I pantsed my way through 140k words (that is the first half of a duology). It still has structure. In part because humans learn structure instinctively and apply it to our work whether we are consciously doing so or not.
The most basic structure is Beginning, Middle, End. It can be broken down into ridiculously small iterations of that pattern. Every story has a B/M/E, each of those acts also has a B/M/E, and each of those parts has scenes which also have a B/M/E. Chances are, if you have written a story, no matter how many other complex structures you might have followed (7 Act or the Orphan/Wanderer/Warrior/Martyr arc or a 27 point beatsheet from Save the Cat), you still have three act structure. That's why I'm scratching my head a little over folks dismissing it as unnecessary.
Now, again, I don't usually go through any structural analysis on what I'm writing until that first draft is done. Or if I get stuck. But the structure is not just useful, it's literally how most brains prefer to try and process information so trying to do something different (assuming one isn't neuro-atypical in which case, yes, you may look at structure much differently) is... just odd to me.
The most basic structure is Beginning, Middle, End. It can be broken down into ridiculously small iterations of that pattern. Every story has a B/M/E, each of those acts also has a B/M/E, and each of those parts has scenes which also have a B/M/E. Chances are, if you have written a story, no matter how many other complex structures you might have followed (7 Act or the Orphan/Wanderer/Warrior/Martyr arc or a 27 point beatsheet from Save the Cat), you still have three act structure. That's why I'm scratching my head a little over folks dismissing it as unnecessary.
Now, again, I don't usually go through any structural analysis on what I'm writing until that first draft is done. Or if I get stuck. But the structure is not just useful, it's literally how most brains prefer to try and process information so trying to do something different (assuming one isn't neuro-atypical in which case, yes, you may look at structure much differently) is... just odd to me.