Is it that time again, already? Really?? Wow. August, huh?
Well, time flies no matter if you are having fun or bored out of your mind.
Here we go then!
It is the first Wednesday of the month and it is that time! Yes, you know it, Alex J. Cavanaugh's IWSG or Insecure Writer's Support Group.
My how this group has grown. Lots of insecure writers out there, I suppose.
I don't know if I will be helpful or whiny this time around. But I am going to discuss my new found love of Outlining.
Yes, this once upon a time Pantser has dipped her toe into the pools of the Outlining world. And it wasn't half bad.
Revisions on my second book are moving along quite nicely. But I found I have soooo much information to keep track of that I was getting confused near the beginning of the book.
Things like: 'Did I already mention this?' to 'Ohfortheloveofallthatisholy I can't believe I FORGOT to put that in!!!!'
Yeah. You get the idea. Absolutely. I'd be driving along on my paper route and either inspiration would hit or I'd be driving past a customer's house because I was thinking about if I mentioned certain key elements or not. That made the route last longer, having to turn around and all that.
Sheesh.
So I did a quick outline and have all sorts of things scribbled over it as far as notes go. What I want to see in each chapter. Well, that didn't get put in the right chapter, we'll move it here... Things like that.
I can't believe how much easier it is to write from this! I mean, until I got sick last week, I was chuggin' right along. I'm a third of the way through the revisions. You can keep an eye on them with my little word count gadget up there for 'Veritas'.
So which do you prefer? Pantsing or Outlining? Have you ever tried either one if you are dedicated to the other? Share your experiences! Have a great rest of the week, my support buddies!
16 comments:
If I'm stuck on a new WIP I'll try anything, pantsing or outlining, or maybe even both. A writer's gotta do what a writer's gotta do. Eh?
Happy IWSG, Mel. Have a great day!
I hear ya, Joylene! Happy IWSG to you as well!
You're a convert!
SHHHhhhh!!!! Don't make me wash your mouth out with soap. XD
I do a little of both. I start off with an outline, but the panster side takes over!
Loose outlining based on a blurb/story sentence with at least 5 major points detailed, and then the parts in between get the pantster treatment.
Wow, great post. I feel your pain. I thought my current WIP was actually finished a few months ago, but it turns out I was seriously delusional. Putting it aside for a few months made about a hundred glaring mistakes jump up at me, and my sticky notes everywhere were making me dizzy.
So, I got myself index cards, a corkboard, and some pins...
A day I never thought I'd see.
Good luck with your revisions, and let us know if you're a full convert!
Wow, more outliners than I thought. I think I am becoming a full convert, Jeannette. I have all those index cards and everything as well. I just don't have a place to put them other than the floor. Then put them in a stack in order. That doesn't always help, especially when the cats flop down on them! XD
Planning works better for me.
I don't strictly outline, but I kinda outline. My mind does tend to wander a lot so maybe outlining would help me too.
Lee
Wrote By Rote
I think I do both. I generally outline first, but I do a lot of pantsing along the way as my draft looks kinda but not really like my original outline.
I guess I'm an outliner, but also use note cards, webbing/web-tree among other things. I'm not sure what Panster means, unless that is something Mel and I talked about the other day AKA writing by the seat of your pants?
I've always outlined. For my YA series, I even had a detailed timeline showing what all the main characters were doing during the eight-year time frame of the stories.
Mel, thank you for offering to mention my book. It's listed in detail on my blog or I can send you the information.
@ Arlee ~ Absolutely! I tend to get sidetracked, so this has helped me to remain focused on the story.
@ Stephen ~ You know, half of what I write is pantsing. But I don't think I'll be able to get away from that, fully. :D
@ Lynn ~ Yep, you got it chica!
@ L. Diane ~ You are most welcome! I will drop by and pick up the info!
I do both. I generally meet my characters, write a few pages of rough draft, get my storyline put together, then create an outline so I can fill in any gaps!
Hi from the ISWG! I'm Talynn!
Very nice to meet you, Talynn! And yeah, that sounds about how I am going about things lately. Seems to be helping a lot.
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