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After reading Grace’s most recent article on pantsing, it got me curious about how many on here are pantsers. And of those who are, if you have any techniques or tips you use to keep your story in order and not coming out as a complete mess haha. XD
I’m more of a meticulous planner, but I’m considering pantsing a short story so I’m looking for any and all tips you have!
And even if you don’t really have any tips, I’m also just curious whether or not you’ve ever tried pantsing a novel and how it went. 🙂
never have, probably never will. not because i don’t like it, i just can’t XD i wish i had some tips, but all i can give are just the things Gracie already said. XD
what we do in life echoes in eternity
-gladiator, 2000- Rank: Eccentric Mentor
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Haha, when I first starting writing (technically at four years old but didn’t really write a whole novel until I was around eight), I was a total pantser and had literally never even heard of plotting. I would just have a spark of an idea, like “eh I wanna write a story about a girl name Cornelia in a small Anne of Green Gables town” (which is an actual novel I did write at around seven or eight; pretty much all my 200-page-college-ruled-composition-notebook novels were about girls in 1800s small towns, then I would write sequels where they grew up and married a handsome dude lol). Then I would write with nothing more but that spark of an idea, and made a novel out of it. XD
However, now at 15, when writing is a serious calling for me instead of just a hobby, I would never pants a novel. I am an outliner all. the. way. Mainly it’s because I write Biblical fiction, and with Biblical fiction you have to plot everything out carefully to be sure everything is biblically accurate. With all other genres, I would always say that it doesn’t matter, be a pantser or a plotter whichever you feel comfortable with; but if I were giving advice specifically to a fellow Biblical fiction writer, I would always tell him or her to outline and never try to pants.
Definitely not that I have anything against pantsing, of course! Whichever method works for whichever author. It’s just that with Biblical fiction, if you don’t outline first, you could accidentally plan something for the story that contradicts the biblical account, and it would result in a lot of frustration to go back and fix without creating plot holes.
Yep! I’m somewhere in between a plotter and pantser, I pantsed some novels and plotted others. At the moment I’m pantsing my way through a historical fantasy novel, and my last WIP was almost completely pantsed too. However, I do tend to plot my NaNoWriMo novels, because I don’t write pantsed novels fast at all (I’ve been working on this current one for over four months and am just about to reach 20k. I can complete a plotted first draft in about two months). But personally I just prefer the feeling of meandering through a story and getting to know my world and characters in a more casual fashion.
My only technique is just to embrace the chaos. I love that quote from some smart writer (though I can’t remember who) which runs something along the lines of “writing a first draft is just shovelling sand into the sand box”. And that’s basically how I do my first drafts, I just shovel whatever the heck I want into the story and leave sorting the mess out to my second draft. I am just in the process of beginning to plot out my second draft of the aforementioned last WIP and yeah, it’s a bit confusing and a bit messy, but it’s just how my brain works, so its fine. As you may have guessed, I’m not one of those super pedantic first drafters, half of my sentences literally make no sense.
Also, my other tip is to follow the plot bunnies. They’ll lead you down all sorts of marvellous holes.
INFP Queen of the Kingdom commander of an army of origami cranes and a sabre from Babylon.
I’m currently pantsing my way through a fantasy novel and I have never written anything that was not pantsed. I have never been a person who can use outlines or plots and I also had no idea how my story would turn out when I started so trying to plot it would have been a disaster. I basically just came up with an idea and started writing, figuring out the details along the way. By now, I pretty much know how the story will end and what will happen in the meantime. Since I don’t have much time to write, I come up with all sorts of ideas during the weeks or months I’m not writing (without really thinking about it) and write them down in a notebook (there are quite a few that I never end up writing down and end up forgetting though). When I can write again, I have already outlined another few chapters or major plot points in my head. This method has been working pretty well for me, but we’ll see how it turns out in the long run.
Some people fail; others learn what not to try.
@kathleenramm I fully pantsed some works some months ago. It was terrifying. Like, usually I have no idea where things are going when I’m writing, but at least I have an outline as a roadmap. No, for this I had one sheet of paper covered with characters I wanted to be in it, and then another page for me to jot down ideas as I wrote.
