What are your thoughts on outlining versus "pantsing"?
Q&A With Shay Each Sunday
A version of this post appeared in October, 2018.
Q: What are your thoughts on outlining versus “pantsing”?
A: I think it totally depends on the type of writer you are and the kind of brain/mind you have. Some writers work better with utter organization and knowing each point of the story before they actually write the scenes. Others (me) have an idea for a story or character and maybe some of the storylines they want to happen along the way, but leave the rest up to inspiration as they write.
I wish I were an outliner sometimes. It seems like it would be easier to know exactly what the story is going to be and how you are going to get there with all the major plot points mapped out along the way. Kind of like driving with a GPS when you have no clue where you’re going (I don’t know how anyone ever ended up where they were supposed to pre-technology). I often use Google maps to drive like .4 miles so the fact that I don’t outline seems totally out of character. I like plans and knowing details about situations before I jump in. I hate being caught off guard, but I guess with fiction it’s not quite like real life (I mean, it is make-believe…), and as long as no one has to read it until I’m ready—I’m never ready—it can be a disaster for a while until I get the story to a place of coherence.
I have tried outlining to an extent, but mine are usually very vague and it feels like I’m forcing it. I never know how the story is going to end when I start. I’m definitely a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants “pantsing” writer (though I promise I try to avoid cliches…like the plague). I can hardly imagine knowing all the scenes to include without actually writing them first. I start with a general idea of what the story will be about and who the narrator will be and then I basically let it unfold as I go. It’s kind of exciting to figure out what the story is as I’m actually writing it, and learning things about my characters that I didn’t know when I first invented them. Of course it leads to A LOT of revising because sometimes things end up in there and I’m like, “Okay, this scene has nothing to do with the story I’m telling, who wrote that? Not me. Does this character even exist in this book?” But once I get going and start figuring out which direction is the right one, and what’s working, I find the process really fun—for the first draft. Then, I begin edits and think I’m the worst writer in the whole world, but that’s normal, right?
As I have become a more experienced writer, I have thought about more plot points that I want involved in the story before writing it rather than simply jumping in. This also might be because I’m not able to dedicate as much time to my writing as I did when I started out so I have more time to think about the book before I get to writing it. Either way, books and stories and everything about them have become a huge part of my everyday life so part of me knows how to plan out a work better before writing it. I’ll never have all the scenes planned though, it’s more “aspects” that are planned. So, basically outline or no outline doesn’t make or break a story because what really matters is the finished product. Readers aren’t going to know whether a book was outlined or not because writers work in all different ways. I agree with most that outlining probably leads to faster finishing, but if it feels constricting to the process then that takes out some of the fun. Plus, you’d still have to put the time and effort into the outline and most likely end up changing some of the story anyway. This is because an outline is not a book and it’s the actual book that will speak to you and tell you what it needs once the scenes are written. I say do whatever works best for your process and always keep revising—then revise some more.
What do you think about outlining versus pantsing?
