Pantser or Plotter

Usually I've got at least something planned out, but so far this year, every time I try to plan anything, I draw a blank. I've got nothing yet. It looks like it'll be my first "seat of the pants" year.

Neither...I'm a puzzler. Which is, I write what the voices tell me to (usually totally out of sequence) and then fit it into an ever-clarifying and expanding outline. I start with a premise and an MC and usually have a rough idea where I'm headed. Within ten days I have an ending that I can write, and spend the rest of the time filling in the gaps.

Valerie K

"I found out I need to write in community. So I've gathered people. Real people and imaginary people, and we all write together." --Maxine Hong Kingston

Pantster at first, definitely. I tend to listen to a piece of music and that'll get the juices flowing so I start writing. About halfway through, I'll start having enough ideas to have a tentative plot, and then after it's all done, it's edit, edit, edit for a looong time until it all comes out.

If I try to plot ahead of time, my writing is stilted and pretty awful, really. Can't seem to get that good stuff out with too many boundries around my head.

T.H.

I tend to have a general idea of what I'm going to write before I do it. I like to have a beginning, middle, and end set. I don't plan as much as most, though. Last year I didn't have any of my characters or settings planned out at all. I'm kind of half and half

I've written several novel-length manuscripts without using an outline, but with the kind of deadline that WriMo presents, I've used an outline all three years I've participated. My outlines tend to be fairly basic. I list my cast of characters, some basic facts concerning the setting, and then a brief description of what I want to happen in each chapter.

Two years ago, when the story was taking place in real locations with travel between them, I also charted out the timeframe of each chapter, so that the passage of time would correspond fairly well to a realistic journey.

Since I currently have a WIP that I would like to finish before WriMo starts, I am going back and creating an outline for it as well.

"We do not quit playing because we grow old; we grow old because we quit playing."
2006 - The Daedalus Child - Winner.
2007 - Lana's Pack - Winner.
2008 - Precocious by Design - Winner
2009 - Empty Threats

I never outline in too much detail, because as a story grows and evolves I will want to deviate from it, and having to redo outlines all the time is not my idea of a good time. I like to call myself a "hot-pantser," because I do like to plot a little bit, but mostly I wing it.

Like Hoomi I try to nail down character and setting details (especially during NaNo, with the clock ticking, it's nice to have some easy reference material to check!) and while I don't use chapter outlines, I try to make a bullet list of the most important events that take place. Once I have that rough outline, I can do whatever I want between my little bullet points as long as I'm progressing the story.

The only thing I REALLY wish I had the ability to do is figure out how many words I'll need for a complete novel before I'm 75% of the way done with it.

2003 - The Long Road | 2004 - The Circle of Many Faces | 2006 - Searching for Sunset | 2007 - Souls in the City | 2008 - The Murmuring Mirrors | 2009 - Across

I'm a plotter. I used to work with something closely resembling an outline, but seem to be moving toward synopses now. What generally happens is that each time I describe a novel to friends, I am able to add a little more detail or twist, until I have a pretty good set of plot/character elements -- often several paragraphs -- to work from. This also makes me aware of any problems I'm going to have to solve when I actually write. Two years ago the main challenge was how the first person narrator would know what was going on with her daughter, who was stranded in a sudden storm on the desert; this year it's how a vampire "retires." ;-)

A.

meet me at www.AshleenOGaea.com

I don't yet know how I'm going to be doing it this year. I know there's a plot swimming around in my brain somewhere, along with a few characters, but I don't know how solid it will be by November 1. I have the beginnings of an outline, but no idea where it's going.

However it happens, I'm going to start writing, and not stop until 50,000 words. Or December 1st, whichever comes first.

Usually I'm a seat of the pantster. In most of my past years, I've written a series of novels based in the same mythological town in Northern Az. A few years ago, some of my friends also wrote in that location. It was awesome. This year I'm debating totally flying without a net. I have two stories in my mind, neither one related to anything I've done before, and I have 4 names (2 for each) and a one sentence "outline". If neither of those work, then I'm going "home" so to speak.

@~,'~~

I'm a pantser. My first try, I couldn't think of anything one day, and it was Sunday, so I sent my MC to church. While he was there, one of his sons was kidnapped by the bad guy and the plot moved forward!

