The Age Old Question - Pantster or Outliner?

I used to be a pantster - loved just sitting down and seeing what would happen. Like someone handing me a blank sheet of paper and a box of crayons and saying "draw a masterpiece." I still like doing that sometimes, but I've found it generally leads to long, very involved revisions that, more often than not, turn into complete rewrites. Which adds a LOT of time to the whole process :)

So I tried outlining. Nothing major...just the bare bones. Like coloring in a coloring book. There's an outlined picture that I can fill in any way I choose. I even have a cool little chart where I can plot out the inciting incident, my rising action, a couple turning points/reversals, my climax, and the resolution. I didn't go into detail, just gave myself enough of a road map that I knew where I was going. I liked this method. It gave me the freedom to let things develop as they would with enough of a plan that I didn't experience as many moments of staring at the screen thinking "uhhh and now what?" :D

And then my editor gave me the go-ahead to submit on proposal. Which means I can write a few chapters and a nice synopsis instead of having to submit the whole book first. Writing a synopsis for the entire book, before writing the actual book, meant I needed to know what was going to happen every step of the way before actually writing it. And you know what? I LOVE writing like this. I love sitting and brainstorming the entire book and writing out a synopsis and THEN writing the book. It's like working on one of those paint-by-number projects. I know exactly what's going to happen, exactly what I need to do.

Sure things change. As the story develops, little tweaks happen, new ideas pop up. But for the most part, this method has made writing the actual book so much easier for me. And has greatly cut down on revision time. First drafts have always been difficult for me. I'm great at revisions. If I have something to work with, even if it needs major rewrites, it's much easier than if I'm staring at a blank screen that needs words. This process lets me go crazy (in the brainstorming process) and then lets me stay organized (I LOVE being organized) when I'm actually writing. It's a total win-win for me :)

How do you like to write? Do you like to open a blank page and just let it flow, or do you like mapping out the details first?


Don't forget! Two more days to enter Cole's giveaway!! (see below post)

Blog Chain - Get Directions First

This round of the blog chain was started by the ever awesome Eric who wants to know:

When was the last time you just sat down and started writing, 

with nothing but a whisper of an idea to guide you? 

Did you find it easy to do or did you find yourself struggling for a more organized story?

My first thought was that I couldn't remember the last time I did this, at least in regards to novels. When it comes to my novel writing, I don't ever just sit down and write anymore. I used to. Wrote two books this way. I finished the first one 5 years ago...and I'm doing the last (hopefully) round of edits on it right now. The second book I did this way is still waiting for an extensive rewrite.

I have three or four other novels that have a few chapters each that I won't finish until I sit down and plot. With novels, I just can't write like that anymore. It makes the editing process too long and too extensive and honestly, I don't know that I could just sit down and write with nothing but an idea.

However...

That only applies to novels. When it comes to poetry, I can't think it out. I just let it come. Picture books as well. I'll have an idea and I just sit and write.Yes, there is more editing, however these are short projects that don't take long.

I do enjoy just sitting and letting the words flow though. This is probably why I love doing those writing prompt exercises, where you are given a few words and have to make a story out of it - or the poetry games where you are given several word tiles to form into a poem. It's challenging and fun and it allows those creative muscles to stretch without having to worry about the editing that will be involved if I don't think it out beforehand :)

How about you? Do you ever just take an idea and run with it? Or do you think and plot out everything first?

Check out Margie's blog next to see what she has to say :)

Chunking, Arcing, and Outlining....Oh My!

My crit partners and I got in a discussion the other day about outlining. I'm knee deep in revisions at the moment (and feeling bad because I should be neck deep), so the discussion came at a good time as I am currently outlining my poor little manuscript to death :)

Now, these methods are all new to me, but I absolutely love how they've been working out.

For my first draft, I try to do a bare bones story arc. I draw a little chart that looks like this (ignore the black spot...that was an accidental cut :D)

and I put up 10 or so highlights...the big turning/decision points, climaxes, setbacks, etc, in my story. If I know more specifics here and there, I'll add them in. But just having a few major points to shoot for gives me an idea of where I need to go and what needs to happen. Then I write.

When it's time to edit, I do what I call chunking (not sure if this is the real term or just something I latched onto one day...it's a bit of a mixture of a few techniques I've read about in books or heard from other people).

Basically, I take Post Its and on each one I outline each scene in my book. When writing, I don't separate my scenes into chapters - I leave them as scenes until further into the editing process and then I designate chapters for each one.

