This is how I pants my novel
A bit about my writing style
If you’re a writer, you’ve probably heard of these two different approaches to writing: plotting and pantsing. When you’re a plotter you draw charts and timelines, a copy of Jessica Brody’s Save the Cat Writes a Novel never leaves its spot beside your laptop/keyboard. You know each character’s full name, birthday, and zodiac sign. You’ve mapped out every single beat of your story with expert detail and know exactly how many chapters there’ll be and what will happen in each one.
Then there are the plotters—the kind of writer I identify with most. We have a general idea of where the story is going, and we make a vague outline or even a long list of beats. We generally start writing with this vague idea, akin to wandering through a dark house with nothing more than a flashlight in hand. New characters pop up as we go. Motives sometimes astound us. Narrative arcs seem to pull themselves together out of thin air. It’s all mostly discovery work.
We pantsers love the discovery essence of this method of writing. When I try to be a plotter, I quickly lose interest in the story. If I know every detail of my story beforehand, the process becomes boring to me. When writing, the story needs to keep me guessing.
When using the pantsing method, we must understand that there are more than one ways of approaching it. And just as much as I’m discovering the story as I go, I’m also discovering my own method of building this story without a detailed outline.
I have nearly twenty chapters, the first of which I wrote eight years ago. I had no idea where the story was going or that it would even become more than just a strange vignette that wouldn’t leave me alone. When I picked it up again, I began writing all these scenes that centered around the two main characters. Right now these twenty chapters are mostly vignettes of the MMC and the FMC who harbor a complicated relationship throughout the story.
I haven’t failed in the past months to beat myself up for not having built the story and the world around them more. I’m lacking world-building to an extreme. There’s a large cast of characters planned that affect the story in many great ways, but hardly any of them have made an appearance. I’ve now arrived at the middle of my story and I’m brainstorming once again what it is that’s going to happen next. I know the next movements, but I don’t know the breakdown of scenes.
However, I’m not entirely too worried, which is strange for me. This is usually the part of the story where I’m ready to move on to a new story because I’ve run out of fuel. But I’m still excited about discovering what happens next. I’m excited about how I’m going to use my creativity to put the rest of this story together. And even though I’m missing very important and basic elements, I’m looking forward to editing after completing the first draft.
So why am I writing about this this week? Because pantsing usually gets a bad rap. Some plotters like to call it the “lazy” way out. At times, I’ve guilted myself for not being more hands-on with the outline and structure of my novel. I’ve attempted a few times to try and create a plotline, to break the story down into chapters and beats. And then I started to feel my soul die.
It definitely isn’t for everyone. I think that, ultimately, whatever strategy you’re going to use, if you lack passion for the story you’re telling, it’s going to be that much harder to put it together. There are writers who plot every second of their story and finish a novel in literally five weeks. I envy them. But I also don’t. Deep down, I’m enamored with my system.
I’ve realized that with my technique I’m literally building the story from the ground up. In my mind, it’s almost like a many-layered cake. I’ve baked the first layer, that’s the first draft. The second draft will be spreading the cream over that bottom sponge. When I go back in, I’m going to start building the character arcs that are missing. The second sponge cake layer will likely be when I go in and start world-building, looking at the setting and inserting the details of this new country I’ve imagined. The layer of cream that goes over that will look at anything and everything I’ve probably forgotten. Fixing character development, looking for plot holes, cutting out whatever is unnecessary (the proverbial darlings that one must murder).
The decorations—piping fruits and/or chocolate shavings—will be another layer of tweaking. Possibly, it may even be the stage when I send it to an editor. It’s like a cake that takes a very long time to bake and prepare. Strenuous, but it’s not impossible. This is why commitment is necessary, and to have enduring commitment, you need enduring passion. I have that for this story. I’m so excited for it to see the light of day.
January Daily Gratitude Challenge
At last here is the last week of my daily gratitudes as per
’s January gratitude challenge. I’ll be sure to insert the last three days in my next newsletter.1/21 - The opportunities the internet has opened up for people of low opportunities to find ways to improve their lives.
1/22 - Tea and the way that it’s turned into such an imaginative industry. There’s nearly every kind of tea that you could possibly dare to imagine in existence.
1/23 - Art and imagination.
1/24 - My sister. Our parents were confused, to put it lightly, on how best to raise us. If not for my sister, and for the bond we’ve had since very young, the world would’ve been a much darker place than it already was growing up.
1/25 - Folksy Latin American music. Namely Gaby Moreno.
1/26 - My story. The way it feels very much my own. The way it feels like one of the most authentic stories I’ve ever written.
1/27 -
1/28 -
Exciting News Coming Soon
I’ve been working on an exciting project, and I can’t wait to share it with you all, book lovers and writers. It’s still in its baby stages, but soon I hope to be able to reveal it to you all. Stay tuned!
Hi there, I’m Maria! I’m a freelance fiction editor assisting women writers in amplifying their voices through their writing. You can find me on Instagram @theintuitivedesk. Or visit my site
www. theintuitivedesk.com to find out more.
Thanks, Maria for explaining the two ways to write stories. Learning about different ways helps us be kinder to ourselves. When we respect how each of us writes in our own way, we can make good stories.