I do think I really lucked out the first year, though. I want to have more of an idea what I'm doing this year, because I have too many years that I didn't finish.

you know, i've tried outlining before the fact and i just can't drum up the interest. my attention jumps all over, and once i pin down a particular plot event it feels less interesting and i don't wanna write it out anymore. i enjoy plopping my character(s) into a sticky situation and letting them duke it out. that's fun.

i guess that makes me a pantser of the first order. i assume my lapel pin is in the mail? :)

“I don't know which is more discouraging, literature or chickens” -E.B. White

I've always been a pantser, but with the time crunch, I thought I'd try outlining. That has been a disaster. I've been rereading books on writing for the past month and writing short pieces every day. Now, I think I'm going to write a bunch a short pieces and then see what theme emerges. Use that theme to write more short pieces. Then find a way to tie them all together to make one cohesive 50,000 words. Then again, once I start writing, I may plow straight through. My biggest problem right now is all the WIPs I have keep jumping into my head yelling, "Hey, use me. Finish me." With my last HD crash, I lost all the written words, so maybe picking up on one of the lost children would be a good idea. Can you tell I'm a bit scattered?

"It is never too late to be what you might have been." George Eliot

I guess I'm in the minority...I'm a plotter. I used to be a pantser but then I switched teams (being the traitor that I am ^_~) when my novels kept fizzing out midway through. I just couldn't seem to get past the saggy middle (or 50k -- whatever came first), then I'd abandon the project or start over. I began to really outline a year ago and it's done wonders for my writing. My ideas/themes connect better and my characters are much more believable.

If anyone's interested in plotting, I suggest checking out First Draft in 30 Days by Karen Wiesner. Her suggestions for outlining are very helpful and I used many of them to perfect my own technique. I don't go quite as in-depth, all I do is a "skeletal outline" where I list what's going to happen in the book. I also like to do one page character sketches (list the stats, quirks, hobbies, etc.) and lists about the setting.

Maybe I'm not so much a plotter as I am a lister. XD

Lovin' the insanity since 2004:
Into the Wild (2004), Morgan (2005), Shadows and Whispers (2006), Morgan Part Deux (2007), False Promises (2008), Tayce (2009).

I've plotted out exactly 30 chapters for me to write.
Other than that, I'll wing it.

I'm aiming for 26 chapters... I've got 12 plotted out so far!

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*ML for Tucson, AZ*
You see these? You see these words? These are REVLON words!

I've had some failed attempts at nano (no wins yet) and all those attempts have started with outlines! I think I'm going to try being a pantser and see if the approach helps me make it all the way to the end. Sometimes I find that when I begin a story in the morning for the rest of the day I wonder what's going to happen next. When I come back to the story my subconscious has come up with more material. With an outline, I feel like I already know what's going to happen and the stuff in between is more like an exercise than a discovery.

So this year? I'm planning to start from nothing.

Hm, less than a week away and I still have planned. Ah well. Something will strike me! I started a week late last year and still won. -crosses fingers- Hope I didn't just jinx myself. D:

~What's left to catch but the fear of letting go?~
www.twitter.com/hangthesilver
www.hangthesilver.tumblr.com

I started out being a pantser, but as I write more, I find myself planning a bit more. Nothing too detailed, though--I never have much of an idea what happens in the middle. But I find it helps if I know a lot about the characters going in, if I know the setting, and have an idea of my ending. Without those, I'll stall about 3/4 in. With those--all will be well.

Which isn't to say I won't be running around in circles at any point this month. ;-)

Read it as I write it! http://www.sargemarcori.com/

I *was* a plotter, then I lost my notebook and my story completely change. I'm doing some exploratory writing, and *hoping* to find a plot somewhere! :)

I'm usually a planner but I didn't decide to participate in nano this year until he night before. I have a basic storyline and three characters but no idea on how things will turn out. I should probably try to outline things properly tomorrow while I'm at school.

I've got 19 chapters plotted out, so I have a while to ruminate on an ending before I completely freak out and kill everybody. EVERYBODY DIES!

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*ML for Tucson, AZ*
You see these? You see these words? These are REVLON words!

I didn't find out about NaNo until 11 PM on Oct. 31, so I'm definitely pantsing this. I've got a general idea of where I want to go, but not too much of a plan of how it's going to get there yet.

I guess I'm a plotter. Sort of. I don't actually write much of anything down in an outline since it's likely to change drastically at some point and I never have the motivation to go back and revise what I have. I just end up writing out a new one. Lather, rinse, repeat. But I always have a general idea of where I'm going in my head and it becomes clearer and clearer as I write.

At the moment, I have a diving board of sorts built up. I'll either discover what I need to turn it into a bridge while I'm putting it together, or I'll get to the end of what little outline I have and just have to jump off the end and hope to God there's water in the pool.

I suppose that makes me a little of both, actually.