Pants or outline a legal thriller?

Gregg Bell

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I'm about to start writing my first legal thriller. I've pantsed some previous novels and outlined some as well, so I'm comfortable with either method. I'm wondering if you think it's better, for a legal thriller specifically, to do one or the other. Thanks.
 

Maryn

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I think any thriller, mystery, or suspense novel pretty much demands an outline or other detailed master plan. You need to feed the POV character (and the reader) the information they need in the right order at the right time.

Of course, once you start the writing part, you'll get new ideas that are better. I make a copy of my outline and make the changes to the copy, as well as copy what I wrote so far, add comments where change is required to reflect that swell new idea, than continue as if those changes were complete.

Maryn, who demands tight plotting
 

ChaseJxyz

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I don't think it's possible to write a whole book 100% outlined or 100% pantsed, you're going to have SOME idea of things that will happen and you're going to have SOME things that happen when you're writing that you didn't originally have planned. So it's a matter of how much you're formally outlining vs how much you're pantsing it.

But I'd imagine for a thriller, especially a legal one, you are going to need to do some sort of planning ahead. You're going to have to research some legal stuff and plan out scenes. Of course, whether you do them all before you even write a word is up to your style as a writer. It's hard to say.
 

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Ultimately, it's up to you and it doesn't matter so long as you finish the project. There is no right way or wrong way to do it. That said though, I think there are some genres which are more amenable to plotting and likely, a thriller or a mystery, those really need to be plotted up front if you hope to get anywhere worthwhile. Of course, someone will just point out some author who pants their way through everything so I won't bother saying it's necessary. Whatever works for you.
 

talktidy

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Another vote for doing what works for getting the words on the page as expeditiously as possible regardless of which approach you adopt. There is no right or wrong way. Also, do not be discouraged if your first draft is a steaming pile. Bad writing, as opposed to no writing, can be fixed.

Personally, I think I would try to have a good idea in mind of the main story threads and, particularly, how the story ends, before I committed to starting, but that may not work for a writer, who is a dyed in the wool discovery writer/pantser. My outlines go all to hell after my first 10K words, so I have stopped lavishing too much energy on them.
 

Gregg Bell

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I think any thriller, mystery, or suspense novel pretty much demands an outline or other detailed master plan. You need to feed the POV character (and the reader) the information they need in the right order at the right time.

Of course, once you start the writing part, you'll get new ideas that are better. I make a copy of my outline and make the changes to the copy, as well as copy what I wrote so far, add comments where change is required to reflect that swell new idea, than continue as if those changes were complete.

Maryn, who demands tight plotting

Thanks Maryn. Sounds like what James Patterson does.
 

Gregg Bell

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I don't think it's possible to write a whole book 100% outlined or 100% pantsed, you're going to have SOME idea of things that will happen and you're going to have SOME things that happen when you're writing that you didn't originally have planned. So it's a matter of how much you're formally outlining vs how much you're pantsing it.

But I'd imagine for a thriller, especially a legal one, you are going to need to do some sort of planning ahead. You're going to have to research some legal stuff and plan out scenes. Of course, whether you do them all before you even write a word is up to your style as a writer. It's hard to say.

Thanks Chase. Yeah, some sort of planning. I at first thought it would have to be tightly outlined, especially because of the courtroom scenes, but the more legal thrillers I read, the more I saw that the the ones that were mostly "legal" thrillers were really pretty dull. The ones that were legal "thrillers" were much more compelling. Seems to me it's important to keep the whole thing, including the courtroom scenes, organic, which for me would me more conducive to pantsing.
 

Gregg Bell

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Ultimately, it's up to you and it doesn't matter so long as you finish the project. There is no right way or wrong way to do it. That said though, I think there are some genres which are more amenable to plotting and likely, a thriller or a mystery, those really need to be plotted up front if you hope to get anywhere worthwhile. Of course, someone will just point out some author who pants their way through everything so I won't bother saying it's necessary. Whatever works for you.

Thanks Cephus. Yeah, I guess there's a precedent for doing either.
 

Gregg Bell

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Another vote for doing what works for getting the words on the page as expeditiously as possible regardless of which approach you adopt. There is no right or wrong way. Also, do not be discouraged if your first draft is a steaming pile. Bad writing, as opposed to no writing, can be fixed.

Personally, I think I would try to have a good idea in mind of the main story threads and, particularly, how the story ends, before I committed to starting, but that may not work for a writer, who is a dyed in the wool discovery writer/pantser. My outlines go all to hell after my first 10K words, so I have stopped lavishing too much energy on them.

Thanks talk. You know, whenever I've pantsed I've done this-->
I would try to have a good idea in mind of the main story threads and, particularly, how the story ends, before I committed to starting

I think writing a legal thriller, especially with the steps in a criminal trial, made me think I needed to outline. Now I'm thinking I can pants to the point of the legal stuff and then come back to the legal stuff to make sure I get the legal details right.

And yeah--thanks--more than anything I need to start getting those words down expeditiously.