Please welcome WU community member and author Carol Newman Cronin to Writer Unboxed today! A bit about Carol:
Carol Newman Cronin is an award-winning author, editor, and Olympian. She is represented by April Eberhardt, and her fourth novel, Ferry to Cooperation Island, will be published in the spring of 2020. Carol also writes and edits shorter content for clients, mostly in the marine industry, and publishes a weekly blog called Where Books Meet Boats.
Learn more about Carol on her website, and by following her on Facebook, BookBub, and Goodreads.
There Are No Wasted Words: Power to the Pantsers
A few mornings ago, I sat down to write the next scene in my WIP. Ferry captain Courtney is taking a few days off to nurse a sprained ankle, and she’s discovered a packet of old letters written by her boyfriend’s mother. Ankle elevated, I was expecting her to steam open another letter in search of a family secret. Instead, cabin fever sends her hobbling down to the harbor, where (eight hundred words later) she helps save a fishing boat from a rocky shore! (Yeah I know, way more exciting than couch-bound letter reading.)
Here’s the catch: I don’t yet know whether that fishing boat is a fantastic new plot point or a completely unrelated distraction, because it appeared out of nowhere.
Welcome to my pantser brain.
With three books out in the world and a fourth publishing in 2020, I know that I write “by the seat of my pants.” (Last week’s surprise was that sprained ankle.) When I begin a new novel, all I have to work with is a cast of characters I’m curious about and a setting where I want to spend more time. Working scene by scene, I follow my imaginary friends into their unknown future, laughing (and occasionally crying) at what we “discover” each morning. It’s almost always fun, and it’s never, ever, dull.
But Scrivener’s statistics for the last project pointed out the inefficiency of such a free-for-all approach: the first draft of 130,000 words took years to write, and it was another twelve months before I could pare that hot mess down to its final, agent-worthy, 94K. 36,000 words, and all those mornings, “wasted” on the way to The End!
So a few months ago, when I started this sequel, I heeded the siren call of outlining. I was determined to reduce—or even eliminate—all those “wasted” words and hours by laying out the story before I wrote a single scene. After all, I’d read plenty of blogs here on WU (and elsewhere) about the advantages of plotting. And my characters were already old friends; how hard could it be to figure out where they were headed next, and write a summarizing sentence instead of an entire scene? So much more efficient! the blog-sirens whispered. How could you possibly write anything without first knowing where you’re going?
How indeed. I toggled over to Scrivener’s corkboard, created a new index card (color-coded by point of view), and started to type.
Fellow pantsers can predict what happened next: “Typing” never bloomed into “writing” because my imaginary friends went silent. Why would they share their innermost thoughts with someone crass enough to reduce pivotal life events down to one measly sentence? It’s complicated! they insisted. To really understand us, you’ll have to live through it all, moment to moment—just like real life.
Just because I already knew what they each liked for breakfast didn’t mean I could predict what would happen by lunchtime, I realized. Plotting out their story before I started writing was as pointless as trying to predict the future for my friends in real life.
Flunking outlining was, I admit, no surprise. Halfway through the previous book’s first draft, inspired by a random post about efficient crafting, I’d filled that virtual corkboard with color-coded notecards. But as soon as I went back to scene-writing, my characters wandered off-script—and many of their most surprising wanderings eventually proved pivotal to the story. Others taught me something about my characters. Courtney’s sprained ankle forced her to sit still long enough to find those letters; that half-mile limp to the harbor proved she’s even tougher than I thought. And so on. Which meant that the only words “wasted” were the ones I typed on all those carefully color-coded index cards.
Scene-writing is the playground where I listen in, like a parent eavesdropping on a child chatting with friends. My characters are free to dart around unpredictably, while I transcribe their moves and make sure they don’t stray outside the fence. Together we’ll eventually figure out what happens next; meanwhile, the only safe prediction is that it will take more words and more mornings than I think it should.
As it turned out, even the words on those index cards weren’t completely wasted. Once I finished that bloated first draft, the chapter summaries I’d written helped me weed out the 36,000 words that weren’t, in hindsight, propelling the story forward. Outlining does work—but for this pantser, it is a complete waste of time until I can see The End.
So tomorrow morning, when the blog-sirens of plotting call out to me again, I’m going to cover my ears and keep slogging away, scene by surprising scene. I encourage all my fellow pantsers to do the same, because listening in on our characters’ innermost thoughts is way more fun than just typing out wasted words.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to figure out who’s on that damned fishing boat.
