Planner vs Pantser. These two different types of writers are more than likely familiar to you. A planner is a writer who plans her entire story from start to end—the key plot, the subplots, the characters, the settings, etc—before writing the first word. At the other end of the writing spectrum is the pantser who develops her story as she writes—she flies by the seat of her pants, therefore pantser. I'll admit I started as a true pantser, but after writing myself in a corner on one too many occasions, I
began thinking ahead. I grew into an hybrid. A Plantser. Before I start writing a new novel, I plan my key plot and major characters, then the magic of writing takes over. These characters introduce me to my minor characters and create their own subplots. I know what you're thinking. They are all figments of my imagination, except they are not. As the story progresses, these characters take a mind of their own. After 15,000 words or so, they stop dancing to my tune. They will object if I make them do something that is out of character. Very frustrating!
Regardless of how much planning you did, or didn't do, you will eventually start writing. Most writers will write following some sort of chronological order—first scene first, second scene second...last scene last—while others may decide to write farther or random scenes when creativity strikes them. I did that once. I wrote a scene that was stuck in my head but wouldn't occur until two chapters later. Well, by the time I arrive at that part of the story, my characters had taken a left turn and the pre-written scene no longer fitted the story. From then on, I kept things linear, though I found myself going back and adding in-between scenes.
Now, let's get down to writing a scene. Some write by layers. First, they put the skeleton of the scene down on paper (or computer)—basic dialogues and basic descriptions. Once they finish, they go back, extend the dialogue and added more physical details—"I visited my grandmother." becomes "I visited my grandmother Edna. She's eight-five years old but doesn't look a day older than sixty-five".—They sat in a coffee shop. becomes Seated on plastic yellow chairs at the local coffee shop, they sipped on their latte while catching up. Once they finished writing that second layer, they go back at the beginning again and add a third layer (like what or how the characters feel), and a fourth layer (like what their other senses pick up...a smell, an unusual sound...), until the scene is complete. Some writers extend the layer technique to the story, not just the scene. They write the skeleton of the entire story first. Go back and write the first layer until they reach the end. Go back again and add another layer...They don't waste time trying to pack everything in and everything right at the same time.
Some argue that writing in layers is more efficient than trying to write full sentence packed with all the details on the first attempt. They may have a point, but some writers need the full weight of the previous scenes in order to move to the next one. I'm one of them. I visualize each scene, so everything I see in my mind must be included in my scene before I can write the next one. I need to know the house is red, and not a TBD (To Be Determined) color. It also means I can stay stuck on a single sentence for half an hour if i don't feel I got it right. The advantage of packing everything in one shot is that my first draft will closely resemble my finish product. I will still make some changes as I reread it a second, fourth, and fifth time, but those changes will be minor.
As you can see, there are no magical formulas when it comes to writing. Every writer has her/his unique way of writing. There are no wrong ways, just many different ways. The trick is to find the one that is right for you.
began thinking ahead. I grew into an hybrid. A Plantser. Before I start writing a new novel, I plan my key plot and major characters, then the magic of writing takes over. These characters introduce me to my minor characters and create their own subplots. I know what you're thinking. They are all figments of my imagination, except they are not. As the story progresses, these characters take a mind of their own. After 15,000 words or so, they stop dancing to my tune. They will object if I make them do something that is out of character. Very frustrating!Regardless of how much planning you did, or didn't do, you will eventually start writing. Most writers will write following some sort of chronological order—first scene first, second scene second...last scene last—while others may decide to write farther or random scenes when creativity strikes them. I did that once. I wrote a scene that was stuck in my head but wouldn't occur until two chapters later. Well, by the time I arrive at that part of the story, my characters had taken a left turn and the pre-written scene no longer fitted the story. From then on, I kept things linear, though I found myself going back and adding in-between scenes.
Now, let's get down to writing a scene. Some write by layers. First, they put the skeleton of the scene down on paper (or computer)—basic dialogues and basic descriptions. Once they finish, they go back, extend the dialogue and added more physical details—"I visited my grandmother." becomes "I visited my grandmother Edna. She's eight-five years old but doesn't look a day older than sixty-five".—They sat in a coffee shop. becomes Seated on plastic yellow chairs at the local coffee shop, they sipped on their latte while catching up. Once they finished writing that second layer, they go back at the beginning again and add a third layer (like what or how the characters feel), and a fourth layer (like what their other senses pick up...a smell, an unusual sound...), until the scene is complete. Some writers extend the layer technique to the story, not just the scene. They write the skeleton of the entire story first. Go back and write the first layer until they reach the end. Go back again and add another layer...They don't waste time trying to pack everything in and everything right at the same time.
Some argue that writing in layers is more efficient than trying to write full sentence packed with all the details on the first attempt. They may have a point, but some writers need the full weight of the previous scenes in order to move to the next one. I'm one of them. I visualize each scene, so everything I see in my mind must be included in my scene before I can write the next one. I need to know the house is red, and not a TBD (To Be Determined) color. It also means I can stay stuck on a single sentence for half an hour if i don't feel I got it right. The advantage of packing everything in one shot is that my first draft will closely resemble my finish product. I will still make some changes as I reread it a second, fourth, and fifth time, but those changes will be minor.As you can see, there are no magical formulas when it comes to writing. Every writer has her/his unique way of writing. There are no wrong ways, just many different ways. The trick is to find the one that is right for you.
Happy plotting & writing!
JS
