IWSG post--techno problems, PANTSER or PLOTTER---which are you?

Happy February!

I missed January's IWSG, caught up as I was in a technical problem concerning feedburner not updating my posts. In case you ever come across this glitch, my final solution was to 'ping' feedburner. Magic! My updates began instantly!

Thanks as always to Alex J Cavanaugh and his worthy team who have made the IWSG such a runaway success! (Click on the link to access more posts or to sign up.)

As some of my long-term blogger friends know, I have various novels in various stages of dress/undress. The reason for this is that I'm a PANTSER, which is an exciting way to write, but it does lead to hitting brick walls at 100 kilometres per hour, and kaboom, CRASH!! Pick myself up, rev up the motorbike and try to find another direction...over and over...The bruises and broken limbs stack up, until finally that manuscript needs serious hospital treatment. While that story is taking up a hospital bed in an author-induced coma, it seems like a good idea to begin another novel...(I wrote about the PANTSER/VS PLOTTER here in another IWSG post if you want some more info on this phenomenon).

Well, I don't regret ANYTHING from my PANTSER days. I think the best way to learn to write a novel is to write a novel. I've read plenty of best-selling authors who say they have drawers full of first, second and third novels which until they are famous, no publisher wants to look at, and even then they may never see the light of day. That was probably while they were trying to work out what sort of a writer they were.

Random: Saw this sign at the Library Cafe this morning:

Writ-er

(noun)

1. A peculiar organism who is capable of turning caffeine into books.

So.., as those who picked up my 'how excited am I?' post about finally embarking on writing what I want to write...chic lit (not a typo) set in Paris...I can report that I am in the process of turning caffeine into a book. First, OUTLINING! D'oh, you say. Well, yes, d'oh, I am busily compiling a hand-written, sectioned book of notes on the main plot/sub plots/characters/settings blah blah...just like all of you clever authors who've been busily publishing books while I've been busily hitting brick walls.

An illustration by Kanako which suits my genre...perfectly

This month I'm very happy, not at all insecure...I know my subject matter and settings thoroughly thanks to several trips to Paris and greater France...now I just have to weave my winsome characters into the fantabulous City of Light...

And of course there are far too many books available on OUTLINING YOUR NOVEL. K.M.Weiland is one of the best for me. Currently I'm working on character arcs following the advice of Somerset Maugham who said:

"You can never know enough about your characters."

I'm back at work and have all the lovely students I can handle, working on literature like The Crucible and the usual dose of Shakespeare in the form of The Merchant of Venice, Othello...just for starters.

How about you this month? How is your writing going? And please share--how do you approach a new novel/short story? Do you know your characters in depth before you begin your story?

#InsecureWritersSupportGroup - Are you a Pantser or Plotter? Ideas for outlining your novel.

Hello fellow bloggers!

There are so many terms tossed around in the writing world and today I'm going to attempt to make two clearer -- PANTSER and PLOTTER. Even if we've heard these two descriptions many, many times, they still warrant a closer look. The first time I heard these words was at a creative writing course run by Australian regency romance author, Anna Campbell, just after she'd broken into the big time through Avon Publishing. Luckily, other novice writers must have looked blank, so Anna then explained the terms to us.

At the time of the workshop above, I was definitely a pantser. I, er, didn't know there was any other way to write a novel. I've learned a lot in the ensuing years, but I confess pantsing holds a place dear to my heart. However, I've come to realise that's why I have four unfinished novels. Whether they are over 50,000 words or whatever, my lack of planning means I have to go back again and again and see what I can do to up the ante, up the stakes, fix plot holes...and this may/may not be successful. These novels may well have been published by now if I had spent more time planning and less time writing sucky first drafts. But pantsing is SO FUN!!

Okay, Insecure Writers, what do we do when we get that story idea? (All you clever plotters can leave a comment telling me how foolish I am, then move on to a more scintillating post!)

THE PROCESS...

THE WONDERFUL STORY IDEA (and I've had more than a few...)...then...

IF YOU’RE A PANTSER, THERE’S NO HOLDING YOU BACK – you jump right into your first draft. You many pause to consider your wonderful, likeable characters, have a hazy idea of the plot which will of course equal Stephen King's, decide on your setting - preferably somewhere exotic that you can google – then, kapow, start writing that novel! (It can be done in a month according to NaNoWriMo, or even less in some other novel-writing blitzes! Our local writers' centre offers a novel in a weekend fun-packed writefest). Bit like an enthusiastic carpenter grabbing a few bits of timber and hammering away with a vague idea of the house design. Well, the carpenter may end up with a great looking house eventually, but it might fall down a few times during the process...or it could collapse completely, leaving the carpenter with some raw materials to begin another house...or he/she might walk away from the building business as it's too hard.

  

One of the reasons writers favour pantsing is that we/they are afraid outlining will stifle our/my creativity. Over time I have been moving towards plotting (thank God all you clever plotters say if you're still with me!) as plotting requires intense creativity which will be invaluable when writing that first draft.

YES! IF YOU’RE A PLOTTER, YOU’LL OUTLINE FIRST – but - complications already - what sort of outline? Like most things, there are several possibilities, but luckily, there should be one to suit all of us!

A great book!

1.      You may write an outline in longhand in ruled notebooks – linear style. This is often the best way to solve convoluted problems as they arise! It’s amazing what pops up when you start writing, sort of like freewriting, and it unleases the powerful tool of the subconscious. It is good to distance yourself from the computer which leads to editing/tweaking before your thoughts are fully formed. Caveman technology (thanks K.M. Weiland for this term) can be amazingly freeing for our muses. Bonus - it keeps you unplugged from the temptations of the internet.

2.       Not a fan of the linear method? You may prefer mind maps which help look at potential problems spatially rather than linearly. Write your central theme/event at the centre of the page, then surround it with clusters of related subjects – then those subjects will develop subjects of their own. You should end up with an exhaustive list of possibilities for your story. Don’t censor – write down everything and who knows what you may come up with? This method helps to break blocks as it taps into both your subconscious and visual mind.

3.       You may construct your outline on the computer, using (most commonly) Word, or clever programs for clever people like Scrivener or the simpler yWriter.

4.       You may construct your outline on a spreadsheet – many writers swear by the versility of this.

5.       You may use note cards which are easy to shuffle around and keep tidily in a box.

6.       Other…???

Some writers fall neatly or messily between the two extremes. Where do you place yourself on the Pantser...Plotter continiuum?

Source

• So...do you agree with me? Do you have a strong opinion either way - pantser or plotter?
• Have you developed a tried and true outlining method over time?
• Any advice to dyed-in-the-wool pantsers?
• And...did you notice my sign up in the top right sidebar here for Write...Edit...Publish's new monthly bloghop? Thanks to all of you who have signed up already! Pop over to WEP, have a look and consider signing up for August 21's post on the VACATION theme. So many new options...

LIFESTYLE TIP: I've just read that sucking on water bottles gives us wrinkles around our mouth like a smoker's! Advice: Start drinking from a cup or relax the top lip when sipping from your water bottle. 

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