Plotter or pantser, have you ever tried to incorporate the “other” approach into your own writing? What did you take from the experience? Did it change the way you approach writing? The floor is yours.
Carol, what a refreshing post. I can practically taste the salty air. When I first started writing, I’d write with a very, very rough roadmap. There were interesting distractions and detours. But much of that early writing will stay in the drawer. In the meantime, I started writing for hire (mostly nonfiction), where everything was sold based on an outline, and I’ve enjoyed it tremendously. I’ve also grown as a writer. But I am returning to what Dean Wesley Smith calls “writing in the dark” because it’s more playful and fun. Also, it suits the sprawling stories in my imagination. Also, I believe all writing is good practice, including this little post. Whatever gets the story written, is my motto.
Thanks for your thoughts, Vijaya. Agree that all writing is good practice, though that’s easy to forget when we’re just trying to finish a story!
What a fun post on pantsing, Carol! Love it!
I’m a planner by nature, but your way sounds like more fun. I think, someday, I’ll have to give it a try. You never know, I could be converted… LOL.
Thanks for the great post.
Yours,
Dee
Award-winning author of A Keeper’s Truth
The grass is always greener, Dee. I’m trying to be more of a planner, and you’re trying to be more of a pantser. Fortunately there’s no one right answer!
Hear, hear! You’ve written down exactly how I write, Carol. Many novels in and I still don’t outline. My characters always surprise me with some new revelation–and most of the time it fits into the story at some point, even if at the moment it makes no sense. The subconscious is wise and I’ve learned to trust it.
Besides, pantsers do have more fun. :)
Right on! I’ll try to remember that we’re having more fun than the plotters when I’m just trying to get to the final scene and one of my characters takes me off down a blind alley… but I do love the surprises, and the mysterious way our subconscious speaks through our characters.
Carol: as one pantser to another, thanks for making the case for “our tribe.” My guess is, you knew what would happen, but felt some super ego-inspired need to go through the outliner motions. The truth is, pantsers are romantics. They believe in the guiding power of imagination more than the power of reason. By contrast, outliners are essentially classicists. They prefer order and efficiency over inspiration, and would rather “know” than discover. Being more efficient makes them able to produce more work, but what’s “more” got to do with “better”?
Thanks again. I feel inspired for the day.
Barry, right back atcha on the inspiration front. I’d never thought about the romantic/classic piece of this, but it certainly makes sense. I do love discovery, and you’ve caught my super-ego in the act as only another “tribe” member could do. :)
Carol, My sentiments exactly. Thanks for stating them so engagingly.
Thanks Anne!
Ah, I needed to hear from a fellow pantser this morning. I’ve been frustrated with the slow pace and detours into backstory that crafting my new WIP has required. As you pointed out, pantsing is incredibly inefficient.
I read posts by writers who crank out first drafts in 3 or 4 months. Many of these same writers only need a handful of revisions because they edit as they write and work with outlines. I read about their processes and I keep wondering if I’m doing this wrong.
Even after your reminder that there isn’t a “wrong way” to do this work, I still doubt myself. After all, I don’t yet have a published novel to my name.
But I look at the short stories I’ve published, and each of them was written via a pantser approach. The short stories that still need homes were also crafted by following the whims of the characters. And I love where those wanderings took me.
With that comforting thought in mind, I’ll return to my WIP and see what my characters have in store for me today. I’m not sure where we’re going, but I’m certain it will be an interesting trip. With a few bizarre roadside attractions along the way.
Ruth, we all have these doubts along the way to a finished story. Stick with it and you never know where you’ll end up!
I think the distinction between “plotter” and “pantser” is artificial, because in the end we all do the same things written down in different ways.
What you describe as “pantsing,” Carol, is what I call “outlining.” My outlines wouldn’t fit on carefully coded index cards. They’re 30K-word documents in which I write the whole book scene by scene in messy notes, getting to know my characters as you do. I revise the outline many times, going back to add new ideas that occur to me later or trim scenes that don’t work as expected. After I’ve worked out the issues through trial and error, I write the real first draft.
For me, using proper English that can be understood by others is the time-intensive part of writing, and it would be a waste to spend hours fussing and finessing when I’m still figuring out the shape of the story.
