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- Jun 3, 2017
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Anyone else have that problem?
Are you a 'panster' or an outliner?
I can see a panster getting distracted easier than an outliner - because writing by the seat of your pants you get excited at first with the whole grand story idea, but maybe that peters out, or another intriguing plot takes its place.
I outline - sometimes to excess. Outline lets me get a handle on the scope of the work, I can see the entire arc of the story and of the main characters. I plot it out - if there isn't enough there for a novel, I may turn it into a short story series on my website, or I may just let it go and move on. I tend to ruminate over a story for a long time before even doing the outline. Anyway - because I have a very clear idea what each chapter is about and how the story will progress I tend to be anxious to get on to the next chapter. I also tend to overwrite a bit on the first draft, then reduce the wc during editing / later drafts.
Each of us has our process, and one method is any better than any other.
Throwing down 80,000 words and waiting all that time before going into proper edits is quite a different task, requiring different kinds of discipline.
I hit that wall somewhere in the middle, every time, where it becomes apparent to me that the entire thing is crap, my characters are crap, my plot is crap, my setting is crap, even the font I'm using is crap and I want to set it on fire and never speak of it again. [...]
I think the thing with pantsing/outlining is that if you work more effectively as a pantser, then trying to outline may reduce your motivation/excitement/quality of work.