Are You A Pantser or a Plotter?
I struggled for a couple of days trying to figure out what to write for this guest blog post. I’m not a planner. I’m far from it. I normally fly by the seat of my pants. But something told me I needed to take a moment to reflect on why I became a writer in the first place. Why did I want to cut myself to the bone over and over again, putting every emotion I felt onto paper? Then it came to me, writing in my passion. It’s my life. It’s what keeps me sane in times of darkness. And that’s why I keep on doing it, day after day, night after night.
I dream. A lot. Most of my dreams are hardcore nightmares of death and dying. In order to cope with the terror I feel, I use them as stepping stones to plotting my stories. But I don’t usually plot much other than to choose names and places for the story. I write. I write until I cannot write any more.
This is what makes me a panster, a fly by the seat kind of gal. I can’t plot beyond the basic ideas. If I do, I overthink and then end up blocked. If I try to outline, it seems my muse shuts down. I’ve never been able to outline, even in college when my professors asked for them. I had to wing it and hope they were acceptable. And usually I wrote them after I was finished with the paper.
Being a panster doesn’t make me a bad writer. There are a lot of us out there. I do, however, tend to stop once in awhile to make sure I’m not forgetting an idea or changing any important details. This can happen and has happened but not in any place important, lucky for me.
I’ve often wondered how the other side works. Can they fly by the seat of their pants, just winging it as the words flow forth? I see many authors saying they’ve written 10,000+ words for the day. I wonder how that’s possible even for someone like me who writes until my fingers cramp. Then I wonder if they aren’t the planners, the ones who have the story all mapped out.
This presents the other side of things. Editing. When do you do it? Are you like me and edit as you go? (And edit and edit and edit some more?) Or do you vomit it all out, let it sit for a bit and then go in to pick it apart? I try to be one way but I’m always the other. I can’t just throw all the words out there for some reason. But that’s just me. Which begs the question. What kind of author are you? Are you willing to share your story, revealing your ups and downs? Are you willing to grow with me, learning and striving to be the best you can be?
I dream. A lot. Most of my dreams are hardcore nightmares of death and dying. In order to cope with the terror I feel, I use them as stepping stones to plotting my stories. But I don’t usually plot much other than to choose names and places for the story. I write. I write until I cannot write any more.
This is what makes me a panster, a fly by the seat kind of gal. I can’t plot beyond the basic ideas. If I do, I overthink and then end up blocked. If I try to outline, it seems my muse shuts down. I’ve never been able to outline, even in college when my professors asked for them. I had to wing it and hope they were acceptable. And usually I wrote them after I was finished with the paper.
Being a panster doesn’t make me a bad writer. There are a lot of us out there. I do, however, tend to stop once in awhile to make sure I’m not forgetting an idea or changing any important details. This can happen and has happened but not in any place important, lucky for me.
I’ve often wondered how the other side works. Can they fly by the seat of their pants, just winging it as the words flow forth? I see many authors saying they’ve written 10,000+ words for the day. I wonder how that’s possible even for someone like me who writes until my fingers cramp. Then I wonder if they aren’t the planners, the ones who have the story all mapped out.
This presents the other side of things. Editing. When do you do it? Are you like me and edit as you go? (And edit and edit and edit some more?) Or do you vomit it all out, let it sit for a bit and then go in to pick it apart? I try to be one way but I’m always the other. I can’t just throw all the words out there for some reason. But that’s just me. Which begs the question. What kind of author are you? Are you willing to share your story, revealing your ups and downs? Are you willing to grow with me, learning and striving to be the best you can be?
Author Bio:
Stephanie grew up in a small town in east central Wisconsin where she still resides. Though she's been writing since grade school, it was just a year ago (September 2013) that her first published work was released. She is diligently fighting a feisty muse to bring you more. Currently, she has no less than five works in progress, with several more waiting to be started. Through her love of writing, she hopes to bring the worlds she envisions to life very soon.
Lover of Grimm's Fairy Tales, reading, and romance, she is a full time, single mother raising a 14 year old and a 4 year old. Obsessed with the notion of "Happily Ever After," she is working to overcome some real life difficulty with domestic abuse.
Stay tuned to learn more about this hardworking woman whose love of history, psychology, and art plays prominently in her work.
Lover of Grimm's Fairy Tales, reading, and romance, she is a full time, single mother raising a 14 year old and a 4 year old. Obsessed with the notion of "Happily Ever After," she is working to overcome some real life difficulty with domestic abuse.
Stay tuned to learn more about this hardworking woman whose love of history, psychology, and art plays prominently in her work.