Does that mean I can call myself an outliner then? :) Your approach still sounds much more efficient than my own, because I don’t seem to be able to write scenes in anything other than proper English… and, as you point out, that’s where much of the time is “wasted.” Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Carol, thank you for this article. As a new author — one published novel and a second one in the pipeline — I’m still discovering my plotter / pantser placement. 😊
My first book was definitely pantser. I just sat down to write a story and was surprised by the characters who invented themselves and did things I never planned! The story went off in directions I hadn’t thought of until they happened. Like your experience, however, I ended up pruning the wasted words and scenes until I was convinced the result was what I wanted. Perhaps not as time-efficient as plotting, but maybe more creative.
I decided to take the plotter approach to my second work. I bought Scrivener and enjoyed building the little corkboard with virtual index cards of scenes. At some point, though, I felt the outlining approach was drying up my creativity, so I started writing. I expect my characters once again to take me places I never thought about and to do things that surprise me.
So I guess I’m a hybrid. Start as plotter, finish as pantser. A plotted pant?
Btw, you’re an Olympian? What sport? My husband and I participate in the Senior Games. I think all that running spurs brain function and facilitates creativity. And I can definitely relate to your character’s sprained ankle!
Kay, Love the “plotted pant”, thanks for the laugh! I’m an Olympian in sailing, and agree that physical activity definitely keeps the brain sharp. I do some of my best “plotting” on my daily workouts. Very cool about the Senior Games!
Hallelujah, a sane voice on a blog site. How about including the term Plot-sirens? A light in the distance, color coding and surprise wanderings, how fun. Writing should be fun.
Some times I feel like the wallflower at the dance and have come to describe what I do as an 80k outline with dialog and emotions detailed out. Characters rule, I just tell the story.
Wish there were a Pantser only web site, ‘no plotters allowed’, so us wallflowers might commiserate over our enlightened process.
Let the sub conscious rule, go words, let ‘em flow. Do not waste precious words on acres of Plot points only to find some machiavellian character is scheming to upset.
Thank you.
Please pass this on to; Writers in the storm, Fiction university and This itch of writing [ other wayward blog-sirens with good websites]
Sam, if you find that pantsers-unite site, I will definitely sign up. I too have found few voices in the wilderness on “our side,” which is why I wrote this post. Love the 80K “outline” description… anything to keep us feeling like real writers, right?
The one time I completely plotted and outlined a story, beginning to end, I lost all interest in writing it. I have found that I need to follow the headlights rule where I can see just so far ahead in the dark–but that’s far enough.
I too am an “only as far as the headlights reveal” writer! I can “plot” maybe 2-3 scenes out from where I presently am and that’s about it. But even my half-a** notes about my intentions often get completely disregarded when I let my characters off the leash. Yesterday morning I jotted down a few quick thoughts for a scene, yesterday afternoon/evening I wrote the scene. This morning I compared the notes and what ended up on the page: totally different. I don’t have the patience to write outlines. I’d rather dive into the story and play in the pool with the characters.
I usually forget to look at my notes until much, much later… when I’m surprised how similar the basic outline was, and how differently the details played out. Even high beams are focused too far away some days! Thanks both for the comments. This has been fun!
Hear! Hear! I, too, love following my characters to learn what they will do next. I’ve learned to trust my subconscious/unconscious minds because, over time, they deliver the motivations and character that I haven’t yet noted “out loud.” And that leads to unanticipated action and happy surprise at turns and twists in the story that derives from character and character reactions to what happens.
But I do create a chapter outline, chapter by chapter, as they are written. Very handy to keep continuity in control and in revision. Thanks.
Good for you on the chapter outline. I aspire to that. One day…
Another thank you from yet another pantser! When I started my WIP, I had an idea where my story was heading, but the road was very bendy and full of surprises. Basically I followed my main character around, writing down what he was doing, thinking, feeling. Sometimes I thought I knew what was going to happen in the next scene, but then I realised something else needed to happen first. I think if I had done an outline first I would have lost interest. And yes, my first draft was/still is way too long, so cutting down is a must. But I still think I needed to write all those background scenes – not for the reader, but for myself. How else could I have gotten to know my protagonist so well? – Isn’t that what they say: The first draft is for the writer?
Agree completely. I wrote a blog post a few years ago comparing the writing to carving a sculpture out of a block of stone… but first you have to build that block of words before you can start carving. It sounds like that matches your approach.
Wow, this feels like a pantser gathering, all of us cheering you on for leading the way, for saying what we all know and follow as the key to getting to the page what our brains are eagerly yet eventually creating.