And somehow, somehow, the plot ended up being coherent. I find that the best way to not write something predictable is to not know what’s going to happen. It works. Really. Naoki Urasawa is living proof of that.
Short stories… I pants short stories more. I have an idea or a prompt, kind of work it through my head, then start it. I don’t have many memories of it, though. I think I forcibly wiped them all. But yeah, tips. Jot down any ideas you have, start it, and from the beginning you’ll get more ideas on what to write. And write those down, too. Also, let your characters lead you. If this random nameless delivery boy that popped out of nowhere is suddenly one of the villain’s henchmen, then yeah, go for it! Often your characters will surprise you, heh.
Also, have fun. It’s a wild ride, and very satisfying when you go back and reread what you wrote. But as @seekjustice said, embrace the chaos. It’ll be fun.
Lately, it's been on my brain
Would you mind letting me know
If hours don't turn into daysHaha, that’s okay! Grace gave fantastic tips!
@joy-caroline
It’s cool how you just took up a pen and started writing stories when you were younger!
Funny, I don’t think I remember a time where I didn’t know what outlining was, I guess because I grew up in a family of writers. XD
It totally makes sense that you outline Biblical Fiction, a lot of things could go wrong if you pantsed it. XD
How do you usually outline your novels?
Embrace chaos! I’m totally going to be using that while writing. XD And yes, following plot bunnies make for marvelous stories. Thanks for the tips!
That sound like a really fun and chill way to write. Just letting ideas flow as you write the novel.
Where you find you get the most story ideas from?
Following characters is the best right? So many fun and out-of-no-where ideas come to me when I do that. Plus writing is so much easier.
I’ve done it with outlined novels, so now I’m curious what would happen if I went all out and did it with a pantsed novel. Truly letting characters guide the story.
Thanks for the tips! Also, your delivery boy henchman sounds oddly fascinating. I’d totally pick up that book up from the library even if that was all I knew about the book haha.
Okay, so I was originally gonna say I pants things, but then as I thought abt it, I realized that I legit plan nearly everything in my life. As I’m falling asleep at night, I usually dream abt two things. One, fiction, and two, the upcoming day and the events in it.
I find myself sympathizing with seekjustice and morgan on this one. I fall somewhere in the middle. I have an idea, pick up a pencil, scrawl out the most emotional pieces so I don’t forget them, then begin emphatically throwing together a draft in a notebook, and using this detailed draft as my outline for typing the book out. It took me a while to find this process, and sometimes I don’t feel like using it, but when I do pants(I feel as if this is the wrong tense), and skip the writing step, it ends up a sloppy disaster.
So, yea. I prefer the plotter. It’s a lot more put together, I think.
@kathleenramm Good luck on your story! Yes, now I think I want to incorporate at least one delivery boy henchman into a future story. I love it when henchmen have distinct personalities and appearances. Makes the story much more fun.
Lately, it's been on my brain
Would you mind letting me know
If hours don't turn into daysI basically get story ideas from just about anywhere. Any interesting situation that I am in or people that I am around may spark a few ideas. I come up with a lot of ideas at night while either dreaming or trying to fall asleep. Ideas will also just randomly pop into my head while I’m feeding the chickens or washing the dishes. The most though probably come from daydreaming.
Some people fail; others learn what not to try.
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Haha, I don’t know any other writers personally besides you guys on the forum. I’ve always been on my own when it comes to writing stuff. XD
Before I actually outline the novel, I make sure to do a ton of studying of the biblical account until I know the story thoroughly. Then I brainstorm twists to the story using the question, “What if it happened like this?” Like with TAS, asking myself “What if Paul’s nephew was adopted?” sparked the creation of Seth’s character. After I have a smattering of possibilities, I just pull up a doc and start to plan everything that will happen in the novel. The important thing is to brainstorm enough twists first, then when you sit down to formulate an actual story, those ideas will carry you and weave a plot.
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