Pantsing writing a book

Theres a spectrum of writing approaches to conquering the novel that you commonly hear about during national novel writing month nanowrimo in november. From experience ive found its really good to have the overall series planned, so you know the premise, how each. The case for pantsing your nanowrimo novel writers. Now, the book almost has to get its own energy and i have to get queries etc. Dear authors who do pantsing, how in the world do you make it work. On my latest pantsed novel, completed a few weeks ago, the furthest a beat was. The pantsers guide to writing a novel with doctor who gifs. When im writing a novel, what comes first is an image, scene, or voice. So, i was at a book event recently and someone talked about being a pantser over a plotter.

I couldnt write the other way round, with structure first. The great thing about writing a story is that it will always be from your perspective and unique. In defense of pantsing jami gold, paranormal author. Heres why i think pantsing is the way to go for nanowrimo. Common pantser writing challenges and solutions now novel. 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. Ive seen many writers express confusion over why someone would choose to pants their way through writing a book, or issue warnings that if writers dont outline, their project is sure to end in disaster. Plot until you feel confident enough to start writing. A lot of writers are familiar with the terms plotting and pantsing. Writers are as idiosyncratic as the books they produce. Then go back and revise your outline until you feel confident enough to start writing again. Then go back and revise your outline until you feel. I wrote my first novel solidly in the planning camp. There are a couple of meanings for pantsing in writing.

Lets discussfight about it xd featuring special guest alexa donne. Creative writing tips, advice and lessons from bestseller stephen king duration. 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. Pantsing the first couple of pages and outlining when you get stuck is a valid approach to writing, as is. For many writers, this is the creative part where you discover who your. Even when i dont write an outline at all for a book i know how the book is going to end. Common pantser writing challenges how to fix them now novel. Plotting, pantsing, and the three act structure rae.

Janalyn voigt, live, write, breathe the first step in starting a blog is finding the. But this time, it was with no outline or character interview or. Hes got blog posts, and a book, and a lecture on it. Writing, thinking, pantsing, and miracles austin mystery. Pantsing refers to sitting down and writing by the seat of your pants. For starters, almost all writers assume that plotting vs. But outlining is still taught as if its the right way to shape a story. Pantsing means writing by the seat of your pants, flying along, going down the roads your character takes you. A panster is a writer who doesnt plot when writing their novels, i wrote a blog post about outlines, link over here. 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. The case for pantsing your nanowrimo novel writers guild. The truth of the matter, as im sure youll eventually find out, is there is no right or wrong way to write a.

Someone in the audience raised their hand and asked what a plotter and pantser. And not just one that mentions pantsing but validates the process as a legitimate he even ventures to say superior process of 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. It makes writing a story as much as an adventure for the writing as it does for the reader. Start developing a healthier writing routine by setting small goals for yourself, such as journaling for 10 minutes a day. The structure or design gets worked out in the course of the writing. 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. 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.

What is plotting vs pantsing in writing and which is a. 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. With national novel writing month nanowrimo coming up in november, theres lots of talk about how best to execute a novel. Were talking about discovery writing, but apparently some folks think its more fun to call it seatofyourpants writing. 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. How pantsing may be harmful to your health live write thrive. 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. 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. This is my ninth consecutive year participating in national novel writing month, also known as nanowrimo.

I am stuck with plotting, but pantsing does not work either. Even as a teenager i thought outlining was counterintuitive to the writing process. Sometimes that seed is contained in a poem ive already written. Agree with you about pantsingunless youre writing nonfiction, then the. Now youre writing from a plan, narrow and undetailed though it may be. Plotting vs pantsing is probably one of the most talked about subjects for new writers. To the barricade the pantsers guide to writing a novel. 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. Before writing a single word, plotters plan out their chapters and scenes down to every detail, whereas pantsers fly by the. Plotting is figuring out your story before you write it. But this time, it was with no outline or character interview or any way to know what i was going to write. Ive seen many writers express confusion over why someone would choose. Writing a book can seem daunting when all you have in front of you is a blank page. There is nothing wrong with working out a plot before sitting down and writing the book.

The hybrid writing process that i most often use, described in how to write a novel by the numbers, benefits from both methods. Try both plotting and pantsing, as i have, and see which fits you better. I consider myself uniquely positioned to advise writers who plot and also those who dont. Sometimes, a combination of outlining and pantsing is the best way to unlock creativity. How pantsing may be harmful to your health live write. I tend to do quite a bit of outlining before i write, and i have no idea how its possible for people. The most fun ive ever had writing a book it could be fun for. Theres a reason his books follow basic novel or story structure. Anyone who has even vaguely thought about writing a novel will be aware of the plotting versus pantsing debate. I pantsed for nano and now its turning into a really great book. Pantsing, when successful, lets you create a story closely resembling the spark that ignited it. The one time i made a complete chapter by chapter outline, i absolutely hated writing that book. What pantsing really means, and why most writers have it all. I write solid first drafts with an arc and beats in the right place.