The countdown to The Wayward Spy continues apace. March 2nd. Just TWO weeks to go! To mark the occasion, I bring you this week’s writing topic – TWO ways to plot.
Most fiction writers are either plotters or pantsers. (Whatsers? I’ll explain.) Plotters are writers who create an outline for an entire story before they begin writing. They know what will happen to their characters when and why. Pantsers, on the other hand, do not outline the plot – they dive into writing without much (or any) advanced planning. As the adage goes – they fly by the seat of their pants (hence, the term pantser).
I am a pantser through and through. For both The Wayward Spy and its sequel, I knew exactly how the stories would begin. And I knew how they would end. The middle of the story? That was a mystery. As a former intelligence analyst and a big list person, I ought to be a plotter. It’s how my brain is wired. But the thought of outlining a story is paralyzing. Maybe all those high school term papers scarred me for life…. Anyone remember term papers?
Imagine doing that for an entire novel? I can’t. I’ll concede that 99% of plotters probably don’t create a term paper-like outline, but I can’t even write one-sentence chapter summaries before I’ve written the entire story. Believe me, I’ve tried.
The fascinating thing about writing without an outline is that I think my subconscious secretly outlines without telling me. Several times, I’ve added objects, characters, or events to my stories without knowing why. They seem superfluous. Maybe even irrelevant. Then, 100 pages later, I suddenly realize, “Ohhh…that’s why I included that thing back in chapter 3.” It’s like a part of my brain knew what was going to happen later in the story before I, the author, knew. Does that make any sense? Maybe not. Maybe it sounds a bit crazy, but I know I’m not the only writer this happens to on a regular basis. (Am I?)
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