Thursday, January 10, 2008
Pantzer or Plotter?
I'm a pantzer. Meaning I write by the seat of my pants, making it up as I go along. This is directly opposed to a plotter. There's pros and cons to both methods and I actually think it would be easier to write a novel as a plotter, but I've spent months and months trying to be one, and it has never worked. The more I plot, the more I analyze. The more I analyze, the more I doubt and rethink and second-guess until I am hopelessly snarled and not even sure what I'm doing any more or if I even want to write. A bloggy friend of mine, Thomas Kingsley Troupe , author of Patrick's Super Socks and other fabulous pieces of fiction that haven't been discovered yet, gave me some advice not too long ago that, for me, cut through all the millions of other pieces of advice floating around out there. He said write the story quick before you get tired of it. I usually get stuck half way through because by that time, I'm so tired of the story, I lose all interest. I'm trying to take his advice though. I don't have much time to write, but I get an hour in the morning before school, and if I'm not too tired (although I usually am) I get 1-1 1/2 hours in the evenings. Ever since Christmas break, I've just been writing and writing. I never know what's going to happen next, so I write to find out. The problem is that I kinda forget stuff I wrote 50 pages ago (actually I forget stuff less than 10 pages ago). That's one time it would help to be a plotter. Sigh. But I'm at a juicy part now. One of the characters just decided to kiss another one. Here I was, writing along with no thought of that, and this guy just decides he likes this girl and he's going to show her...NOW. Without even asking me, the writer. Like he was a real person or something. Oh wait.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Sweet! I actually stop by here once and a while, but I ended up seeing the post about you judging a writing contest a bunch o' times in a row, so I thought you abandoned it.
Anyway, I'm glad my advice is helping a little bit. Look at it this way, I was able to write 2.5 books last year, which is a new record for me! The best part about being a pantzer is the surprises you hit along the way.
And hey...thanks for saying such nice things about my goofy work. We'll have to swap manuscripts down the road so you can see the stuff I REALLY write. Ol' Patrick's Super Socks is sooo unlike my usual writing. Ah well!
Just want you to know that when you publish your book, I will buy lots and lots of copies and tell everyone I know the author! :)
I have always wanted to write a novel. I just don't know what in the world it would be about!
Knowing that you are indeed a REAL writer I am now self-conscious about ending that sentence with "about" and have no idea how to do it otherwise! :)
I think I'm going to be hanging out here a lot. I'm a pantzer too, although i'd never heard that word before. Excellent. I just love it when you get to the point in a ms when the characters take over!
Okay, where have you been the last year of my life? I'm a pantzer trying to be a plotter. It's not working AT ALL and I thought I was doing things all wrong. I feel so much better now.
Post a Comment