P is for Pantsing
I understand it. Kind of.
Here’s what I know about pantsers:
- Their creativity works best without an outline. They feel stifled and lose passion for a project with too much direction.
- Sometimes they know the heart of their story, some of the plot points, the theme and then they just roll with it.
- Sometimes after their first draft they might outline.
- Pantsing sometimes requires more massive rewrites.
For the record I don’t think that one way is better than the other.
But I read about writers who are pantsers and after getting a book published, they try and figure out a little bit about outlining because now they have deadlines. They might not ever do a full-blown outline but they want to have less rewrites after the first draft.
I know some of you are pantsers – kind of sounds like gangsters – out there. So, tell me more about this writing style. Could you imagine if an outliner fell in love with a pantser? We’d have a total West Side Story on our hands.
Do my posts on story structure drive you nuts or do you find them helpful for the revision process? Or are you content reading me blabber on about it?
When and if during the process do you ever outline?
What kinds of craft books do you find the most helpful?
Do you spend time on character sheets or are your characters formulated as you write too?
I tried pantsing last summer. And even though the writing was okay, the plotting and story went absolutely nowhere. It must be a learned skill. One I don’t have.
Tell me about the joys of pantsing – sides to it I don’t know about it.