Comments on: Writers: Pantser, Plotter … Roadster?

By: William F. Wu

William F. Wu — Sun, 15 May 2022 01:16:47 +0000

In reply to V.M.Sang. Thank you for the kind words. I'm with you all the way on how sometimes we can find things falling into place that we didn't plan. No matter how much plotting I might have done, those moments show up.

By: V.M.Sang

V.M.Sang — Sat, 14 May 2022 21:20:57 +0000

I usually describe myself as a pantster. Having said that, I do know where my story is going, and definitely know the end, but I don't write detailed notes.
In my current WIP, one character, who had been a very minor character in the previous novels in the series, suddenly took on an important role. He was the best suited to the job he was given, but I hadn't thought of it until I came to that part of the story.
In another book, I was puzzling how to distinguish between a real prince and another young man made, by magic, to look exactly the same. Then I realized that I had given the protagonist a dog who growled at the doppleganger. Pure serendipity.
I love your metaphors of road building. And roadsters.

By: William F. Wu

William F. Wu — Sat, 14 May 2022 19:52:43 +0000

In reply to Maggie. Yes, I get that. I see that in manuscripts I've helped with at times. We need to be tough on ourselves when we take another look. That is, be at least as tough as anyone else about everything you've mentioned. Making every character's motivations clear is one of the biggest subjects in my notes.

By: William F. Wu

William F. Wu — Sat, 14 May 2022 19:48:38 +0000

In reply to deleyna. I hear you about finding time!

By: William F. Wu

William F. Wu — Sat, 14 May 2022 19:47:20 +0000

In reply to Sarah Smith. Yes, I have that experience, too, of discovering more as I go.

By: William F. Wu

William F. Wu — Sat, 14 May 2022 19:45:19 +0000

In reply to Michael D. Toman. Just so I'm not the "something" that gets thrown off...

By: William F. Wu

William F. Wu — Sat, 14 May 2022 19:43:43 +0000

In reply to Alicia Butcher Ehrhardt. Definitely. Stories are about their endings.

By: Maggie

Maggie — Sat, 14 May 2022 17:42:01 +0000

I am a publisher, and I get a lot, a LOT of submissions that all have the same problem: While the prose is tyipcally gorgeous, and the underlying premise and setting are compelling, the writer has clearly pantsed his/her way through....without then taking what I think of as the essential second step of going back to the beginning, once the end has been reached, clearing out all the extraneous stuff that doesn't aid the storyline (that the pantsing process has revealed), and ensuring that the scenes and characters that remain DO aid the storyline. I don't mean that every single scene has to follow from the previous scene down the path of a single narrative. However, if on page 217 it's revealed that everybody hates Natalia, we can't have everybody chatting, from page 27 through page 73, about how much they like Natalia UNLESS there is a reason for everybody to be fibbing, which reason will have to be revealed at some point, and have a purpose -- meaning everybody was fibbing for reasons having to do with the plot, rather than because they just felt like it. I have come to believe, in fact, that whether pantsing or plotting, writing a novel is a two-step process -- if it begins as a pants project, that's great...but once you've found your way to the end, you have to go back to the beginning and make the plot work. And if it is all plotted out and outlined, that's great...but once you've gotten to the end you have to go back to the beginning and make the characters come alive, build in some red herrings, add a few surprises.

By: deleyna

deleyna — Sat, 14 May 2022 17:29:15 +0000

I'm finding myself somewhere in the middle, much like your process. I have an idea of where I want to go to, and there are definitely road markers along the way. My biggest problem lately is having the time to get back and paint in those lines!

By: Sarah Smith

Sarah Smith — Sat, 14 May 2022 17:18:10 +0000

A great way of describing how writers interact with our stories.

In my own books, the more I write, the more I understand--and the more I see things that should be added or improved for the next draft.

I use Scrivener's notes and comments to make those notes as I plow forward, then go back and adjust in the next draft.

Also a plotter at the outline stage and a pantser as I'm writing the scenes.

"Plantser."