Anyhow, on each Post It for each scene I write down who the characters are, whose POV the scene is in, the setting, and what happens in that scene. Then I stick it up on my corkboard, which looks like this (and p.s. I think I need a bigger board...the back is just as full as the front!):

THEN I go through and see what needs to be cut, changed, and added. And I color code. The original scene chunks are all one color Post It (purple this time around). A new scene that needs to be added will be tacked up on a different color Post It (blue this time). And any changes that need to be made to a scene are noted on the Post Its in red pen.

I'm a very visual person, so laying out my whole story in this way allows me to see exactly what I've got going on. It makes it easier for me to spot where changes, additions, and cuts need to be made, and when it's time to rewrite, I can go through each scene and then flip the Post It over when I'm done, so I have a visual of how far I've gone and how far I need to go.

How do you handle writing and revisions?

WIP Wednesday

Oops, it's Wednesday. LOL Oye, real life getting busy :)

Well, quick WIP update....I'm loving outlining...but I'm not so sure it works for me. But I want it to - badly. I spend a good 8 months on revisions after the initial 2 or 3 months of writing draft. I do NOT want to spend an entire year on one manuscript anymore. But outlining seems to kill the drive to write the story.

So, I have two options at the moment.

1. Word vomit draft one and then outline during the beginning of the revision process (thanks for that term, Elana LOL). This option is what I'm leaning toward as it will allow me to get the story out but still organizes things in time to be efficient in the revising arena.

2. Continue trying to outline before draft 1. This one I'm not so sure about. However, my fabulous crit partner and agent buddy Christine recommended an outlining book that is on its way to my house as we speak. I will give it a shot, 'cause hey, I'm will to try just about everything once :)

So, for now, no progress on the fiction WIP. The NF book is getting much closer to being done but work stalled out for a week or so as I dealt with some Real Life stuff. IF I can get all my ducks in a row here, I should be done with revisions on that this week and then will just need to finish up the 4 new chapters we are adding (and they are, thank goodness, at least partially finished).

Then, manuscript off to my editor and I can focus the summer on fiction. Woohoo!

How about you all? How are your projects going? Have any of you tried outlining to find it just doesn't work? Do you outline at all, during any stage of the process?

WIP Wednesday

Well, it's been a while, but I actually have a new WIP! Woohoo! I am, of course, still working on polishing up my NF manuscript for publication (I still need to add a couple new chapters, but the book should *fingers crossed* be completed by the end of the month).

So! I have decided to *gulp* outline my new YA. I don't know what's possessed me (maybe the desire to cut my editing time down to six months LOL) but this time around, I am going all out on the whole outline process.

I've set up a cork board with cards on each of my main characters, their characteristics, motivations, etc. The other side of the cork board has a card for each of my chapters. I have my story arc written (the main conflict, two main turning points, the climax and the resolution) AND I have a basic synopsis written.

I have an idea of how long I'd like the book to be so I will try and break down the events in the book by chapter and get those on the cards.

Now - do I think this will work? Not a clue. It's never worked before, though I've never tried to prepare a book to this extent. Then again, I've never had a clear idea before of exactly how the story will be, from beginning to end. Normally, I have a scene or two in my head and I just sit and write, building on those scenes. And then I generally end up cutting half the book and doing major rewrites and spending months filling plot holes and fixing other glaring problems. I am trying to solve a few of those problems before they start.

This time, I know where I want it to start, what I want to happen in the middle, and how I want it to end up.

This may be because I've been thinking about this story since December. I've never given that kind of thought time to a book before. I may have ideas and jot down notes and think of it now and again, but I really have been seriously stewing on this story for months now.

So, hopefully all this careful preparation won't be for naught once I start the story and the characters take over. I will admit that I am enjoying having a specific checklist of points to hit in the book. That must be the OC list maker in my personality, sighing with giddy delight at my mad organizational skills :D

Well, we'll see how this goes.

On a weird and slightly annoying note - I started writing chapter 1 and it came out in present tense. I don't like present tense as a general rule. Not horribly fond of reading it (though I've had my exceptions, and I have read more of it lately, so perhaps that is feeding into the strange and new direction my writing is taking). I've never written in present tense, so this could be interesting :)

How about you? Do you outline? If so, do you do a basic sketch or really dive in?

And have you ever found yourself changing from your preferred tense into something you've never before attempted...or wanted to attempt?

The Outliners Got Me

(posting change up - in an effort to keep myself mildly sane :D I will be posting on this blog on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and on the new blog on Tuesdays and Thursdays)

Also - HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! to my stepson Matt. May your day be spectacular :)

Well, since I mentioned in my Blog Chain post that a great way for a character, or person, to experience change and grow is to leave their comfort zones, I thought I'd share my recent "leaving the comfort zone" experience.

