For Fellow Pantsers

This is a very general question. Is there anything you'd like to focus your question on? Or anything that led you to come up with this question?

Coco82 said:

I'm curious, how do you go about your writing routine, generate new ideas, etc? I tend to build a scene or set of scenes in my head and then write them sometimes, other times I let inspiration come from outside sources that have given me great ideas to put in. It really varies from day to day or week to week.

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More often it comes to me as I write. On occasion, I'll have an idea while away from the desk, and I have to scribble it on something before it goes away.

I work as a chef, which can be pretty mundane [chopping, peeling, baking etc], so I let my imagination loose and just let my characters talk to me. Same goes for when I am trying to fall asleep.

I don't really have a routine. I get home from work about 3pm, deal with real life [emails, bills etc], then I'll do some writing related research, and maybe read. After dinner, I'll write until 10pm. Although this will change soon as I'm starting a degree in Ancient History, and it will bite into the writing time.

^Substitute 'baker' for 'chef' and that's me as well. I brainstorm while I'm mashing dough, topping pastries, shaping bagels, etc.

As for the Actual Writing part, I try to carry a notebook and pen with me at all times, so when inspiration strikes, I'm ready. Then, I just start at the beginning and go. It's easier for me to write everything longhand first, then type it up afterwards.

For the ideas, it depends on the context. A lot of my short stories are born from a phrase like "The darkness within" (an anthology theme I just did). Then I write the first sentence, and I'm off. For a novel, I brainstorm it out on paper, writing different synopses (which I will then ignore) until I feel like I'm ready for the story.

For the writing, I throw paint at the wall and see what sticks. It's the act of writing that I learn what the story is about. It's a very messy process. I get all kinds of stuff in the story that doesn't go anywhere -- though I don't wander off on a tangent for 100 pages (I actually run short). I have to go through and weed those out before revising because they'll create headaches for the revision.

I sit down, type, and let the characters lead the way. If I've developed them enough -even if it's just in my head- then I know what the next thing they would do in a certain situation is. If I'm stuck, I just write out the mundane things they do, it helps me build them up more and get un-stuck.

My first draft is a MESS. Half of it gets deleted and the other half gets changed but at this point I know exactly what's going on so it goes quickly. It's like an over long, over detailed synopsis/outline/garbage pile.

I used to write a first sentence and go. Now I build a premise (like "what if a guy who dies heroically was actually an abusive jerk to his wife") and the story starts to unfold mentally from there. Then I start at the beginning and it fleshes itself out as it goes. I'm also REALLY good at writing to length so far, so my intended length constrains the premise as necessary. Clear as mud?

Coco82 said:

I'm curious, how do you go about your writing routine, generate new ideas, etc? I tend to build a scene or set of scenes in my head and then write them sometimes, other times I let inspiration come from outside sources that have given me great ideas to put in. It really varies from day to day or week to week.

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I tend to be a slow warmer-upper, so my routine usually involves a certain amount of time just to get around to putting my fingers to the keyboard for writing.

By 'new ideas', do you mean 'new' for the piece you're working on, like 'what happens next'? That usually happens for me either as I'm writing or I do pre-thinking. Like, while I'm doing something else I'm running the story in my head, seeing action, hearing dialogue, imagining the words that I'm putting on paper. That leads often to 'what's next' so that, when I sit down to write, it's somewhat there in my head. Other times it's more me thinking about it logically, like, 'this just happened, so what should happen next?' and generating the idea that way.

If you mean 'ideas for the next story', that's more complicated. It usually involves one or more things I've seen/heard/read stewing around my brain for a while before presenting itself as a really good idea.

Hope that helps.

For short stories, I start with a title and try to write the story that that title suggests. But honestly, I'm still struggling with story. So sometimes what I do results in a sufficiently well constructed story. So far, though, I often end up with something out of balance. I'm writing my first novel now, writing the story as I go. I want to get to the end without writing a story that will need major fixing. I think a big part of making that work is having a clear story problem. I guess the other part of that is not just that the problem is clear, but that it is conducive to spinning a good tale from. Still trying to figure that out.

Well I'm an outliner and a pantser, so I'll go ahead and answer.

I'm always thinking about my WIP and running through scenes in my head while I'm driving to work, prepping dinner, falling asleep at night. So it isn't hard when I sit down to write to come up with the, "what next?" ...most of the time! Which is why I do sometimes use an outline, especially for the longer, more complex pieces.

