Okay. I said I'd be back when I have something positive to report. So I'm back with something positive to report. Didn't take long, did it? I've started a new project and I'm flying into the wind without knowing precisely what will trigger the black moment. Wheeee! There's conflict galore and oodles of baggage, so I'm confident events will converge at some point and it will seem like all is lost.
Just a few short years ago, I was a seat of the pants writer. Then I became a plotter because everyone around me insisted that's how it had to be done. The transition wasn't easy and to be honest, I've never quite reconciled to it. A part of me has always been a holdout for the unknown, the mystery, the magic of the journey itself, and the faith that the story will unfold in the most natural way. As long as I know the elements that are required, I don't think I can go too far off track. Lately, those danged plot points--trying to figure all of them out to a gnat's patoot beforehand, has been tying my creativity in knots. So I've decided to untangle and just go with the flow. Also, I'm trying a different type of heroine (for me, anyway).
I have to say, though, that once you become a plotter, you can never truly go back, not completely. So I think we need to come up with a new term for writers who do a little of both. Maybe pantsyplotter, or something. I'm open to suggestions.
Which method works for you? Pantser or plotter? Or are you a pantsyplotter, too?
Fortunately I'm a pantser, because I wouldn't want to be called a pantsyplotter.
ReplyDeleteYou might seriously want to work on that name.
;)
I have to admit, I'm a pantsyplotter, leaning a little more towards the pantsy. I can come up with an outline or plotline, and within a chapter I'm off on a gravel sideroad exploring. Can't help it.
ReplyDeleteI think the name is cute.
Can you see the seat of my pants? It's shiny and slick, from all of that unplotted writing I do... I'm a mish-mash. I write a while, I think and plot, I write some more, I think and Plot... like you, I love the diving in to see where the story takes me. If I plot to much, then I don't get these magnificent characters who come to me at the EXACT right moment and make the story better. Like, Rock Peters. Or, I should say, Reverend Rock Peters from the Methodist Church in Legend, Tennessee. Had I plotted, I would not have found him, and he was dying for his place in this current story. In fact, he may even be pivotal.
ReplyDeleteMy spiritual advisor (a psychic, really) tells me I channel when I write. I guess I do. Now way would I have thought of the Reverend Rock Peters (named after Rock Hudson, don't you know...)
Anyway.... I think there is room for plotters and pantzers in the world!
Ah, geez, Mags. You don't like the name? Do you think it sounds too much like pansy? Cause none of us are pansies, you know. Anyone who can write a book is definitely not a pansy. ;o)
ReplyDeleteAh-ha, Jennifer, at least I got one person who likes the name. It's kinda funny that all of us here are pantser-plotters. You ever tried filling out those characterization charts and the gmc diagrams and all that? Drives me bonkers.
ReplyDeleteMaddie, I know what you mean. When I wrote the Angel book, there ended up being a whole subplot there with a couple of secondary characters (Carmella & Benito) that I never saw coming when I started writing the story.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I started reading your Bed, Breakfast, and You novella last night. So far, I'm loving it!