Last Tuesday I read an interview
with the wonderful British crime writer Ann Cleeves. The Raging Storm,
the latest in her Two Rivers series featuring detective Matthew Venn, will be
published on September 5th (Deborah Crombie, Jungle Red Writers,
August 22). I’ve read every one of Ann’s Shetland and Vera series, and I’ve watched
every episode of the wonderful television shows. To say I’m excited about this
new book would be an understatement. I read the books, not only for the amazing
plots, fascinating settings, and fully realized characters but also for her
craft. That’s why I was so surprised to learn that Ann Cleeves is a pantser. If
you don’t know what that is, see below. Here’s a part of that interview by
Deborah Crombie:
Debs: This book has such a twisty-turny complicated plot. I wondered how
much you plan ahead.
Ann: Not at all! I don’t know anything about the book, except the setting, when
I start. Very quickly I decided that this would be more of an adventure story
than anything else I’ve written….But I still didn’t know the plot details!
Really? Now that caught my
attention. And raised questions. But first, what are plotters and pantsers? Plotters
plot in advance, sometimes in great detail. Pantsers let the story evolve
naturally. They “fly by the seat of their pants.” I always think of the two
approaches to writing in terms of travel.
A TRUE PLOTTER would plan out every day’s route in detail and make hotel reservations in advance. They might even locate gas stations and restaurants along the way. All this would be programmed into their GPS, of course, for mile-by-mile guidance, complete with speed traps and traffic congestion.
A TRUE PANTSER would just get in the car and head west. The trip might take a few days longer. Some roads might turn out to be dead-ends, and there would probably be a lot of necessary course corrections. But think of the surprising adventures the pantser might have along the way! In our real travels, some of the most memorable experiences have happened when we ended up someplace we hadn’t planned.
Why am I so interested in Ann Cleeve’s writing process? It’s because the more books I write, the more of a pantser I’ve become. The manuscript I just turned in, A Collection of Lies, Book 5 in the Kate Hamilton Mysteries (coming June 2024) was written with less plotting and more pantsing than I’ve ever done. The result was both exciting and terrifying. And required a lot more revision.
Could I ever really cut myself off
from all pre-planning and just go with the flow? I honestly don’t know. I think
I’d need more than a year for that book, but I may be wrong.
So here are my questions—and I really
am curious:
If you’re a pantser, do you really,
really not plan ahead at all? Do you just put down ideas as they occur
to you? What if those ideas turn out to be dead ends?
For you plotters, what would it
take to persuade you to write a book with no planning ahead whatsoever?
I pants more these days, too, Connie. But I've also decided that making an outline - detailed or not, complete or not - is another form of pantsing. An outline is a minimalist first draft.
ReplyDeleteI always say I don't go to the grocery store without a map, so I consider myself a plotter. That said, I fear my need for a map is constricting me progress-wise on my current work. Maybe I'll try a more pantser approach and it'll motivate me. Thanks for the suggestion!
ReplyDeleteI've heard Ann Cleeves say that before. I suspect in addition to having a solid sense of her law enforcement character and setting as character, she must map out not only the plot but her multiple points of view (in one book, nine or ten).
ReplyDeleteMy first book was a pants effort and it took forever rewrite it with a sensible plot structure. I'm still work on the loose side: tentpole points and a one page list of scenes needed to reach each tentpole.
I still pants my short stories, but, I use tentpoles to mark the plot points.
I usually know where I'm starting (although I often start too soon & have to ditch quite a bit of what I would like to think is "grounding," but is really "info dump") and I usually have quite a clear idea of the ending. That gives me something to aim at.
ReplyDeleteThen the characters take over.
Often, however, I realize I was wrong about the ending and have to change it.
Molly, I agree. With all the discussion about plotters vs pantsers, viewing an outline as a first draft makes total sense to me.
ReplyDeleteMargaret, that's why I asked the question about pre-thinking. I can't conceive of someone writing by just putting down the first thought that comes into your head. There has to be some kind of overall thinking. Or maybe for some brilliant writers, the "structure" is so well embedded, they don't need to consciously think about it. Hmmm.
ReplyDeleteKathleen, that part about "the characters taking over" intrigues me. I'd love to have a conversation with you about that. Maybe at a conference?
ReplyDeleteConnie, This is a great conversation. I’m inherently a pantser but trying to get more balanced. I’m sure outlining can reduce the stress of indecision and time lost. But outlining also frustrates me. Like being a race horse held back at the gate. Very conflicted!
ReplyDelete