With or without an outline, I always try to write from the first word all the way to the last without editing anything. So, the first draft is usually one hot mess, and the edit/revise stage can be challenging, but when I used to edit as I went along, I never finished anything. So I'll sit down, review what I wrote last just to refresh my memory, or to read whatever note I left myself, and then just start typing. When I don't have an outline, it's because the story just comes to me pretty easily, and the characters just do their thing and I'm essentially along for the ride to record their history.

As far as where my ideas come from, that would be everywhere! A conversation I overheard at the grocery store between strangers, a book I'm reading on quantum mechanics, my boss' smart as comment, whatever. Sometimes, I can't even remember where an idea came from, I'll just find a scribbled note in my purse in my handwriting with a few sentences on it about a character or a place, and it turns into my next short story! The ones I write to myself in the middle of the night without turning the light on usually just get tossed, though, cause even I can't read them. I'm always a little sad when I have to do that.

I find ideas by watching people constantly and making up stories about them in my head. Eventually one clicks (maybe the first sentence, or a 'what if' statement, or just a scene I like) and then I go home and start writing. Of course, how it ends may be nothing like the original thought, but...

I tend to drift quite a bit... I generally just get some paper or my laptop and write. Paper and pen works best for me though. For someone reason it just flows better.

I've essentially been pantsing my current project. I know who my characters are, and I know where I want to get them. I allow the stuff in between to play out as it feels natural. When I wrote with a strict outline, I often found that I forced stuff into the story that didn't work or didn't make sense.

Of course, we'll have to see how I feel about pantsing when I get to the revision stage. I've already adjusted my word count goal from 100,000 to 120,000 because new plot threads just seem to emerge.

From relentless daydreaming (I'm a very determined daydreamer) an image that interests me will pop forth. Eventually a few more will also. I'll make a point to people those images with the same faces. Threads will start to form tenuous connections between them. Soon I'll be aware that if I put them in sequence there will be the basis for something that could, with work, turn into a story. Then I will start thinking about an ending. If an interesting one becomes evident I'll put more effort into connecting everything together. A baby plot is born. It will then be time to think more about those faces, and name them.

At this point I am pretty much ready to write. As I go through the process I'll jot down a page or two of notes, particularly regarding the character names because I put a lot of effort into them and don't want to forget one. Once I begin generating new prose though, I usually don't refer back to those notes unless I can't recall how to spell someone's name.

Edit: As I glance over this I wonder if this process makes me a secret outliner.

The characters always dictate the action. No matter if you're plotter or pantser, the most logical, predictable (to that character) step should be the one taken. Much of the following action is then reaction to the action created by your characters.

The unpredictability comes either when an as-yet undefined element affects your characters, or they react in ways logical with their characters, but which are not yet fully explored in the novel.

I decide which genre to write. I find a title I love. I sit down and start writing, letting the title guide me.

The exception to this is the occasional short story that comes to me all at once, pretty much complete as is, and is usually triggered by some outside, real event.

I tend to get ideas while I'm trying to sleep. Damn writing lol. I keep the idea in my head then when it is time, I sit and write and go from there.

I don't get ideas. I'm not even sure what that means. From cartoons I get the feeling a light bulb turns on and you go "Eureka!"

I've never had that happen. Generally I get a vague sense of a scene and whatever part of the scene I can see clearest, I start writing that.


For instance, I just moments ago began writing a story that started out me thinking about spacewalks (which came about as I was watching videos of the earth passing by taken from the ISS). So I thought I'd write something about a guy's first ever spacewalk and his emotions, but as soon as the pencil hit the paper, he became a teacher of an unruly class of students who he was taking on a spacewalk like it was a field trip.

I usually try NOT to have an idea when I go in to write a novel. For the past few years, most of my novels have been written at a (near) local 72hr novel writing marathon. When I sit down at the beginning of the weekend, I have a title. I take a leap from that title when I begin the novel...and I write it in the one sitting. Well, over the course of the 72hrs. Break for food and socializing...but basically one sitting. I just start with that title and GO. Usually, I find that my fingers are not fast enough to keep up with the story...but I don't plan any of it ahead. I just keep writing and try not to think too much about what I'm doing.