Day 29. Plotters and Plantsers and Pantsers, Oh My ✍

Among novelists, a continuum exists where individual authors - sometimes, individual books - use various modes to develop their works.

Some spend a few days - or weeks - building the plot by figuring out what the various points should be that define the story. They outline. They set the pace. They establish the structure of the story. Some will spend time writing character profiles. Some will explicitly build the world, setting the stage for the story to play out on. These are the plotters.

Plantsers are those writers who have a rough idea of what the story is about, where it's going, and how they're going to get there. They might know the characters or the setting, but they generally (if any artistic effort can be generalized) have a figurative sketch of the story ready to fill in before they write.

Then there are the pantsers - those writers who sit down and write the story, discovering it as they go. Undaunted by the blank page, they throw words into the void willy-nilly until the story begins to grow almost like magic. With no touchstones to guide them, the authors navigate by instinct, determination, and cussedness. Eventually they find the ending.

Which is right? All. None. Either. Some stories require more plotting. Some more pantsing. It really comes down to the writer, to the story. The key element in all three is putting the story together the first time. 

The real art happens in second draft, when the pile of words assembled gets pruned and shaped. When the details get sharpened, the colors brightened, and the rough edges get smoothed down. 

Like sculpture, the interim steps - although necessary - are only a means to the end. Use the tools that work for you, the techniques that help you create the story you want to tell. Don't get bogged down on the should, on the rules. 

Each writer's path takes them on a private journey. It's sometimes helpful to see what other paths exist, but ultimately it's a trail each must blaze on their own.

Image credit: Le sculpteur fr:Jean Barnabé Amy dans son atelier via Wikimedia Commons. This file has been identified as being free of known restrictions under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights.

Today's mood: Enigma - Language of Love

 

1