Anyone who has been following along with me on twitter knows I'm in the middle of writing a new novel. And while the fact that I'm writing something isn't really new, the fact that I'm pantsing it kind of is.
Because for years I've been a hardcore plotter. In the past I've had to map out entire books chapter by chapter with detailed chapter summaries and charts for plots and subplots and character arcs. I'd spend months picking out each character's name before I dare write them into a scene.
And this time...I'm doing NONE of it.
And it's kind of freaking me out.
I'm also writing quickly. I started only a few weeks ago and I'm already around 33,000 words in. I gave myself a self inflicted deadline of typing The End before May ends.
Which leads me to this internal conflict I keep having with myself between each writing session. Half of me gets really excited and thinks, "OMG what will happen next? I cannot WAIT to see what happens next!" While the other half of me is basically going, "Um excuse me, but no. You cannot write this you fool. You do not know what happens next and if you do not know what happens next, NO WRITING FOR YOU!"
Luckily the SQUEE portion of my brain is winning because I keep writing.
So while this is definitely exciting, because I really am in love with this story and these characters and this world and I can't wait to see what happens next, especially how I do get to some scenes that I think I know will happen...I also feel like I'm walking on a tightrope or like I jumped from a plane without a parachute, but totally expect to land in a net below me.
In the meantime, I'm halfway there, which is good because we're halfway through May. I'm not sure if this means I'm officially a pantser and not a plotter, or if this is just one time it will happen. But either way, I'm really enjoying this process I could not conceptualize before now.
And in order to make my deadline, I must get back to writing.
What do you all think? Plotter? Pantser? Both?
Pantser all the way.
ReplyDeleteHa! Yes, this I could see:)
DeletePanster. My first novel took me almost 2 years with an outline. My 2nd/most recent novel - pantsing - took me 5 weeks (without an outline). Good luck with your newest WIP....and now get back to writing, Frankie!
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting. I feel like I'm working faster without all the planning and outlining. I mean...some. I know for the most part where I'm going, but hmmm maybe there's something to that. Ok...back to writing!
DeleteI'm the same way with the book I'm writing. I don't know what's going to happen next. I write in a character and then he or she ends up playing a bigger part than I would have expected.
ReplyDeleteOOOh fun! I love hearing stuff like that. I've definitely had characters surprise me, but it IS fun to see a character suddenly swoop in and become key.
DeleteI think if you're experienced enough that you have a couple finished works under your belt, then "pantsing" is probably a fun new way to liven up your writing. Personally, having only "pantsed" novels, I find it to be a very cumbersome approach to actually finishing a novel. I've done nothing in order, have made every mistake in the book, have wasted countless hours editing sections I eventually completely deleted. I am forcing myself to outline and plan the next go round. While the pants approach is fun, I think it leads to more work overall in the editing stages.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. I've always done a TON of editing work with my plotted novels, so I'm curious to see if this lends itself to more, less, or the same. But the one thing that does remain the same is I am writing in order. Write without a plot, OK. Write out of order---not in my skill set. Not yet.
DeleteCan you tell us what your WIP is about?
ReplyDeleteThanks for asking, Anonymous, but no, sorry!
DeleteI used to be a plotter, and my novels came out over-plotted and lacking character development. When I let myself pants it and just followed the characters (knowing their motivations and the ultimate end goal), I ended up with a much richer story with surprising plot turns. Because if I as the writer was surprised by something that happened when I came to it, the reader probably will be, too. Good luck with the pantsing!
ReplyDeleteOooh fun. I tend to plot out character arcs, so usually I'm okay in that arena, but I do like the idea of being surprised as a writer. I haven't exactly been surprised yet per se, BUT I've discovered many very HAPPY accidents. Like some detail I wrote in as a throw away suddenly made EVERYTHING in the plot make perfect sense. So that has been thrilling.
DeletePantser all the way. That's not to say that I don't keep a folder of notes in Word for each project. I just don't start out with them. I start with the thrill of the new idea and I write and write until I get stuck.
ReplyDeleteAt that point, I always think, I should plot out these novels, maybe it would be easier. But if I don't know what's going to happen, how can I plot it out?? When I'm writing something that excites me, my characters become real to me, and they start doing things I don't expect. Then the plot unfolds by itself.
I guess in way we're plotting either way. But one way you plot with a few words, and the other way you plot with ALL the words. I am enjoying seeing the plot unfold, except this moment when I feel like I'm not sure what happens next...or I do, but I'm not satisfied with it because I feel like some other scene is missing in between. But I suppose I can figure that out during revision and write it in later.
DeleteI did some original plotting for my WIP - I had ideas for characters and scenes and events I wanted to include. But the further I got in the story, the more everything changed (especially once I hit the climax). In fact, I didn't even know what the climax was until I got there. So, I guess I'm a pantser at heart. I like letting the characters direct the story. It's *their* story, after all.
ReplyDeleteYou should be revising Mister (said as I type this sitting across from you at the cafe). I can't believe you didn't know what the climax would be! That's some SERIOUS pantsing. I don't think I could write at all if I didn't have that part worked out at least somewhat in my head. Letting the characters direct the story is somewhat of a novel concept for me. I like being in charge. I think sometimes that works, but for this book, letting the characters run the show really is working for me.
DeleteI'd have to say both. I typically like to "pants" my way through about a quarter of the story, just riding the excitement and getting a feel for the characters, but then I have to stop and do some extensive plotting. If I don't, I'll end up making drastic plot changes to previous chapters that will have me rewriting big chunks (not that this doesn't still sometimes happen with a good outline). So I've learned to let the pantsing and plotting try to work together as a team. :)
ReplyDeleteAlso, hi Frankie!
-John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt ;)
That is actually how I used to plot! Usually I have an idea of the character at the start of the story, and an idea of them at the end (how they changed) plus the climax. And I'll just write freely to get a sense of their voice and the road I think they will take me down and then I plot it out. I guess I did that somewhat here. I did start writing freely, then after a few chapters I had a sense of where I was going, scrapped those, and started over with that direction in mind except totally pantsing.
DeleteAlso, HI MEADOW!
-His name is my name too!
I'm impressed that you've managed to let go of plotting so completely. Go you!
ReplyDeleteAs for me, I've always pantsed it, but I usually have a very vague idea of what the story is. The general process is that I get an idea, smash out a few opening chapters, and then stop and think a little bit about the story before I continue.
Good luck with your deadline! I'll be cheering for you.
Hahaha. It's like I'm an addict and I must hold tight to plotting! We shall see... This is very different from anything I've written before so perhaps it needed a different approach. Time will tell if I've truly morphed into a pantser or if different projects require different approaches. Thank you for the cheering! I have two weeks to go and I need it. Also....cheering for you and your current project--soooo excited about the little one.
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