Seat-of-the-pants or outline writer?

[Travis Woodward]

I've tried to pants a number of novels and have never finished on, always found myself treading water because I didn't know where I was going next.

I'm now really enjoying my experiment with all-out planning. During the autumn and the spring my day job demands working long hours, and often weekends as well, so it's been very liberating to be able to sit down for 15 minutes before bed and write a scene synopsis or describe a location or a minor character's arc and still feel like I've achieved something.

My plot morphed drastically from where I started from as I got a better picture of who my characters are and who they'd react to situations, and some of the ideas that I was really fond of didn't make the cut, but that was much easier having not invested the time actually writing them. I know what foreshadowing I need to sprinkle in, I know which characters I need to introduce early because they'll be important later on, and I've been able to look at the whole thing from a birds-eye view and make sure it all hangs together.

I'm still on my final pass of my scene list, fleshing out the synopses, but I'm still itching to start writing the prose as much as I was when I started planning, probably more.

Of course the story may ultimately be rubbish - what seems to me to work in a really detailed outline may not work at all as an actual novel, but if nothing else I feel much more optimistic that I will actually finish writing a novel this time around. Which is weird considering I've still not actually started writing it...

 

[Edward M. Grant]

I used to write whatever came to mnd and never even think about the story. Then I started plotting just in my head first, roughly where I want the story to end up and whatever cool scene pop up in the proccess.

I knew how the last book would end by half-way through. But I had no idea how I was going to get there. And, actually, I added another scene after that before I was done, because there were characters who needed a few more words before the book was finished, to set up things that will happen in a sequel.

Which is funny in a way, as I could give the one-paragraph summary of the fourth book in the series--and have been planting throwaways that will become important in later books--but don't yet know what happens in the second act of the second one, which I'm currently writing .

 

[Nick B]

Well, certainly a planner at the moment. The follow-up novel - Rift - is a very complex story. Way more into thriller territory. Fun to plan with my co-writer.

 

[Ronald T.]

Thanks for all your responses. I find this subject very interesting and wanted to get a feel for how our members go about their individual techniques. It was an enjoyable and educational sample of the various ways writers undertake the process of writing. I thank you all.

 

[Brian G Turner]

I find myself writing like lava flows: write something, go back and check something I did before, write something, go back and check what I did before, etc.

I do have a general idea of how the story can be separated into four acts, and make notes for what I'd expect to need to cover for each. I have an awareness that my characters arcs may not be properly obvious until the end of the first draft.

I did try to outline everything, but it all just ended up as confused, with big blank spaces I had no idea how to fill. To do that I have to allow the story to grow organically, and see how the natural flow of the story needs to fill those spaces.

Terry Pratchett describes writing as like seeing peaks with mist between them, and how the more your write, the more the mist fades away to reveal how everything is connected. I do like that analogy.

 

[Calum]

I tend to do a bit of both. Usually I go in with a pretty clear vision of the tone, characters, themes, setting and major plot beats, but the stuff in between takes a bit to germinate. Characters in particular can be fickle wee so and so's. You'll be doing something you thought would be a paragraph then the impertinent little sauds will have you bogged down in a three chapter delve into their psyche as they fondly remember their carefree youth of swiping Virginia Red Cigarettes on the mean streets of Glasgow. People say George Martin kills too many characters, I say the disobedient wee buggers had it coming.

 

[zmunkz]

I am currently subscribed to Brandon Sanderson's method: Outline the plot, but discover write the characters. If the characters don't grow in a way that cooperates with the plot, change the outline.

 

[J5V]

Everything begins with a minimal outline. It can be a one-liner idea seed, or something more structured, but it has to have the key points that make it a story worth writing (and help decide if it's worth writing). I sometimes look back on it to remind myself what's important.

After that, it can be either pants or outline, to suit the project. For me, outlines tend to be triggered only, to assist my memory with complexity. There's a point where I struggle to hold everything in my head, so I start using tools:

• Generally, for projects that look like they could become large, I might create an indented list (many levels) to explore the detail possible, and get a feel for how difficult it is for me to create this detail. It can serve as notes for later.
• If there are more than four named characters with major roles, I write character notes.
• If there are more than five chapters, or ten 'scenes', I write chapter précis when I know them.
• If there are lots of locations, and characters split and meet, then I might sketch some timelines, mainly to make sure there are no errors. Arcs fall into this category, and chapter précis can help distribute concurrent threads in the text.
• If character travel is time-sensitive, or relative positioning is important in a scene, I might sketch a map.

