Now that I’m taking writing more seriously I’m trying to plot more, but I’m still at that stage where I’ll have the picture in mind, plan out the puzzle pieces, fit them all together and still end up with something different than I intended.

8 Likes
#17

LOVE that. I may have to steal it.

2 Likes
#18

Feel free - I stole it myself:) Here’s one more:
“Bad artists copy. Great artists steal.”

3 Likes
#19

The second sentence I can do, it’s the first one that drags me down!

2 Likes
#20

I saw this article today and thought it was interesting. I’m a pantser who has tried hard to plan/outline, but have come to the point where I’m embracing pantsing. (The first novel I wrote was by planning. It was painful and the end result no good.) I have evolved a method where I do some limited planning and then I write what is already clear, usually starting at the beginning, and then revising as I go along, like adding new scenes or whatever. What I recently came to understand is this whole process (for me) is cyclic, not linear. What was interesting in this article is the author said that same thing. I feel like maybe I’m finally getting into my own in terms of how I go about writing. So far I am getting better results.

4 Likes
#21

Parent allows that many writers combine the characteristics of plotter and pantser or might vary their strategy with their project. “When I write nonfiction, I outline,” she says. “When I write fiction, I’m a straight-up pantser.”

So she outlined a HOWTO book on Pantsing? :wink:

(The book looks interesting, but as a lifelong Pantser myself, I’ve only unlocked my writing when I learned to embrace story structure. I’m still primarily a discovery writer, but I’m finding greater success with my writing when I see how novels work under-the-hood. I now refer to my writing style as a Plantser, discovery writing from a bare-bones outline.)

2 Likes
#22

For my last work, I changed the first sentence about 10 times…

1 Like
#23

I must be both pantser and plotter. I sometimes just write fluently without any planning and then I get those days where I need to plan every step and scene of my story. And this can take some time but with good planning, a good story evolves :blush:

3 Likes
#24

For my current work, I wrote nineteen versions of the beginning before I found something with the 20th iteration: “I wasn’t always a golem, and I haven’t always been a detective, but you have to start somewhere.”

3 Likes
#25

That’s a good one, actually:)

2 Likes
#26

I admire pantsers beyond compare, just as I worship savant grammarians. I think every piece I’ve ever started began with a kernel of audacity and continued 'til that bucket ran dry. I’ve taken to scene lists in the revisions because no one wants to read 300K of clever prose with plot holes where you could valet a convoy of semi’s. But I do warm to the idea - are you listening mom? - of too much criticism too soon doth tip the kettle into the crick.

4 Likes
#27

@Luke All of your talk with the unconscious here and in Circle has me intrigued. At some point this week, I plan to watch the Zoom like you shared. I am thinking of cutting my current scene and I think you have given me the motivation to try it out!

2 Likes
#28

Cool: do please let us know how it goes, Sara.

1 Like
#29

My “deleted” file (scenes, chapters, ideas, whatever) is usually much bigger than anything else. When I put something there it’s always with the idea “maybe I can use it later,” but later never comes! Now I’m trying to do “big picture” outlining using Robert McKee’s idea of a story being about a change in value in a character’s life. That idea is helping me a lot in knowing what I want to write about (which is useful :sunny:). One of my big problems has always been that I have to write something to know what I’m writing about. I once worked as a technical writer and my boss even said then that it seemed on my first drafts I was writing to figure it out. lol

3 Likes