*ahem* I have decided to outline my next book  :D

I know I always said I hated to outline, that I would never do it, that I liked to just write by the seat of my pants. I still do.

However, I have decided to give outlining a try for a few reasons.

1. NaNoWriMo - I will be starting this book for NaNoWriMo - I am hoping that an outline will keep me on track, remind me where I need to go, and thus help me meet my word goal

2. Revision Problems - I am hoping to head off some revision problems. With both of my past novels, I've ended up cutting about half of the novel and completely rewriting those sections. Mainly because I get off track and write a bunch of stuff, that, while I love it, just doesn't help the plot any and bogs down the pacing. So again, maybe an outline will keep me on track and prevent major cuttage when the time comes

3. A Better Story - This time around, I want the main story fleshed out. I want to know who my characters are, what their motivations are, what they will be doing in the book, what their main conflict is and what they'll need to do to resolve it. I know things will still happen as I write that I don't plan. That's good. I love it when that happens. But I don't want to get halfway into my story and have no idea where to go. Or have to come up with some lame storyline at the last minute. I want to have a good story with an interesting plot with a lot of cool, well thought out stuff happening. I think an outline will help with that.

4. Better Characters - I would like my characters to be more thought out this time. I want a better idea of who they are. I had a bit of a problem with my main character with my last novel. I don't want that to happen this time

And you know, so far it hasn't been so bad :) I've mostly been focusing on research and fleshing out my plot. And I'm getting really excited about this story. I was struggling with my characters' motivations and their main conflict. I had an idea what I wanted it to be, but wasn't positive. Had I just started writing with the general idea that I had, I would have either gotten stuck, frustrated, and given up - or come up with something that wasn't the best idea in the interest of continuing the story.

This time, I have a really good idea of my story from start to finish. And I think I may reach all of my goals, simply by taking the time to really ponder my story and outline where I need to go. We'll see how it goes :)

How about everyone else? Do you guys outline? Ever? Have you tried it and hated it?

How does your writing process work?

Quote of the Day:

It’s like making a movie: All sorts of accidental things will happen after you’ve set up the cameras. So you get lucky. Something will happen at the edge of the set and perhaps you start to go with that; you get some footage of that. You come into it accidentally. You set the story in motion, and as you’re watching this thing begin, all these opportunities will show up. ~Kurt Vonnegut

For my first novel, I wrote in order (with a few exceptions). I started as close to the beginning as I could and worked forward. For my second novel, I just wrote as the scenes took me. I started somewhere in the middle, wrote forward and backward and sideways. If I got stuck, I moved on to another scene. Then I filled in the holes. It worked really well for me.

My mother thought my writing process was both interesting, funny, and totally confusing. I brought her my notebooks on our recent visit so I could show her how the book started out. She was amazed I could write like that. Yet, I know many authors who skip around.

I also know quite a few that outline their books. This isn’t something I’ve ever been able to do. Even when I try, things turn out differently anyways, so there really isn’t a point to it in my mind. For me at least.

However, my new project (brand spanking new, not much more than an idea right now) is one that, due to the nature of it, I will have to outline. And it’s torture for me. I know there will be some additions that won’t be outlined, but for the most part, I simply HAVE to know what will be going in the book. I need to know what each chapter will contain, in detail, or this project is never going to work.

I don’t want to say that this has taken the enjoyment out of it for me, because it hasn’t. This project is sort of a mix between fiction and non-fiction, so the preliminary research and outlining is necessary, interesting, and fun in it’s own way. But it isn’t the type of free “let-the-muse-take-me-where-it-will” kind of writing I usually immerse myself in. Once I start writing, I hope that part will come, but for now, it feels more like work than fun.

While I think this project will suck me in just as much as any other I’ve done, *sigh* I just don’t like the outlining which I actually find sort of funny. In real life, I’m a list type person. I go shopping, I have a list. We go on a trip, I make a list of what we need to do before we go, what needs to be packed, etc. My non-fiction book, I have my Table of Contents in front of me at all times and check off the chapters as they are completed.

But fiction…that is the one area of my life that ISN’T planned out ahead. I have the idea, of course, the basic storyline, characters, plot twists…but I like to fly by the seat of my pants and let things just happen. So it’s weird to try and enforce a structure where there previously hasn’t been one. I’m sort of interested to see how I handle this ;-D

How about everyone else? How do you write? Do you outline? Just let your fingers fly and see what they come up with? If you write different genres, do you handle them differently?