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Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Getting Pantsed


 


The other night, I was a little stuck on how to move forward with a scene in my WiP. I started writing it because my character told me to, to be honest. But then she didn't tell me where the scene was going. I guess she didn't know either.

Boy, oh boy. Were we in for a surprise.

Something crazy happened that I didn't expect. I LOVE that. I love the freedom that pantsing provides. I was starting to worry that my story was getting a little dull, to be honest. The unexpected twists and turns are so fun and make the story feel natural. Plus, I don't have the foresight to plan out every single step. But I'm still new at this; my writing style might change.

I'm a little worried that I'm going to pants myself into a sticky situation (wow, that sounds so wrong). So let me ask a question to my fellow pantsers: Have you written yourself into a corner before? What are the dangers of pantsing that you've run into?

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7 comments:

  1. Nope, haven't written myself into a corner, yet. Of course, although I can't call myself a plotter, I do always have a destination, so I'm always going in that direction.

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  2. I've totally written myself into a corner before. But not so deep of a corner that I couldn't back myself out.

    The only trouble with pantsing is what happens after the first draft. Sometimes those first revisions can be super messy.

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  3. I did, and I scrapped everything but the mail plot & started over. I was up to 18,000 when I did that. Fresh start and I'm at just over 30,000 and love it. Still not a planner though, maybe a chapter or two, but just basics.

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  4. I have written myself into a corner once or twice, but it's always been fairly easy to just back track a bit and alter a few things. Congrats on your WIP progress!

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  5. I am a pantser when it comes to writing. Which is odd because every other detail of my life has to be planned/plotted/scheduled.

    I think the only trouble a pantser might run into is lack of direction. So long as you know where you're going, I think you'll be okay.

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  6. I love writing myself into corners -- it leads to some of my most entertaining scenes when I have to write myself back out of them. Yup, I'm a dedicated pantser. ;)

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  7. I always begin with a character and moment in time, nothing more, and let the movie play in my mind. It seems like that is how life plays out. There are times when I need to go back and re-write or scrap the beginning, no question. But so many times it takes me to an unexpected twist that surprises even me!

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