My writing style is generally 'explore with the protagonist', so exploration, scene-building, and 'how do they interact with their senses' all tend towards pants. It's a luxury allow myself between outlined waypoints, but I've found that the pants writing has a higher probability of being edited afterwards, mostly to remove fuzziness. Organics need pruning!

With all of the above, it should be possible to find a balance that suits the project. I think the key to this is self-discipline, to avoid tangents or losing your reader through confusion (especially with character traits) or boredom (irrelevant side-quests or narrative).

Examples from stories I've written:

1. Events were viewed from eight different perspectives, each taking a chapter. That needed timelines to work out where and when everyone should be, and how they interact. It's my 'most outlined' work, and it had to be, because its structure was a very tight weave.
2. Reality was unwritten and blank, determined by a device that the main character controlled as the story unfolded. For this, I enjoyed the seat-of-the-pants ride, making stuff up as I went along.

If you're still with me, apologies for the long reply.

 

[psychotick]

Hi,

I've just reconfirmed that I'm pure pantster. About a month ago I came up with a novel idea (both meanings!) and developed a sort of wish riddle - where two people are each given three wishes, and none of them come true as they want. And each wish of one fairly much is the foil to the other's wish. And then I thought with a complete riddle already worked out, I'd finally try plotting.

And what do you know?! I can plot. I have absolutely no ability to write to a plot - but the plots were perfect! Which meant I ended up wasting twice as much time and effort rewriting my complete plot outline after every writing session - because I changed things. They weren't even small changes so every element of the plot had to change each time. Lord I even changed genres in the first chapter!

So back to pantsting.

Cheers, Greg.

 

[James118]

I'll say outliner: I definitely have outlines for a lot of stuff moving forward, but those outlines are initially written very organically (and it's probably the actual text of the stories you guys are talking about). Then I try to infer from them more in the way of deeper meaning, theme, subtext, etc. and build a narrative on the foundations of the old one, but with a tighter focus. Having thus far only gotten two stories into my planned saga (thought neither are published yet, but watch this space), I can't say this is a process I use a lot, but it's certainly what I'm finding most useful so far. I've done it after a first draft on the second story, and I may continue to do it in future, as it's obviously a far more precise way than trying to infer metaphors, character motivations, etc. from just 'He travels to the city and there meets Mr. X'.

 

[Vladd67]

This is an interesting guide.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00XIPANX8/?tag=brite-21
Not only does he tell you how to write without an outline but he recommends cycling back every 500 words or so and edit as you go, the theory being you can finish your story in one draft with no need for rewrites as you rewrite as you go. An idea that I am sure will have mixed responses from people.

 

[thaddeus6th]

With my current work-in-progress I'm leaving notes for myself as I go, to edit later (focusing on making progress rather than polishing every piece).

I edit as I go, chapter-by-chapter, with Sir Edric [and send it to betas chapter-by-chapter as well]. It works surprisingly well, but that's a single perspective which means continuity much simpler and redrafting easier as well.

Edited extra bit: to clarify, I also have at least one final redraft of Sir Edric's doings, for things that are complicated/difficulty/multi-chapter.

 

[MemoryTale]

This is an interesting guide.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00XIPANX8/?tag=brite-21
Not only does he tell you how to write without an outline but he recommends cycling back every 500 words or so and edit as you go, the theory being you can finish your story in one draft with no need for rewrites as you rewrite as you go. An idea that I am sure will have mixed responses from people.

That is pretty much what I do, and in my experience you will still need to rewrite. Characters can change on you, sometimes you have a wonderful idea two thirds through the story that means a fundamental rewrite earlier is needed, sometimes you will decide a plot thread wasn't really needed, so it can be dropped, etc, etc.

Going back and editing is fine for catching spelling errors. Anything major will still need a thorough comb-through.

 

[F.J. Hansen]

My outline develops as I write the story -- and even then it tends to be a couple of scenes (not necessarily pivotal) and a vague idea of where I'm going to end up, though that always changes because I need to work hard on endings.

This for me, too.

My outline is my guide. It helps me to remember why I was writing a certain scene and to keep track of various threads and characters. This was especially important in my last two books, where I had characters scattered across a continent and across a quadrant of the galaxy.