I am, generally speaking, a pantser. I don't like to be tied down, or to set too much in stone when working on a project. It stifles my creativity somehow. Makes it all way less fun. I planned my 2012 NaNo novel, NAUSICAA, and while it made the writing experience a lot more smooth, I also found it a huge struggle to keep going after I'd hit 50k. I guess you could say I was bored. Even if the story isn't particularly boring (I don't think it is, anyway).Most of my other novels have been pantsed to high heaven. And most of them have been written during November, for NaNoWriMo. Then again, most of my novels in the "SUNDOWN" series were written post-NaNo. None of them were particularly planned.
This month with my BuNoWriMo novel, IVY NIGHT, I found that missing out on a day's writing really interrupted my flow. Reluctantly I decided to write out a rough plan. It was pretty easy to do, because my book involves a prophecy that spans nine days. So basically the plot of the novel spans nine days. I was able to jot down notes about what happens on each of the days for each of my main characters. They're not hugely restrictive notes, i.e. "This happens, then this happens, then Ivy says this, then so and so does that". More like, "Ivy gets here and this happens." And as a fellow BuNo participant pointed out, just 'cause I have plotted, does not mean I must stick to the plot.
In other news, yesterday my brother and his new family arrived back home for a holiday, and I met my super cute niece in person and had my first cuddle. I also found out the meaning of her name, Mya - she's named after a beach down in the south-west of our state, Myalup Beach, not far from where my brother and his wife lived for three years. My brother being a surfer, it's only natural a beach would mean so much to him. :) Anyway, I think that is just way too cool! A Canadian baby with a Western Australian-inspired name.
I'm very much the rough-bare bones plotter (Welcome to our side!) and more often than not, my first draft follows the outlined plot, and then each sweep of revision takes it somewhere else entirely.
ReplyDeleteAnd awh, Mya - that's adorable.
Bare bones plotting can probably work for me. I do still love that feeling of having a spark of an idea and running with it, though. Sometimes I think you do have to sit down & start planning, though, if you're not sure where you're going.
DeleteI love the inspired name!
ReplyDeleteAnd I totally agree about the plotting. It doesn't have to be really detailed! You just do whatever works. And how fun to plot out a 9 day book! That's pretty awesome to figure it out day-by-day, instead of chapter-by-chapter.
Yeah, I've taken to not bothering with chapters while I'm writing. Tried it with last year's NaNo novels and it seems to work better.
DeleteI have traditionally been a pantster, but I may have changed my spots--or whatever. I read a book that showed me how to plot nine key points in a novel and all of a sudden I'm in heaven. It's loose, just as the process you've described for your nine day novel structure. I kind of like it.
ReplyDeleteHmm, that book sounds interesting :) I may have to look into it!
DeleteCorey Doctorow (if I spelled that right) talks about plotting like driving in the dark with the headlights on. You plot far enough ahead to you can see where you're going, but there is still the element of surprise on what you'll see next.
ReplyDeleteDuring my first novel I plotted about four chapters at a time, and it worked pretty good. What I learned, though, was that if I know where I'm going in a more detailed fashion, I can write a whole lot faster. This time around, I'm going to try plotting more, and see if I can get a first draft done in three or four months, instead of a year and a half!
I'm excited you got to meet your niece. When I became an Auntie, it was a wonderful day! I got to hold Ian, even before my sister. I still feel kind of guilty about that!
Hmm, I've never thought of doing it that way. I think I'd feel more comfortable knowing how the story ends, at least, and not worrying about the middle bits. But this is something to think about!
DeleteIt's great being an Aunty :) I'm enjoying it a lot!
I am a pantser most of the time, but to do CampNaNo, I decided I needed at least a rough guideline of where I was going, because I don't really have time to stare blankly at the screen lol. It's working out well, so far! :D
ReplyDeleteYeah, I know how you feel - we don't have time to decide what we're going to write next. We have to just write it. ;)
DeleteI've actually been plotting, sort of, for the last few episodes of the Catrina Chronicles....there's so much time travel going on that I had to keep who's going when where straight. :P Generally, though, I'm sort of a mix between pantser and plotter. I might get a scene in mind that I want to happen, but how my characters get to that scene is something I find out along the way. :)
ReplyDeleteHahaha. Yeah, having read the Catrina Chronicles I can totally see your need for planning/writing lots of notes ;) It is quite bedazzling all the twists and turns the story takes!
DeleteI'm a pantser too, so I understand your "boredom" that came with a bit of pre-plotting. I got an idea for a new story while already deep in another one. I didn't want to lose the new ideas but I also didn't want to abandon the current project. So I jotted down notes. There ended up being many. And I think maybe I got so much of it planned that the excitement to start actually writing the story may be a difficult thing to recapture.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I guess we'll both figure it out as we go. Good luck!
Yeah, I know that feeling too - it's like you are so fascinated by the new idea that your "notes" almost become a mini version of the novel. :) I hope you are as excited about it when you get around to writing it out properly!
DeleteI'm a plotter but I don't always stick the the outline I've created. Just gives me a clear direction.
ReplyDeleteMya is a cute name!
