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Thought Provoking Questions
Readers ask the most interesting questions. I love it! Recent questions have started me thinking about the way I write, and I wanted to share my responses.
One reader asked how I can juggle several different stories at any given time. No matter what I’m working on, I have to write down new ideas when they come to me so I don’t forget them. Sometimes this distracts me from my current work in progress if the idea is a strong one. There are also times when I need to step back and take a break from a particular story. Working on a different one allows me clear my mind and go back with a fresh perspective.
This practice does have drawbacks, and lately I’ve found myself moving from one story to another without finishing anything. Recognizing what I was doing, I disciplined myself and began focusing on one story at a time, writing down new ideas and forcing myself to set them aside for when it’s that stories turn. I do still allow for listening to the characters who are currently willing to talk to me since I’m not willing to force my writing. The results of doing so are never good.
Another reader asked how I write my books and if I had all kinds of charts and notes for each storyline.
When I was in school and writing papers, I always had to write the whole thing before I could produce an outline. This could be a big problem because of the early deadlines for submitting an outline, but it was good because my papers were always done ahead of time. I have this phobia about deadlines, although I haven’t found one of those funny words for the condition. Deadlines make me sweat, break out in hives, and cramp my creativity. But that’s a whole different topic.
Essentially, my brain is not wired to be able to set out all the details ahead of time. Back in school, I thought it was some weird quirk of mine. I never discussed it with my teachers or found out this was not unique. Depending who you talk to there are four basic kinds of writers, and many combinations of each, no matter what name you assign to them. Here are some common terms for the four: Panster, Planner, Linear and Puzzler.
Pantser – This is just like it sounds. The panster writes by the seat of their pants, spontaneous and without any detailed planning.
Planner – The planner has everything figured out before they begin writing. They know what scenes will be in each chapter and are likely to have all kinds of charts and notes.
Linear – These writers begin with the introduction and write straight through to the conclusion without performing extensive pre-plotting. They determine a basic roadmap then discover the details and revise as they go.
Puzzler – The puzzler doesn’t take a clear path from point A to B, but write scenes out of order then figure out how they fit together, similar to assembling a jig-saw puzzle.
I am a Linear Pantser (hmm…sounds naughty), writing from start to finish with a general plan but letting the story develop spontaneously, often going back to revise one point or another to fit with the way the story goes. More complex storylines require more planning than others, and I adjust to this accordingly.
For those thinking of writing or starting out, my best advice is to go with the style of writing that feels natural and right for you and change things up as necessary. Two of the most important factors in writing is being disciplined and not giving up. Write every day, whether you are planning, researching or wracking up the word count.
Thank you for the thought provoking questions. Please, keep them coming!
Happy Reading!
Nic
I have to ask. Do you ever give up on a story that you are working on? I mean, have you ever lost interest in a story that you were writing and just decided to stop it and move on to another story that does interest you?
So far, its only happened to me once. It was the first romance I ever penned and it never did progress into a whole story. I did learn a lot from the experience though.
There was on book I wanted to burn! I had visions of printing it out, putting it in a metal trash can in the middle of the driveway and lighting it up. Once the it was revised, however, I liked it just fine.
Hey Nic,
I’m a pantser/puzzler. Sometimes I say I’m a scener because I write in scenes and then splice them together later. I know at the moment I have the final scene of one wip all done, but only three scenes before. I also have multiple wip’s going at once. It’s like someone put several movies in the DVD player and they’re jumping from scene to scene and movie to movie, like random play. It makes life interesting that’s for sure. The only planning I do is in my head and it’s usually so little that I wouldn’t call it planning. I guess like all artists writers have different ways of being artistic. Thanks for sharing with us.
Wow, Rachel! I can’t imagine writing like you do, but if it works, its all good. Thanks for stopping by!
Wow Nicole, I’d never heard of the linear writer before. I always thought I was a pantser but now I see I’m also a linear pantser. I write the exact same way you do – I can’t write scenes out of order, I have to do it chronologically and change things as I go if the inconsistencies bug me.
Thanks for the post,
Sami
I’d never heard of linear either! And I too am a linear pantser. I never write out of order and where I know where I’m going, I don’t always know all the turns.
Great post!
I’m also a linear pantser. I jot down ideas if they come to me, but I only have one WIP going at any one time.
I don’t like to switch back and forth on new projects. I’m okay if I have to do edits for a book that is already written, but I like to keep my head into whatever my current project is.
I’ve done pantser, linear pantser, puzzler and thrown in a bit of planner every now and then.
Actually I’ve only written one book that was linear and pantser, but it wasn’t a romance. It was a mystery with romantic elements (h/h were already married). I wrote it in two months and amazingly it required minimal edits. It was also a sequel to a romantic suspense featuring the same characters. I don’t think I could write a mystery except in linear pantser fashion.
I also wrote another book over a period of three years—let’s say I was depressed and frustrated with life in general—it was written out of sequence as scenes came to me. That one, once I thought it was in good order and polished, needed major edits which took about five weeks.
All this being said, before I start I write first person journals for my major characters and I even have a plotting chart I use sometimes based on Voglers’ The Writers’ Journey.
Actually how I approach each book is different. Now that I have time to write in the day time, I tend to write in a more linear fashion, but I never have everything all figured out in advance.
Its interesting how many of us are linear pantsers. That is amazing how you can switch styles, Marie-Nicole. It really is cool to see the similarities and differences in how we all write!