Hi everyone, and welcome back to Life as Marcella. In the writing world, there are two main routes to take when writing. There are “pantsers” or people that write by the seat of their pants. They see where the story takes them. And there are outliners who outline their story before they’ve begun. There are a variety of other names for the types of writers, and most people are a mix. So to already answer the question from the title: there is no right or wrong, better or worse. It’s what works for each person.
I always figured I was a pantser. I was a professional BS-er in college. I quote hunted like it was nobody’s business, and wrote essays that I pulled out of nowhere. I never took the time to write an outline, rather, I word vomited on the screen until something intelligible surfaced. Did this work? More often than not, yes. I listened and participated in class, and I had a great memory for passages I read while quote hunting. (Had being the operative word, as my memory has now gone down the toilet. Thanks kids!). However, my lack of planning really bit me in the butt when I wrote my senior graduating thesis. I did not plan as well as I should have, I quote hunted like there was no tomorrow, and I used my tried-and-true tactics of writing. And the result? I barely passed. I barely graduated because of my lack of foresight, and because I didn’t plan.
Now granted, all of this was almost a decade ago. The trauma of writing my senior thesis was long forgotten. I’d written other theses and essays since for my graduate degree. I didn’t think about outlining or pantsing. Not until I began writing my first draft.
I had an idea. An idea that has floated in my mind since I was 16 years old. I even wrote a different version of the story as a teenager that will never again see the light of day. I thought I could write out the general idea (a document that spanned almost two pages, single spaced), and that would be enough planning. I’d never ventured to write anything longer than 40 pages since I graduated with my master’s. I thought I would be fine, and I would see where the story took me.
Boy oh boy was I wrong. Over a year later, I hadn’t finished, and I was stuck. I didn’t know where to go with the story or what to do. I felt lost. So I went back to the drawing board, and made a brief outline. I restarted the first draft (so really isn’t it the second draft) from scratch with this brief outline of events. Great! I finished the story. But during editing, I’ve noticed the pacing and timeline issues. I’ve noticed all the things I missed while writing—something completely normal for a first draft. But definitely all things that need to be addressed.
Recently, I started reading a craft book: Save the Cat! For novelists. The author gave an example: before you drive somewhere, do you like to look at all the directions before you go, or do you just drive? That’s when it hit me. I am not a pantser. I was trying to be. I was using tactics that I used OVER A DECADE AGO, but I wasn’t writing two-ten page papers. I was writing a full blown manuscript. And what I did wasn’t working.
So for my new WIP, I’m trying something new. I had an idea. I wrote out the main beats/ things I’d like to happen. Then, before starting, I created an outline. *GASP* I know. For each chapter, I wrote a quick paragraph detailing the scene, the goal, and something about the characters. How did I feel once I finished outlining? Relieved. I was excited to dive into each chapter, and get to know the characters more. I was excited to explore the tiny details of the story. I didn’t feel like any of that excitement was lost from outlining.
We’ll see how this new tactic works for me since I just finished outlining the other day. Perhaps I’ll be somewhere in the middle of Pantser or Outliner. Perhaps, I’ll look at the general directions, but not need to know all the nitty gritty details, and see where the characters lead me.
What writing method works for you? Do you prefer analog or digital? Let me know in the comments below!
xx Marcella
Leave a Reply