Yes, good point - as I was saying elsewhere though I haven't quite wrapped my head around the whole "just 'cause I planned it doesn't mean I have to stick to it" thing. :)
DeleteAwww, how cute her name is. Congrats. I'm a total plotter but even then, sometimes my characters take over and it goes in different directions.
ReplyDeleteIt's so funny when that happens :) I love headstrong characters who step out of the page & wrest control.
DeleteI think that a combination of plotting a pantsing is a good way to go. Even when a rigid plan is in place, weaknesses, holes, better ideas, and any number of other things can become obvious as the actual writing takes place. Even after one thinks they've finished a work, a later read through might uncover devices that haven't really worked as well as the plan seemed to think.
ReplyDeleteLee
What do you think?
Blogging from A to Z
I totally agree with that - once I've finished a rough draft, I know I've only just begun, really :)
DeleteI write rough outlines for everything then go back and change what doesn't work (which can be a little bit or a great deal, depending on how my story changes as I write it). The key to plotting is being flexible!
ReplyDeleteYep, I'm starting to see that now :) I guess I am not yet past the notion of being "locked in" once I've plotted something out.
DeleteI always thought I was a pantser, but recently I decided to try outlining. Guess I've been an outliner this whole time. . . ;) Good luck pantsing with a bit of a plan!
ReplyDeleteFunny how these revelations can sneak up on is, isn't it? :)
DeleteI write an outline and then kind of "pants" to fill in all the details.
ReplyDeleteI think a one-page outline would work for me, in future. Or basically, a really short outline. Not too "locked in". Guess I shall experiment in future :)
DeleteI like your idea of a looser outline, where plot points are more guidelines than rules. And what a beautifully-named niece :)
ReplyDeleteAnd the way I've plotted it means I still get to write all the cool 'action' scenes, but haven't made them boring yet ;) Seems to be working quite well so far.
DeleteSo, um, what exactly is BuNoWriMo?!
ReplyDeleteWell done with whatever plotting you've done. I also find it pretty tough to plot out an entire story and then stick to it.
Love that name, Mya :-)
BuNoWriMo is basically NaNoWriMo but run by the people at the-burrow.org :)
DeleteIt's a cute name isn't it?
I tend to plot with guidelines more than rules myself. Also, I tend to get a little over the manuscript during NaNo when I hit 50k. Awesome that you got to meet your Niece. Love the 'beach' name. :)
ReplyDeleteThere have been NaNo years when I've hit 50k, and kept churning on through, so much did I love what I was writing. But most of the time that doesn't seem to be the case ;)
DeleteGood for you getting out of your comfort zone and actually plotting a novel. I'm a plotter, but there's always still plenty of room for creativity. You just have to play around with your method.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
-Vicki
I have plotted a few times - did it for both of last year's NaNo novels. Though the 2nd of those is still not finished ;)
DeleteThat is totally what I almost always do--I call it timelining... I put just the biggest events down, and leave myself room to change my mind. But at least if I don't come up with a BETTER plan, I know where to go.
ReplyDeleteAnd this is the second baby I've heard of named for a beach! (the other is McKenna. which is apparently in Hawaii)
It's my first "beach baby" that I've heard about, until hearing about this McKenna :) Cute name!
DeleteTimelining...I like it!
I agree that too much plotting can really make something boring to write. I usually come up with the beginning and the end and let the middle work itself out.
ReplyDeleteYep, that's a good method too. But a lot of the time, I don't know how my story's gonna end until I get nearer to it.
DeleteI'm like you. I love to pants. Plotting is so hard for me, but I see the benefits as well. I am trying to do some constructive plotting in my head. Maybe it makes me still feel like I'm pantsing, I don't know. lol.
ReplyDeleteAnd what a beautiful name that your niece has! I bet it was so fun to see them!
Sometimes you don't really need to plot, 'cause you've got an idea of where the whole story is going...which I guess is plotting without putting it down on paper, really. :) Other times, like right now for me, at least having a timeline does come in handy!
DeleteI've been pantsing with my WIP. It's certainly seemed more spontaneous and exciting, but it is hard to keep a sense of the overall structure as you're working. Need to see how it works out in revisions.
ReplyDeleteCute story about your niece's name!
I look forward to hearing about what you think when you're in revision mode :)
DeleteI used to be a pantser but now I plot my novels. I enjoy the outlining process. It's freeing and exciting and fun--and it saves me a WHOLE BUNCH of time later down the track because I can get the structure right early without having to chop scenes I've spent days on. I still wing it for my short stories though, mostly.
ReplyDeleteI think it's interesting that you see outlining as a 'freeing' experience. :) I've always seen it as restricting. But I guess it could be seen as freeing because, once you've outlined, you're free to just GO, and never get stuck for the next scene.
DeleteAnd I have the freedom to explore possibilities during the outlining that I probably wouldn't otherwise spend the time exploring if I had to write out the full scenes.
DeleteThat is exactly how I outline, Trisha! It gives me structure and, yet, at the same time, it gives me the freedom to move around and discover new things.
ReplyDeleteThe thought of pantsing a whole novel scares me. Though that's what I tended to do for my Chrysalis stories.