Maybe we should organize a takeover of WU! Pantsers Unite! Whaddya think? :)
Great post, Carol!
And speaking of takeovers, this could be the beginning of a new WU era: the Cronin Renaissance of Ultimate Domination (or, CRUD).
Okay, so maybe the acronym needs some work. But I am thrilled to welcome another Cronin to WU!
Keith, I’m all in. How about you take over the stats and structure, and I’ll take over the seat of the pants fly by night stuff? Should be a match made in CRUD heaven. :)
Thanks for this, Carol! It took me several books to finally accept that I’m an unreformable pantser. Basically, I outline the story by writing it, lol. It’s not a fast process, but I’ve been happy with the results. And it’s refreshing not to have someone telling us we’re this way just because we haven’t tried plotting hard enough. :-)
Yeah. I’m bookmarking this post and all these great comments for the next time I get that plotter guilt trip… :)
I can only create a story SOP, and I love the adventures my characters take me on. In the past, every time I’d attempt an outline the story would flatline!
Elaine, the same happens to me when I try to outline too early. Instead of behaving, my characters thumb their noses at my plan and go off on some wild goose chase…
I really needed this post today. I’ve been resisting my pansting tendencies. For months, I tried to create an outline for a project. I’d start and almost immediately stop. Procrastination set in. I thought maybe it was the project, so I tried to outline a different one. Same result. Your post helps give myself permission to write the way I find most rewarding. And the other comments inspire me to get back to my work and do what I enjoy. Thank you, all!
Allison, so glad this helped as I’ve struggled with the same thing. Somehow we get the message that in order to be “real” writers we have to figure out how to outline. Good luck with your writing.
It’s fun to see all the pantser comments above. I’ve hated outlining since school when I had to outline essays. I’ve pantsed a lot of stories! To some it may seem like wasted time, but everything I write, whether publishable or trashable, teaches me something and I can’t get to where I want to go without going through it. Sometimes I envy plotters. And I certainly think plotting is great for those who hold it dear. The goal is the story, after all, however you get there. But please duck as I fly by the seat of my pants!
Marta, I’ll duck if you will! The grass is always greener…
“The goal is the story, after all, however you get there.”
This.
Thanks for the great post! My favorite part was the image of listening in on a playground conversation.
I’m generally a plotter, but I definitely maintain flexibility within a scene, without which I think the writing loses some of its life. In a way too, I think outlining itself can become a type of pre-draft pantsing. I usually start my outline with a messy stream-of-consciousness freewrite, and later I’ll pluck out the elements that feel the most right.
Jimmy, I guess it’s just a matter of what best frees our brains to follow the story. I recently saw a meme: “Writing a book is like following a path only you can see.” If outlining is the best path, more power to you!
And this is why I love being a pantser! I was reading this post and it was like, “Wow, she’s talking about ME!” I’ve tried outlining and it doesn’t work for me. I tried NaNoWriMo one year and tried to plan out what I wanted to write. My Mojo was all “Nice try, girlfren'”. LOL I just ended up writing different random scenes. I didn’t make it to 50K, and I’ll eventually go back to those scenes and flesh them out, but I felt accomplished because I was writing SOMETHING. All Hail Pantsers! Loved this post.
Thanks “girlfren”!
Yes! I was having fun with my WIP but the ms was wandering around in my usual pantser-style, so I thought I should stop and get organized. So I outlined, pinch-pointed, and structured.
But then I got stuck when it came to actually writing. Motivation gone. That outline felt so restrictive!
Yesterday I went back to “free-writing” as a pantser and am having fun again – and so are the characters! TY for confirming that there are no wasted words if they come with joy.
Anne, that describes my process exactly. So glad to have company on this crazy pantser journey.
If I may add a note about a Pantser rebellion. Does not “Writer Un-Boxed” say it all. What better place to see this thread? Dear managers of WU keep the Pantsing topic alive.
Sam, great point. So glad to be part of this tribe!
Thank you for this. As a new writer I didn’t know pantser was the name for what I do. I write for the sheer joy it brings me. Creating new friends, visiting with old ones and having a blast. For me it’s akin to sitting down to a movie in my mind. Plotting is like the annoying friend who tells me what’s going to happen in the next scene, or even worse, details the whole movie before you go.
I love even more the unexpected characters I meet and unanticipated journeys I end up taking. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Thank you for saying we are actually sane!