#Plantser

[rickie-the-storyteller]

I did the Author Type Test!

Link here.

I'm basically right in the middle.

Makes sense... I mean, I never knew whether to call myself a plotter or pantser, since my approach has always been a good mixture of both. I like having a plan and basic idea of where I want my stories to go, but I also put a lot of emphasis on developing my characters, and what they want to do isn't necessarily what I plan for them to do lol. I tend to just write what feels the most right for them in the end, even if it doesn't line up with what I had in mind to begin with.

This is so interesting, though!

Tagging some people to try this next if they haven't already (but this is also open for anyone to try out if they want!): @mysticstarlightduck, @jay-avian, @beginning-of-wisdom, @winterandwords and @kaylinalexanderbooks.

[authorkarajorgensen]

Planning for Pantsers

This week's blog is about how to plan your work when you are naturally resistant to plotting, a discovery writer, or a pantser.

I fully admit that I am a pantser by nature. I love to dive headfirst into writing and figure it out as I go… until it stops working and I hit the wall bug on a windshield style. Over the years, I’ve tried to devise a way to balance out my discovery writer side, which I need to be enthused about writing, with my need to know where I’m going to avoid creating a colossal, unsolvable mess. I like…

[mercurial-thrills]

I got a unique tip from a pantser friend that I don't see people talking about very often.

What she told me was that she read books like Save The Cat, and studied story beats to understand plot formulas.

It's unique in that, while she didn't write down what would happen, she would use the ideas she came up with to follow a story structure she had memorized... and I think that's pretty neat.

[yojfull]

🖊 & 👖

🖊 Post a snippet from a current WIP.

(in which the author projects on to her OFC...)

"Sometimes I forget I married a not-nerd," laughed Nora. "Fanfiction is where people take characters from movies or shows or books and reimagine their lives. One of the things that happens a lot is where characters wind up in different relationships than the original material."

"Wait, is this the Kirk/Spock stuff you told me about?" asked Sarah.

"Well, not just that, but yes. I was big into Jadzia/Kira back in the day."

👖 Are you a planner, plantser, or pantser? Is it consistent?

Plantser: I tend to plan things at about the 500 word level in advance, but I also always have at least 50% written before posting so I can stick to a schedule. My outlines are rough, but extant.

[ladyazulina]

Would you be interested of be a tester for my new writing course?

So, yeah, hello.

I had this idea of making a course, or workshop, to help people, writers, to… ✨ write their stories ✨ Or at least help them ground some idea and develop it in, first, a three-part story.

It's a four-part course/workshop.

First, three points: the start, the middle, and the ending.

Second, the character(s).

Third, we dive into the three points to turn them into eight. Two to analyze the starting conflict, four to find the pieces to make the story, and two to close it.

Finally, we break all of that into tiny pieces to make an outline, writing the story step by step.

That's basically it.

I know it sounds great for plotters and plantsers kinds of writers, but I would love to try it with pantsers too. I want to find a way to help every kind of writer with their process, but for that I need experience. I'm a plantser myself and this is my first year plotting and outlining a story (honestly, my first year taking any real conscience about my writing process, I don't know how I did it before), so I can only offer what I know, but I'm open to trying to help everyone.

Anyway, I'm almost sure I will have no traction, but if you're interested, let me know and I will build it somewhere for you to ruin it.

Oh! It's intended for new story projects, but if you just started yours or want to try it with an already-in-the-making story, you can do it too!

[cranky-kyrati]

👖

Omg thank you for asking! [From this ask meme]

👖 Are you a planner, plantser, or pantser? Is it consistent?

Plantser, definitely!

As I was mulling this question over I realised that at least with Pagan Poetry (but I suspect the same will be true for any longer work I take on in the future), I've approached crafting the story in much the same way I'd approach a large jigsaw puzzle.

Once the initial idea took off in my head, I started by finding the edges (the beginning and the end) as well as the main, distinctive features (major themes and plot points). Then I started filling in the bits in between, sorting pieces as I go. Sometimes I'll find pieces that fit together but which I'm not sure where exactly they'll go, and sometimes I'll find pieces I know roughly where they belong but not how they'll fit with others around them. Sometimes I'll find pieces I've sorted into the wrong pile, or I'll realise that I've been tentatively building a cluster upside down or placed it in the wrong quadrant or whatever.

All of this has been made massively easier by using Scrivener, by the way. Scrivener allows me to write all the different "puzzle pieces" in separate little documents which exist in a hierarchy, where I can cluster pieces that belong together and sort them according to where in the story they should happen. Anything I don't know quite where it belongs I put under "unsorted". Example screenshot under the cut!

Scrivener also helped structuring my research a bit in the early days of the draft, but it has some limitations when it comes to tables and diagrams. Hence I also have a spreadsheet to make sure my timeline makes sense and things like that.

[cartersvilleareawriters]

CAW Term of the Week - Plantser

[dontdenymeshakespeare]

NaNo 2023 Wrap-Up

I “won”. I finished on a 10k day, I reached 130k for the project and I didn’t still finish my project. There’s a part of me that’s disappointed that I didn’t finish it, but I’m close, progress was made and I was deep in the depths of experimentation. Scriptwriting isn’t something that comes naturally to me, it does require more thought and I always knew that finishing the project was going to be…

[allnovellas]

Crafting a Story: Plotting vs. Pantsing

In the world of writing, there’s an age-old debate that continues to divide authors: to plot or to pants while telling your story. The term ‘pantsing’ comes from the phrase ‘flying by the seat of your pants,’ meaning to proceed or work by feel or instinct, without a formal plan. On the other hand, plotting involves meticulous planning of the storyline, character arcs, and key events before the…

[adagissimohno]

true plantsers for the win

I would say I'm a neutral panster with bits of chaotic planster

@harleybeaumont @karahalloway @alj4890 @aussiegurl1234 @nestledonthaveone @dcbbw @bebepac @jerzwriter @lovealexhunt @liaromancewriter @lizzybeth1986 @peonierose @cariantha @petiteboheme @tessa-liam @kristinamae093 @twinkleallnight @queenmiarys

[maddilynmuse]

Out of curiosity, how many of us actually plan ahead?

I wrote Book 1 mostly by the seat of my pants, but I’ve got better ideas for Book 2 at least. I’d still call myself a Plantser at best tho: got an idea of some plot beats but characters just vibe ^w^

[onepageofmisery]

From panster to…something else…

Been having an epiphany recently when it comes to writing. When I started writing actively as a teenager, I was a major pantser. I hated structure and wanted to get experimental, and I thought outlines were conformist and interferes in the creative process (Plus, what if certain elements needed to be changed?) and kept on going the pantsing route. All my early works featured on Amazon were made…

[duckprintspress]

I suspect this one'll end up normal distribution, but I'll own I'm curious anyway. I've seen some people talking about this recently so it's been on my mind.

(reblog for sample size, all that jazz, you know the drill)

[mini-and-mighty]

Making NaNoWriMo memes > actually finishing my outline

[sarah-sandwich-writes]

sometimes to make the words go you have to get out a sketchbook and an obnoxious marker and let yourself be as dumb as you feel on the inside

unfortunately sometimes this leads to Plot Points™