Is it time to pants?

satyesu said:

I've been working on my novel's outline/plot summary for a while, and I'm getting so frustrated "fixing" it that I'm starting to lose interest. Is it a good idea to throw caution to the wind, start writing, and fix problems in later drafts? I'm worried if I pants, my novel will end up "loose" - it'll have unnecessary elements that get left over from earlier drafts. I have an obsessive need for my novel(s) to be almost essay-like in that they tell a story with focus.

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So I'll just say that IME planners and pantsers end up with similarly organized work. Planners do a lot of the organizational work outside of writing the prose; pantsers work all that out by actually putting down scenes. Yes, a pantser is likely to end up with a splodgy mess of a first draft - but they've now done much of the outline/working out of plot points that the planner does ahead of time.

IOW it's two methods to the same goal.

Your novel will absolutely end up essay-like in focus if that's what you want. The difference when you pants is that your first draft won't be like that - but when you're done with it, you'll have a much better idea of what you need to change/revise/include/eliminate to get there.

You don't know if it'll work for you until you try it. But you do need to accept that you're going to be doing revisions, likely extensive ones.

2 cents -- what works for me at this point in the game is to make sure my characters keep acting toward their story goals. Do you know your characters' story goals? Is every action they take (within reason) toward that goal? Are you complicating their lives to make it hard to reach their goal?

That's it--have them act toward a story goal. My characters don't get the run of the place, because then they wander into non-intentional boredom-land where they sit around and talk about their glory days or stuff happening elsewhere. With lots of sighing and nodding. No. They must act toward their story goal. But they do have permission to do something unexpected in the context of that.

I'm a big plotter, I think. But it seems that doesn't matter, because my characters start doing other things anyway. It's as id the only way the scene *actually* makes sense is for someone in the story to do something I didn't see coming.

So yeah, start writing, but make sure you know where you're going.

2 more cents: There are many other ways to write a story, too.

You say you have an outline that you're still fiddling with? So you won't really be writing any old thing, and having a mass of words to prune. You have a general direction to head in.
Why not just start working with your outline and see where it takes you? Maybe some of the 'fiddling' will work itself out as you write.
Good luck.

In my limited experience, novelists divide messily* into three groups — plotters, worldbuilders, and character writers. And that (messily) tends to define which kind of guidance document they work with best. Plotters want an outline. Builders need their world bible. And character writers are the poor sods who end up with a draft zero.

Most of us will end up with some variation of all three things by the end: this isn’t a case of “pick one” so much as the order and the degree of detail necessary before we feel we’ve got ground to stand on. Still, even if you’re a plotter at heart, it may be worth asking yourself if you’re still working on the right document. if your outline isn’t doing much for you any more, it could simply be a sign that those rough spot and grey, mushy areas have more to do with character or worldbuilding. Trying to define those in outline is often a waste of ink and tears.



* Because let’s face it, writers are cats. Show us a clear demarcation, and we’ll instinctively sit right on the threshold with our tails sticking out.

satyesu said:

I've been working on my novel's outline/plot summary for a while, and I'm getting so frustrated "fixing" it that I'm starting to lose interest. Is it a good idea to throw caution to the wind, start writing, and fix problems in later drafts?

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Yes.

satyesu said:

I'm worried if I pants, my novel will end up "loose" - it'll have unnecessary elements that get left over from earlier drafts. I have an obsessive need for my novel(s) to be almost essay-like in that they tell a story with focus.

Click to expand...

I've said this in your threads before, but no first draft is ever going to feel--or be--entirely focused or tight. That comes with the process of revision, and it's as true of essays as well.

Planning vs. pansting is more about the process of coming up with the idea initially. Some people like to have it fairly planned out, you are likely one of them, but it's still going to change in the telling, and re-telling. You'll see the opportunities as you go.

Two key lessons in learning to write:

1. Write.

2. Resist the urge to stop and go back. Finish what you start, then re-assess.

As you develop, you'll find a comfort level and process that allows you to merge some of these steps. But you have to learn them first. They're basic tools. You're planning your final lap before you've put the key in the ignition.

VeryBigBeard said:

Resist the urge to stop and go back. Finish what you start, then re-assess.

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I agree with a lot of the stuff in this thread, but this last point is super important! And it's one I've learned the hard way!

I recently finished a first draft of my first novel, and the only reason I did was because I didn't keep going back and fiddling with stuff like I did on every project before that (all of which died on the vine, semi-complete and over-polished). I only ever looked back as far as the previous day's writing. And honestly, keeping as close as I could to a daily word count quota kept my head in the story enough to remember enough from the parts I hadn't read in a while to grow interesting things from seeds I'd planted (both on purpose and by accident) in the earlier chunks. I'll stipulate that I'm a pantser by nature, who only needs a bucket of ideas about character, setting, and events to get me started.

But now I've started a first draft of another novel, and am feeling those initial "in over my head" gasps that come with starting a novel. Yesterday I was nearly done with what I think will be an important introductory scene, and I was concerned about where I'd go from there. The idea came to stop once I'd finished the scene, and reread and tweak things "until I'd learned enough about the character to make an informed decision." And thankfully my subconscious was like, "What, are you nuts?! Have I taught you NOTHING?! Full steam ahead!"

That said, I will be adding bits to my character docs based on what I've learned about the characters and their predicament, but those will be understood as notes, not taken as canon, since one of the most wonderful things about a first draft (or "zero draft") is that there is no canon.

It's like starting out SCUBA diving. Those initial gasps of "I can't breathe down here" are important to acknowledge. But you have to keep calm and keep writing. There could be a great story down there!

I'm a planner (engineering background, so that kinda figures) - but admit that planning, if overdone can be a trap. It would be like spending the entire day at the range aiming but never pulling the trigger. Setting the plan aside and finally starting in on the actual writing takes some courage (the first time you do it). Open a new document, take a deep breath, and just start out.

Here's a little secret about planning though...

No matter how much work you do on the front end surprises and twists will come up. When characters come alive for you they develop freewill and often act out like a naughty child. IMO it's best to let you plot be more of a general guide - not steel rails you character and story follows, but rather like old worn rubber bands used as guides - not an edict from a deity, but advice from a nutty professor. Minor characters will gain importance, and small events may alter the course of your story.

IMO no one is a pure plotter or panstser - if so plotters would never start and pansters would never end.

You've done your due diligence and have your tale firmly in mind. Now it's time to start, so just do that.

indianroads said:

IMO no one is a pure plotter or panstser - if so plotters would never start and pansters would never end.

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There may be a rare few who are wholly one or the other. But most of us are some combination of both. And different combinations.

Famous mystery writer John D. MacDonald planned the first third of each book tightly, the second third lightly, and the last third little more than the desired climax. He said that at about the first third's end the characters took over and went the way THEY wanted to go. When that happened, he said, he knew he had a successful book on his hands.

Lois McMaster Bujold combines planning and improvising differently. With only a wisp of an idea of how the story will end she plans the first three or so chapters in detail, writes them, then reassesses where the book wants to go. She enjoys discovering with her characters the story she's writing.

Each of us will find what combination works for us. By doing, by trying new approaches, until finally we find our own unique combination of the two approaches to writing.