Myths About "Pantsers"

I don't know much about anything, but I do know that I will never, ever outline a story. Maybe that's because I'm not an idea person...at all. If you forced me to sit down and start writing a story and pick any plot I choose, I'd stare at the blank sheet of paper for hours until you finally gave up and went to bed.

Myth #1: 1. Start with a "seed" Idea

Pantsers do not know the end of the story. They start with a cool image, a character, or an interesting "what if" question. 

I have no ideas and certainly no good ones. With my first three novels, I did have an idea, and look where that led me. For my first book I sparked on the idea of a dysfunctional family, in which one generation couldn't figure out why the previous one was so impossible to live with and understand. So I decided that through "magic" a granddaughter would assume the identity of her grandmother, live her life through Grandma's eyes, then again magically transform into her mother and witness her mother's interactions with Grandma. That's it. That's the plot. 

With my second, I wanted to incorporate music somehow, so I came up with an MC who flees to an out-of-the-way town, changes her name and becomes an all-night disc jockey. She runs because she's attacked by a stranger and fights back, but is convinced that she killed him and is sure the cops won't believe her story. (Yes, kind of far-fetched.)

Third, my idea consisted of a woman who's a respected professional by day and an internet criminal by night. Probably the best of my whole three ideas, if only the execution had been as good.

Looking back, what might have doomed those novels was starting with an idea.

My ideas need to develop organically. That's just me.

Myth #2: They build a story bible.

Without an outline, things can get messy. Pantsers keep a running list of details. This list acts like a story guide. It keeps the story from breaking.  

No lists. I don't even understand the purpose of keeping a list. Am I that scatterbrained? If I'm going to bother with a list, I might as well outline. They're both just busywork (to me). 

So far, what is clear with these myths is that they barely differ from outlining. I understand that humans crave order. If you are the type that craves chaos, maybe you're a psychopath. (I'm not; truly.) I don't crave chaos, but I'm impatient with needless steps. My real life mostly follows a routine--do this now, then I have to do this, and then this. Writing is supposed to be an outlet! A break from the mundane. Maybe offer a surprise or two.  

If I can't keep my characters and plot straight without referring to a list, I have no business even writing. 

Myth #3: The big rewrite 

Pantsers use their first draft to find the story. When it is done, they go back and fix the plot holes, cut bad parts, and reorder scenes. Many pantsers will write a "reverse outline" after they finish the first draft. This helps them see the big picture and edit the story into a neat book. 

No, no, no! Again with the outline? I use the first draft to write the story. Since I don't know what's going to happen next and I draw on the previous scene, there are no plot holes and no reordering. I write chronologically (with a few short bursts of back story when necessary).

 

I would love for fellow pantsers to weigh in. Am I an outlier? Should my writing style be labeled something other than pantser? I do hate the term; I much prefer "discovery writer", which is a more apt description. 

As I dig deeper, looking for relevant articles, all I'm finding are people trying to mold discovery writers into outliners. 

This one is essentially telling us to plan everything in advance. The author wants us to conform to what she feels is the proper way to write. 

This one, too, intimates that pantsers are doing it all wrong (which will, of course, lead to disaster). "Few writers sit down with no prep at all in front of a blank page and begin writing a story." Really? I've done it at least eight times--nine, if you count the novella that Running From Herself sprang from.

Here, the writer asks, "Are you sure you don't want to try plotting your story?" 

What about this one? "How about if you just plan a little?" 

This author is a pantser...but with a plan!" 

It's as if, even for the article writer who claims to be a pantser, there's some kind of taboo associated with pantsing. To me, pantsing, or discovery writing, is akin to one person taking the interstate highway to get to their destination, while another prefers the back roads. Both people are going to get there, but there just might be some awesome sights along those back roads. The need to convince a writer to do it another way is reflective of the nanny state we live in now. You must comply! Why do they care? 

Here's me: No plot, no character profile; no "Point A to Point B, which leads to Point C". I don't know where it's going.  

Things I've written with zero pre-conceived notions that surprised and sometimes delighted me:

1. The MC loses her job when her company is bought out by a big corporation. She's desperate to find work in her small town so she doesn't have to move away from her recently widowed father. As a result of a comedy of errors, she ends up as the supervisor of a resort's carnival rides. Think I could have planned that out? No way. Nor did I plan out her new boss's murder.

2. The MC has a black sheep brother who spends his life conning people out of money, including his mother. Other than that, he's basically harmless. Except when he tries--twice--to burn down a house with the MC inside. Nope; didn't see that coming.

3. The MC is a waitress, again in a small town. Her biggest problem is that her boyfriend inexplicably broke up with her. Until she's forced, as an orphan, to live with her spinster aunt. Aunt Celia turns out to be evil! (Okay, it's not a horror novella, but how did Aunt Celia even show up in the story?)

4. The MC finally realizes her life's dream of buying an old motel to renovate. I just figured I'd showcase all her rookie mistakes, which would eventually lead to something of a plot. But then someone begins sabotaging everything she's worked to create.

None, I repeat, none of these scenarios were planned. I couldn't have planned them if I tried. #3 would have gone: MC is a waitress in a small town. She doesn't know why her boyfriend broke up with her. She spends the entire story trying to figure it out. The end.

My idea (or plot) needs to flow out of whatever comes before it. That's how I do it. Leah is told by her label that she needs to embark on a small club tour--at her own expense. (She's pretty sure they're punishing her for not following their script.) She gets to hire two, count 'em, players to go along. Hmm, what will these two be like? Well, we find out that one of them is big trouble with a capital T. I don't know why, but he is. This leads to a long scene of them being stranded in a snowstorm....and lots of complications follow. I have no clue. This kind of veered away from the main story, yet it led to one momentous decision on Leah's part, again unplanned.  

And that is how pantsing is done.