Hi friends and happy Wednesday!
I have been an avid pantser. Meaning, that I don’t plot, don’t plan my story out, don’t do character worksheets or interviews, or anything of the sort. I just have a “what if” scenario or question in my mind and I’d sit at the computer to write—just letting the story unravel and the characters come to life.
However, I should change “don’t’” to “didn’t.” I can’t believe I’m saying this as I was a super staunch advocate for pantsing. I couldn’t fathom planning a book out in any fashion. I feared it would take all the fun out of getting to know the characters and seeing how the story unraveled. But going that approach left me working through multiple drafts as I stumbled my way through the story in the dark—only focusing on what scene was in front of me and not the larger picture.
My first draft was an exploration draft and looked nothing like a novel. I had to go through that draft and figure out where the story was, which meant a second draft just to put it in a full story draft, then a third to revise it, and a fourth to polish it. And, when I say a second, third, or fourth draft—each of those drafts got several rewrites within the draft. For example, I often rewrite chapter one over and over until it feels right. I go by instinct.
On the plus side, it’s fun seeing the story come to life. On the downside, my process means taking a long time to write a book. I write one a year with all these drafts. And, it takes forever to make it a really strong story. So, I’ve been trying a new approach which encompasses a number of different aspects.
First off, thanks to my friend and prayer partner, Becky Wade, I’ve started playing with dictation. I’ve learned that I talk a lot faster than I can type. As a side note, I’m a horrible typist. I even took a typewriting class to get faster and more accurate, but, while I got decent grades in class, I still can’t type for anything. So dictation allows me to speak the story out at the pace my brain is thinking it so I don’t lose track of thoughts and ideas before I can type them out.
Secondly, I’ve learned to fast-draft my novels. I do writing sprints with friends. What are writing sprints? I learned the idea from our very own Jody Hedlund. I get on Zoom with writing friends and we set a timer for fifteen minutes and write as fast as we can. We don’t stop to think, and we never look back over what we’ve written during sprints. At the end of fifteen minutes, we calculate and share our word count. Then we strive during the next fifteen minutes to increase the word count and so on until we’ve met our daily word count goal. I often dictate my sprints. When we wrap up sprinting for the day, we can go back in and edit and rewrite what we have. Then we start again in the morning. It’s amazing how fast the writing goes through this method. Plus, it’s fun getting to spend the morning on Zoom with your friends and cheering one another on.
Thirdly, the biggest change is now I’m no longer a pantser. I haven’t turned into a full plotter, but I lean more that way. I don’t do an outline or plan every scene in the book or do character interviews. But I do write out the events that happen throughout the story in what is called a “step outline.” It’s what screenwriters primarily use. It describes each of the events in a sentence or two for all the events I know and has them in sequential order. It is like a stone footpath where I can step from one to another, all the way down the trail. This is the first time I’ve included this in my process and I’m viewing it as an experiment to see if it helps cut down on drafts and if it helps form a stronger story from the start. I’ll have to let you know how it goes. I’m using it for book two of my Jeopardy Falls series as book one, One Wrong Move, is finished. I just signed off on the last set of galleys. I so can’t wait to share the MacLeod family and their adventures with you.
Writer Question: Have you ever changed or updated your writing process?
Reader Question: What do you find most interesting about a writer’s process or what would you like to know about how different authors work?
As always, thanks for joining me this week! I really appreciate you taking the time to stop by and spend some of your day with me.
Best,
Dani
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I can so relate to this post, Dani. I haven’t been writing long enough to know what works best for me, but with my first book I sat down and just started writing whatever came to mind. Four months later, I had a 120,000 word manuscript that I’ve rewritten and edited more times than I can count. With my second book, I tried sketching out an outline ahead of time, and those darn characters kept taking me in a different direction. I’m now rewriting that one again. LOL
That’s all I’ve written so far, besides my novelette giveaway, which I wrote as it came to me as well. That seems to be my preferred way, but you’re right, it requires lots of rewrites and edits. Time will tell how I change in the future.
Hi Deena,
I feel you. I think our process evolves over time. There’s nothing wrong with lots of drafts if that’s what works for you. I figured I’d just try something new. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes. Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing.
I also started as a pantser, which is still my preferred method. I do make a quick list of the main characters and list their main characteristics: eye color, height, build, and some key things about their personality so I can refer back to it. I put it at the bottom of my manuscript and keep pushing it down as I write, so it’s just below where I am writing. I also use the “step outline” mostly by accident. I throw a list together of the action scenes I want to have happen; not all of them make it in. As you well know, sometimes the characters have different ideas. 😜
I was also diagnosed with arthritis in my hands this year, so it may become necessary to figure out the dication piece if I want to write full-time. I have read Becky’s posts on it, and I think it would help.
As a reader, I love hearing the techniques authors use to make their books come to life. Thanks for the great post, Becky!
So glad you enjoyed the post! Hope you find dictation helpful if you decide to use it at some point :))
Hi Dani 💜 I am super excited about the new book !!! I love how you do your characters in each of your books, it allows me to see all angles of the character. I love a good series too and you my friend are rocking it 💜 thank you for sharing your stories !
I am a fast typist, love dictation and love your looks. A match made in Heaven? Yes, I am volunteering!
Thanks for sharing your new approach! Wishing you much success!
Dani,
I’m not a writer, but I would be a pantser, too. I might have a brief outline, but that would be it. I have a B.S.Ed., M.Ed., & M.A.R.E., all with an emphasis in Speech & Communicative Arts (as they referred to it in the Dark Ages 😂🤣 and my Seminary Degree also had an emphasis in Youth Ministry). I never wrote any of my speeches. My lead professor used to shake her head and say, “I know you wrote that on the way walking from the dorm, but it works for you!” I can’t memorize lines for anything. When my children had to give speeches in school, I wouldn’t let them use notes either. I knew they would get lost looking up and down at them and loose their audience. For some reason, I took Typing I & I I in HS. Those classes have proven to be two of the most important classes of my entire academic career. Typing is a skill I have used almost every day of my life. I have thanked Mrs.Ginger Kilby for teaching me the basics that allowed me to obtain the skill to type 125 wpm.
Dani, please use whatever method works for you to continue to write your superb, dynamic books. They are always worth waiting for!
Hi Dani. I have completed four books and my process has been different for each one. I’m a pantser. The first book I had to keep adding to until I had enough The second included a lot of plot changes and getting away from some of my characters. And the third, surprisingly, flowed smoothly from beginning to end. It’s an ever changing process but a lot of fun.