Pantsing writing a book

I write solid first drafts with an arc and beats in the right place. Pantsing, when successful, lets you create a story closely resembling the spark that ignited it. Sometimes that seed is contained in a poem ive already written. What is plotting vs pantsing in writing and which is a.

I pantsed for nano and now its turning into a really great book. The structure or design gets worked out in the course of the writing. Then go back and revise your outline until you feel confident enough to start writing again. Heres why i think pantsing is the way to go for nanowrimo. And not just one that mentions pantsing but validates the process as a legitimate he even ventures to say superior process of writing. The case for pantsing your nanowrimo novel writers guild. Writers are as idiosyncratic as the books they produce. Janalyn voigt, live, write, breathe the first step in starting a blog is finding the. Sooner or later, you will come across that spot where its too early for any of your many ideas and too late to drag out the beginning more, and you need more stuff but youre. Sometimes, a combination of outlining and pantsing is the best way to unlock creativity. Pantsing the whole thing, treating that as a rough first draft, and then writing an outline thats clear and wellstructured in advance of your next draft.

This is inevitable in pantsing, and all a part of the process, so dont panic too much when it happens. For starters, almost all writers assume that plotting vs. Try both plotting and pantsing, as i have, and see which fits you better. The case for pantsing your nanowrimo novel writers. Pantsing the first couple of pages and outlining when you get stuck is a valid approach to writing, as is. The pantsers guide to writing a novel with doctor who gifs. There are a couple of meanings for pantsing in writing.

In his book, on writing, stephen king talks about how discovering what your story is really about is kind of like excavating the ground looking for. To the barricade the pantsers guide to writing a novel. The truth of the matter, as im sure youll eventually find out, is there is no right or wrong way to write a. Now, the book almost has to get its own energy and i have to get queries etc. In defense of pantsing jami gold, paranormal author. I consider myself uniquely positioned to advise writers who plot and also those who dont. Pantsingthe act of pulling down someones pants as a prank or a bullying tactic, it happens in schools every year, some say it is just a prank, others say it is sexual harrassment, but which is. Lets discussfight about it xd featuring special guest alexa donne. But this time, it was with no outline or character interview or any way to know what i was going to write. A panster is a writer who doesnt plot when writing their novels, i wrote a blog post about outlines, link over here. On my latest pantsed novel, completed a few weeks ago, the furthest a beat was. Dear authors who do pantsing, how in the world do you make it work. The great thing about writing a story is that it will always be from your perspective and unique. I couldnt write the other way round, with structure first.

I tend to do quite a bit of outlining before i write, and i have no idea how its possible for people. How pantsing may be harmful to your health live write thrive. With national novel writing month nanowrimo coming up in november, theres lots of talk about how best to execute a novel. I wrote my first novel solidly in the planning camp. I am stuck with plotting, but pantsing does not work either. A lot of writers are familiar with the terms plotting and pantsing. There is nothing wrong with working out a plot before sitting down and writing the book. From experience ive found its really good to have the overall series planned, so you know the premise, how each. This is my ninth consecutive year participating in national novel writing month, also known as nanowrimo. Common pantser writing challenges how to fix them now novel.

One is the saying that in order to write one must begin by. Anyone who has even vaguely thought about writing a novel will be aware of the plotting versus pantsing debate. Even as a teenager i thought outlining was counterintuitive to the writing process. But this time, it was with no outline or character interview or.

I am currently pantsing the third book of my epic fantasy series, tales of faeraven, and also writing a proposal for an intricatelyplotted mystery novel. Even when i dont write an outline at all for a book i know how the book is going to end. Were talking about discovery writing, but apparently some folks think its more fun to call it seatofyourpants writing. How pantsing may be harmful to your health live write. Pantsing also known as winging it is the term wrimos use refer to writing without a fixed outline an outline that the writer will force themselves to follow. So, i was at a book event recently and someone talked about being a pantser over a plotter. Theres a reason his books follow basic novel or story structure. Theres a spectrum of writing approaches to conquering the novel that you commonly hear about during national novel writing month nanowrimo in november. What pantsing really means, and why most writers have it all. Ive seen many writers express confusion over why someone would choose. A wrimo who adopts the pantsing approach to writing is called a pantser while pantsers are united in not doing a fixed outline, they have varying opinions on whether a lesser degree of planning is good. For many writers, this is the creative part where you discover who your. Someone in the audience raised their hand and asked what a plotter and pantser. Start developing a healthier writing routine by setting small goals for yourself, such as journaling for 10 minutes a day.

A pantser is someone who writes by the seat of their pants aka makes up the story as they go along, as opposed to a plotter someone who meticulously plans everything that happens in t. The most fun ive ever had writing a book it could be fun for. The hybrid writing process that i most often use, described in how to write a novel by the numbers, benefits from both methods. Writing, thinking, pantsing, and miracles austin mystery. Pantsing is getting hooked on an idea and going from there without any sort of outline, however loose, and following the story as it comes. A pantser is someone who writes by the seat of their pants aka. Plotting is figuring out your story before you write it. Trusting yourself to come to your writing desk regularly, to test ideas, to be willing to scrap entire chapters or entire ideas if they dont. The one time i made a complete chapter by chapter outline, i absolutely hated writing that book. But outlining is still taught as if its the right way to shape a story. Before writing a single word, plotters plan out their chapters and scenes down to every detail, whereas pantsers fly by the. Now youre writing from a plan, narrow and undetailed though it may be.

Pantsing means writing by the seat of your pants, flying along, going down the roads your character takes you. Plot until you feel confident enough to start writing. In january i wrote a post suggesting that if some pantsers werent successful, that maybe, just maybe, for those specific writers, it might be. Hes got blog posts, and a book, and a lecture on it. It makes writing a story as much as an adventure for the writing as it does for the reader. Writing a book can seem daunting when all you have in front of you is a blank page.