Oh No! I’ve Become a Pantser.

Hello Bloglandia!

How’s your June going? Any plans for summer (or for winter, if you’re on the upside-down part of the globe)?

My June, so far, has been going swimmingly…and not just because we FINALLY got some rain here in Portland.

See, I kind of, sort of wrote a book. Okay, a first draft of a book, but still.

And I know, you’re thinking, “You’re a writer. It’s your job to write books, so why is this blog-worthy news?”

Well, Captain Attitude, it’s blog-worthy news because I did a lot of experimenting with this draft, including jumping right in without an outline, which was very scary for someone who has always considered herself a die-hard plotter.

And for those non-writers out there, a little terminology explanation might be in order. A “Plotter” is a writer who sits down and outlines most (maybe all) aspects of a book before ever writing a single page.

A “Pantser” on the other hand, is a writer who jumps in with an idea for a book and just starts slinging words like a madman (or madwoman, or crazed were-beast, who knows).

I cover the experiments, the results, and just the overall excitement of being back in the writing game after a pretty odd couple of months in the video below, so please do give it a watch (and you know, maybe subscribe to my YouTube channel while you’re over there).

I cover this in the video (I think) but I have to say I was a little nervous about trying to write a book without any sort of outline. I don’t do highly detailed outlines, but I still try to cover each plot point and use that as a writing prompt when I sit down to write each day.

I worried that without those “writing prompts” I would be completely stuck every day and have to bang my head against the wall to force out the creative pulp. But then again, I feel that way even when I do have an outline. At least I’m consistent in my neuroses, right?

There were two days (out of the 14 it took me to write this draft) where the words were a little slow to start flowing, but even then, it was only a brief blip at the start of the writing session.

The other experiments I tried with this writing endeavor were to write to a word count goal each day and to write using the Pomodoro Method. Both worked amazingly, and I explain more about these two bits of mad scientist trials in the video.

I’ve already given away the ending, but yes, these experiments worked amazingly well! In two weeks I cranked out a first draft that, while not a finished product by any means, is just as fleshed out as my first drafts when I use an outline. And in a few cases this book’s draft is even more fleshed out than my outlined drafts. Seriously, it’s like a whole drawer of crazy, fleshy pants!

I meant to say this in the video, but the take away here is that even if you feel a writing (or any other creative exploit) method works for you, maybe try experimenting with other methods. You never know what you might accomplish!

Have a great week everyone, and be sure to check out the books on offer below…but watch my video first…and subscribe to my YouTube channel.

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