No More Pantsing
Hi.
My name is Raven. And I am a Pantser. Nice to meet you!
There are a lot of Word docs saved on my computer. Most of them are pages of ideas that never lifted off the ground, others are 30k monsters that have no plot and no consistency whatsoever. This is what happens when you're a pantser. Now, maybe I'm not doing it right. Maybe there are other pantsers out there who have perfected the craft, who know how to write promising first drafts, but me on the other hand...whenever I don't plot or outline, I end up with novels that don't make any sense, novels that can't be fixed no matter how hard I try to sculpt them into greatness.
I have written three monsters that sit unfinished on my computer. They were all great concepts and they were all stories that I ADORED when I first thought of them, but then I realized, after spitting out over 20k that if I don't have any idea of how I'm going to end the story, if I don't know what the character wants or what they're willing to do to get what they want, then I have no plot.
Also, I like to think of first drafts as skeletons.
Though first drafts tend to suck, that doesn't mean that they aren't the foundation for something great. So in order to make a STRONG foundation you have to make sure that every piece is stable, that they'll be able to stand on their own once you write the second draft, the third draft, and however many drafts you need to make your novel the best it could possibly be.
That said...I can't seem to make myself outline. I tried it several times but it just doesn't stick. Every time I sit down to take notes, there's a voice inside my head that's telling me to just WRITE THE DAMN THING. No, really, there is.
And that's when I start writing, writing, writing, until I can't make heads or tails of the plot.
I can't do that with my current wip. I've talked about it a few times on here already, but from the few young adult high fantasy novels (Mistwood & Fire) that I've read, I know that fantasy is all about layers and worldbuilding. So...I kinda have to outline to make sure that my world won't fall through in the next draft. So, here's my question to the people out here who have outlined/plotted: How do you do it? What is your outlining/plotting process like?
I would really like to become one of those writers who goes in with a plan. I'm tired of not being able to finish a wip because I have no idea where it's going.
Thanks for reading! <3
