***I have a number of writing deadlines coming up over the next couple of months so I have decided instead of stepping away from my blog completely to concentrate solely on my writing, I will bring back an encore performance of my WRITERLY WISDOM series from three years ago. WW is 52 glorious posts by authors, agents, and editors from around the country providing writerly wisdom in categories from why even become a writer all the way to how to publish and market your books.
There
will be two posts loaded per week...Mondays & Wednesdays...so be
sure to stop by and check out all the encouraging information given by
my lovely writerly friends! I hope you enjoy the encore presentation of
my WRITERLY WISDOM series and I will return with shiny, new posts in the
fall!***
Pantsing or plotting?
By Steve DeWinter
Pantsing or plotting?
Which is better?
Which one is the right tool for the job of writing a story?
If you have been around for a while as a writer, you might
already know what these two terms mean. If these are new to you, let me sum
them up.
Pantsers write by the seat of their pants with little
direction beyond the spark of an idea. The story grows organically and can take
sudden twists and turns.
Plotters outline the story from the beginning to the end.
They already know the story’s direction, and ending, before they write the
first line of prose.
But which one is better? A quick Google search reveals many lively
debates on this issue.
The pantsers main argument against plotting goes a little
something like this: Plotting kills the muse. I want my characters to surprise me.
I want to experience what my readers experience and not know how the story ends
until I write it. If I plot out my story ahead of time, the characters will be
one-dimensional and the story will be predictable. My story will be cookie-cutter
garbage.
The plotters have just as strong an argument against
pantsing that sounds a little like this: Pantsing results in a wandering mess
that requires umpteen revisions to mold it into a cohesive story, usually resulting
in tossing out large chunks of previous drafts as unusable during each rewrite.
What a waste of time.
Looking at the graphic at the beginning of this post, you
might think you know which side of the fence I land. If you think I am on the
side of plotters, you would be half-right. If you think I am on the side of
pantsers, you would still be half-right. I firmly straddle the fence on this
issue because (drum roll please) both sides are right.
To be honest, I am not sure why anyone is debating these as
two conflicting methods of writing. It is a little like debating whether the
hammer or the screwdriver is the best tool for the job. For the repairperson
staring into the toolbox, it would depend on the job as to which tool to use.
Plotting is your roadmap. It gives you direction and lets
you know right away if a path strays too far from the main story. Plotting provides
focus (i.e. the plot) for your story. If your story is unfocused, and is
instead a rambling mess, you will lose and confuse your readers. That is the
worst crime a writer can ever do. Life does not make sense, but our fiction has
to.
Pantsing is the detailed experiences of that journey. Here
is where you discover the sights, sounds and emotions in your story. Pantsing
provides character for your story. It is the voice of your writing style.
Writing a book is not a singular activity. It is a
collection of separate and distinct activities. Pantsing and plotting are two
unique tools in the writer’s toolbox to be employed at different times during
the writing process. Using both skills shapes your story in the most efficient
and well-organized manner while still allowing for the thrill of discovery.
I urge everyone who wants to take writing as a serious
business to look at every tool in your toolbox and see the benefits of using
each one where necessary. Plumbers and engineers use a variety of tools in
order to complete the different tasks of their job. The same is true for the
writer.
Learn and practice every writing tool at your disposal and learn
how to use the right one at the right time, every time.
Steve DeWinter is an American born adventure/thriller author
whose evil twin writes science fiction under the pseudonym S.D. Stuart. His latest novel “The Wizard of Oz: A Steampunk Adventure” is available now:
Kindle
Trade paperback
Kindle
Trade paperback
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