I’ve heard authors talk for years about “how” to write a book, especially a fiction one. The controversy is between doing a “plot outline” and “pantsing” (which frankly sounds vaguely embarrassing!) I remember reading one “expert” who was detailing how he wrote over three hundred pages in his novel outline plan. Good for him, but I’d be so over the idea by 50 pages that I’d give up, I’m sure. On the other hand, the idea of having some vague notion of what you might write and just starting out with “It was a dark and stormy night…” usually leads to frustration and failure. I think some level of planning is needed for any writing project. You need to have a feeling for the setting and the characters and how the plot will start and end up in general terms. Wendy and I developed a style of “skeleton plot” outlining that encompassed about 5 pages with just a few words for each chapter. We noted where it took place, who the characters were, and one or two sentences what was happening, and then what the hook was at the end of the chapter. The rest was left to our imagination when we actually got to writing. You can probably see that without more detailing, the plots could get squirrelly with things that developed in a chapter and messed up what was going to happen later. Still, there is room for that process if you are careful and think it through…and in our case communicate with your co-author!
I’ve done “pantsing” of novels, too. This is a term meant to imply that the writing is by “the seat of your pants”. My first attempt was a disaster. I just got started with no idea of where it might go and found myself stumped after 150 pages. The next time I did it, years later, I spent a while determining at least the basic problem in the story, who the main characters might be, and the end result I expected to obtain. I also made sure it was a subject matter that I already knew pretty well from personal experience. I was doubtful at first and struggled with the first few chapters wondering what might come next. The funniest thing happened, though, as I kept going. I really became embroiled in the characters’ problems. It’s amazing what you can come up with “pantsing.” Though the process was slightly frustrating at times, the organic/unpredictable flow of some of the story elements gave me ideas I am absolutely certain I would never have thought of in a skeleton plot origination exercise. Now, I admit, I took more time writing it than I did with stories that I had done a skeleton plot outline for first. There were also days I just let it ferment and didn’t work on it, but I was able to come back with a fresh attitude. I’m not necessarily recommending “pantsing” here, especially for new authors, but I am saying it was an interesting experience, and that time it probably resulted in a better story than it might otherwise have been.
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Greg
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