For the uninformed, a plotter is someone who outlines their book, either in part or in its entirety, prior to writing it. A pantser writes by the seat of their pants, organically letting the story evolve.
I started out as a plotter and gradually have shifted between the two practices. Back and forth. These days, when I need to prepare a proposal for my agent to shop to publishers, I basically create an outline in the form of the synopsis to go with the proposal’s sample pages. But if I’m not preparing a proposal, I lean more toward plotting a few chapters, then writing to see where it goes.
For my work in progress (WIP), I’m ricocheting all over the place. I started with outlining the opening three chapters. But then I didn’t know what happened next, so I just started writing. After those three chapters, I kept going. Chapter Four. Chapter Five. And then—oh, no—I started running off track and into the weeds. Why did that character do that? What were they thinking? The action makes no sense.
Time to go back to outlining and reel those crazy characters back in line, at least until I figure out the answers to those questions. She can’t just run away without motivation. Sure, it makes for high action and suspense, but it also has to make sense! Maybe not to the reader (at least not right now), but it has to advance the plot.
For this current WIP, that’s been my routine, repeating on a loop. Outline for a few chapters, continue beyond the outline for a few more chapters, run off into the weeds. Rewind. Rinse. Repeat.
I’m not recommending this technique to up-and-coming writers. Not at all. In fact, I’ve learned to not recommend any one technique. I can offer options and then hope the writer can try out one or more of those options and find what works for them.
And please realize, you aren’t locked into ONE METHOD. You can outline one book, pants the next, and experiment with a hybrid technique for the third. Because that is exactly what I do. Ask me if I’m a plotter or a pantser and I’m going to reply, “Yes!”
Even this wacky, mixed-up mess of a process I’m using for the WIP has its perks. Yes, it’s making me slightly crazy (so what else is new?) but it’s also offering some interesting possibilities. What if I just let my character run away, even though I don’t know her motivation and don’t know how to make it work with the rest of the story? What if I simply follow her into the weeds and see what happens?
Because the Universe might just show me a better story than what I originally had in mind.
Fellow writers,
are you a plotter or a pantser? And have you ever run off into the weeds with
no clue where you (or your characters) were going?
I'm a plotser who gets an idea, pants with it, and eventually plops into a final work. Consequently, a new character may drop in or the entire work may shift completely.
ReplyDeleteI like the term "plotser." That's a good description of it.
DeleteI create tentpoles for the major plot points, have a lock on the opening scene, and usually write in 50 page chunks.
ReplyDeleteTentpoles? I like that!
DeleteI usually know how a story starts and how it ends before I begin writing. The characters find their way between the two points.
ReplyDeleteWhen a character goes too far off--into the weeds--I acknowledge that the character has something that needs to be said, and promise that I will return later to follow that storyline. Meanwhile, I put those pages in a "come back to" file. I almost always follow up.
That's very close to what I tend to do, KM.
DeleteI'm a plotser who outlines each book. (Did I mention I have a spreadsheet of all the characters' names?) Okay, mostly, plotter...
ReplyDeleteHeather, I do a spreadsheet of names, too, in a (sometimes successful) attempt to not have names with the same first initials.
DeleteLOL – Annette, you could title this ‘A Writer’s Life’. Your process is much like mine, but I have learned to give each chapter a few bullet points for what I hope to accomplish before I write it. Sometimes that helps…other times, I’m looking for the string trimmer.
ReplyDeleteHappily, I don't think I'll need the string trimmer this time. I believe I've found my way back out of the weeds for now!
DeleteAnnette,
ReplyDeleteI tend to plot the way you do. Right now I'm halfway through a middle-grade book and await each inspiration that will take me off in a new direction. I've just mentally outlined my next mystery. I have two story-lines that need to intersect, so that book may require more pre-plotting—or not.
Good luck with both books, Marilyn!
Delete