#plantsers

Hey anon,

This is definitely something I experience, and can feel challenging.

In my own personal instance, I have two types of stories; ones where writing it feels like a necessary step in the process (the thing you seem to want), and the ones where I have the exact experience you describe above. In the second case, I've discovered that I'm a lot happier leaving them in daydreaming mode. It lets me explore all the angles of a story while leaving it fluid.

But since saying "I don't actually write those stories" isn't super helpful to your question, I have some other things you may be interested in trying.

1) experiment with flash fiction

When I write flash fiction (and I genuinely have no idea what others do), I start off with a few words, a vibe I'm going for, and maybe a character or two. The next 700 words or so are things that I write in the moment, they flow out of me until I feel like the story's reached a conclusion. At that point I may go back and edit (or I may not, I do these for fun, so it depends on how I'm feeling). The idea here is that the story doesn't feel done since I've written it, because the story doesn't exist until I've written it.

2) you may be a discovery writer or "plantser"

A "plantser" is someone who plans some parts of their stories, but leaves other parts unexplored until they're in the thick of it. It's the middle ground between a "pantser" which is about just making it up as you go with minimal planning, and a "planner" which is about planning everything about the story beforehand. A discovery writer is someone who falls somewhere on the pantser-plantser end of the range. See what happens if you spend less time developing a story and jump into it sooner, when there are still some gaps to solve. It may make the story feel more dynamic when you write it.

3) try out different types of stories

If you primarily write fanfic, try your hand at original stories. If you generally write original work, see what it's like writing fanfic. I personally find I run into your problem a lot more with fanfic, but not with original work, so it's possible that could be your problem as well (or vice versa). They're similar enough mediums, but are different enough that it might react differently with your thought process.

Writing a Novel? Make Sure You've Got a Story Bible #amwriting #writetip

Originally published 14/07/2019 There’s nothing worse than reading a book or watching your favourite TV show and finding glaring inconsistencies in the story. You know the sort of thing I mean: a character’s middle initial changes inexplicably halfway through the story or the village post office moves from the foot of the hill to the middle of the road opposite the pharmacist. And that’s before…

For me, the most helpful analogy for how I plot and write my stories has always been jazz. Specifically the improv I used to do back when I played trumpet.

See, my first steps before an upcoming improv solo used to be: learn the song's key and time signatures, get a feel for the chord progression, and come up with a few licks to build the solo around.

Likewise, the first steps of my writing process are to do some initial character development, worldbuilding, tentative theming, and plotting. But only the broad strokes — the framework I plan to play around in.

Then comes the performance.

I sit down. Open my plot outline, which consists of the general "beats" I need to hit. Grab my characters. And go.

I start out knowing I want my main character to make it from Point A, to Point B, to Point C, and on, but I only have a general idea of how it will happen. So I just start writing, and I improvise my way through the setting, plot, and characters like I would a solo, moving from beat to beat. I build the world as I go. Develop the characters further as they appear. Adjust the upcoming plot as needed.

The end result? Something a bit messy, but exciting. A ball of ugly mistakes and beautiful moments.

So all in all, exactly what I want out of a first draft.

How about you? What’s a good analogy for your plotting or writing process? Comment or reblog your response below!

@just_my_typ3 on Instagram

For those who don’t know, plotters are people who, when writing, plan out their book before they write it. They’re detail oriented and prefer already knowing what they’re going to write about and how they’re going to go about it.

Pantsers are people who fly by the seat of their pants, so to speak. This means they do little to no planning and prefer to jump right into it when it comes to writing. 

A plantser would be (you guessed it!) a mix of the plotter and the pantser.

Most people tend to be a mix of both but will lean toward one side of the spectrum more than the other. 

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: The Swallowed City

Start with the end so you know where to aim.

D

CHAPTER NINE: At the Edge of Hearing

Don't be afraid to go beyond your outline. Outside those walls, there be monsters, and other worlds to explore.

D

If you have a general idea of where your story is going, write up an artless blow-by blow of those events.

Then pick a part that seems interesting to you right then and write it!

Not only will it be easier to do than pulling fully-formed scenes with witty dialogue and lush descriptions out of thin air, you'll be surprised how much this boosts your word count!

I went from 41k to 47k last night, have a detailed outline for the rest of my story, and wrote some great scenes I had been looking forward to doing since the beginning.

Plotters, You Need to Get Over Yourselves

There’s two (sometimes three) terms for the way in which those who write stories approach the writing process.  You’ve probably seen them referred to as “Plotters” and “Pantsers.”  Plotters plan their story out before they actually start writing anything.  Pantsers fly by the seat of their pants.  Recently a new term has come into play, “Plantsers,” people who start with a basic plan of a loose…