So You Think That You Can Pants: 3 Steps to Writing a Novel Without an Outline

By Grace A. Johnson

I have a confession to make.

I’m one of those. A pantser. A writer who—gasp!—doesn’t outline or plot their novel scene-by-scene before writing. All of my books—from the novels to the short stories—have been written and even published...without me ever writing a proper outline. I’ve always been a pantser; I guess I was just born this way...scatter-brained, inspired, slightly impatient. Hopefully you don’t think ill of me now that I—

Wait. You are a pantser too? Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle—er, aunt.

You’ve come to the right place, my young pantsing padawan. Because, after nearly sixty years of pantsing (all right, six years; I’m not that old), it’s time that I pass my knowledge on to the next generation of pantsers. (Or, well, technically, we’re the same generation. But I’m trying to have a Jedi master thing going on here and, seriously, all the technicalities are cramping my style. Moving on…)

When it comes to making the monumental decision to write a novel, the task can seem very daunting—especially when you don’t have an outline. Of course, there are a lot of advantages to having one, but some of us either are terrible at getting their thoughts together and writing one, or would just rather go with the flow. I’m personally a mix of both. I’d rather write as the inspiration strikes me, than follow a step-by-step guideline for each chapter, scene, and paragraph.

As simple as that sounds, there’s a lot that goes into pantsing a full-length novel or even a novella. Sure, it’s easier and much less stressful on some levels, but you’re more liable to have a weak plot, undeveloped characters, and daily cases of writer’s block than when working off an outline.

Therefore, you must prepare yourself and train carefully to ensure that your story is just as strong without an outline by following these three steps—studying your characters, determining your themes, and knowing your purpose.

Study Your Characters

Stories written without outlines are inherently character-driven. After all, if you intend to write a novel focused solely on the plot, you would actually plot the whole thing out, wouldn’t you?

That’s a rhetorical question.

Without the guidance of an outline, your characters are what keeps the story moving. In a sense, your characters are the plot. Their actions are inciting events, their reactions are plot twists, their thoughts and emotions are mysteries, their inner struggles and conflicts are wars waged and battles fought.

Got it? Ah, I know you do, my young padawan. A smart one, you are.

As easy as it would be to just write whatever you think would be the “best” reactions or the “right” course of action or what you would do or think or say, How do you learn about the operation of something?

You study it.

You’re probably thinking to yourself, “Well, geez, Grace. What are you trying to make me do? Outline my characters and plot them out? I ain’t got the time or the patience to figure out their favorite color and childhood pet and what brand of deodorant they use. And even if I did have that kind of time, all those questionnaires and templates never seem to work. No matter what I try or how long I work at it, I can’t seem to fully grasp my characters and who they are.”

I’ve thought the exact same thing, my befuddled apprentice. And, yes, it does seem like filling out questionnaires and development templates is the best, simplest, and most effective thing to do. In some cases, it is, depending on your story and characters. But for those of us who write about characters who don’t use deodorant (#piratemom) or are mystical creatures we’ve invented, and those of us who struggle with truly understanding their characters, long quizzes and pages full of unnecessary info just don’t cut it.

Not to mention that takes time away from writing.

I’d like to offer a cure-all for character development, but there isn’t one. Plus, I pants my character development most of the time too, which accounts for me spending three months on the first two chapters of the book trying to capture the character I should have outlined. Ach, beside the point.

What I can offer, though, are some methods that have worked for me!

Treat your characters like you would your plot, but don’t even write down a single word. Just soak up everything you can that looks like them, sounds like them, feels like them—whatever! That’s how you study characters, going to the root of their being as if you were them. Once you know who they are, writing from their perspective and writing realistic reactions and thoughts will seem like second nature!

Other KeePers have written some great articles about getting to know and develop your characters in ways that don’t require a lot of time or effort—check them out!

Determine Your Themes

Themes have been the theme of my week, actually. I wrote a post about themes recently, an author friend of mine has been talking about the themes of her latest novel, and one of our fellow KeePers just mentioned how themes are her favorite thing!

Admittedly, I tend to go with the flow and leave my themes up to God and my characters. As fun as that sounds, it does make my novel kind of messy. My WIP currently has about twelve themes (no lie), and I have no idea which is the main one or how my novel drifted so far away from my original idea.

Which is why determining your themes beforehand is imperative to keeping your novel on track—from a more emotional and spiritual standpoint than your plot.

It seems like a lot of work, I know, but it’s actually very simple, especially once you’ve studied your characters! All you have to do is look at each of your main characters and ask these questions:

Of course, throw in a few extra questions, depending on your story/character and needs, but starting here is great!

Let’s take my character Billy, for example. He has this tiny little arc, you could call it, that contributes to one of the many themes in my WIP, so my answers for these questions would be:

See what I mean? Now I know what my themes are (at least for a book entirely about Billy).

Do the same with your characters and see what you come up with! Maybe your themes are family, belonging, and unconditional love. Perhaps they’re something more like courage, honor, and standing up for what’s right. Once you know your themes, you know the very core of your novel, which is even more important than your plot. Your themes are what the plot, the characters, and every other nuance revolves around, and without determining that and writing from them, your story is empty.

Of course, there are other ways to determine and develop your themes, and you can learn more about them by reading these articles:

Know Your Purpose

They sound a lot alike, but your purpose isn’t the same as your theme or your message. Your purpose actually has very little to do with your novel itself—it’s about you.

I mentioned earlier that you’re more liable to have writer’s block while pantsing than plotting—and, unfortunately, that’s very true. Pantsing may seem like the easy way out, but at the end of the day, it’s the hardest way to write. You come into your book knowing nothing about it, and you come out knowing even less. (Can I get a witness?) You spend more time editing than writing, and more time banging your head on your keyboard than editing.

And that’s if you finish. That’s if you stick it out, type The End, and go through two more drafts and five rounds of edits. You’re not guaranteed to finish—it’s not even all that likely, because we often start writing without knowing why we write.

So before you pick up your pencil or turn on your laptop, stop and ask yourself: What is my purpose for writing this book? Why am I doing this? What, or who, do I hope to change, inspire, or create?

Maybe it’s to make your English teacher proud. Maybe it’s to prove to your disbelieving siblings that you can. Maybe it’s to prove it to yourself. Maybe it’s to win a contest. Maybe it’s to become published by your favorite publishing company. Maybe it’s to make boatloads of money, be on the NYT bestseller’s list, and get a movie contract.

Or maybe it’s to touch someone’s heart.

Every purpose is important, no matter what it is, because it’s what will get you through long nights staring at a blank page and typing ahiofenwiofwoiefhuhrufhakjdfnrhfquregkjfdngl instead of actual words.

It’s what will become more important than your nonexistent outline or your themes or even your characters—because it’s the reason why, and it will never change.

So whether you’re going to take the plunge and pants a novel, stick to short stories, or decide to plot out the whole thing, know your purpose. If you don’t already, I suggest you pray about it. Ask God to give you a purpose if you don’t think you have one—although I have no doubt that you do, and He’ll make it known to you. Ask Him to guide you and refresh you daily, because He will (and because you’ll need it, trust me). God is just as invested in your story as you are, so invite Him to help brainstorm and develop and write with you! You won’t regret it—He is, after all, the greatest Author of all.

What are some methods or tips and tricks that have helped you pants a story? What hasn’t helped you or made the process harder? Are you naturally a pantser and looking for more advice, or are you a plotter and interested in trying something new? What’s your biggest struggle when pantsing a novel? (Beginnings are pretty difficult for me—I never know where to start! And don’t say “at the beginning.” The question is: when is the beginning?) Let me know in the comments!