Writers are sometimes classified as either plotters or pantsers. Plotters
have every twist and turn planned before they even start writing, while
pantsers start with a germ of an idea and then sit down and write by the seat
of their pants. Then there are the many writers, like me, who fall somewhere in
between.
I start with an outline. I know the beginning and the ending and then pencil
in each chapter. That’s sort of like deciding where to go on vacation and then
choosing the route to take. Maybe we want to get there quickly, so we stick to
the freeways. Or we decide to take the scenic route. Or maybe we want to see
specific places that require us to go out of the way.
The outline is what gets me started, just as a trip itinerary does. But
although the destination rarely changes, the route may.
As a trip planner, I know every stop I intend to make. Then one site
takes less time than we expected so we add something else nearby. Or another
site is so fascinating that we spend extra time there and may cut something
else out. We may even decide to leave the freeway and wander along the scenic
route or vice versa. To be honest, though, that doesn’t happen very often. My
trip planning is more rigid than my writing outline.
As I write, new ideas pop into my mind. They often fit within the
current structure, but that isn’t always the case. I’ve already added two
unplanned chapters to the first draft of my murder mystery because I need them
to round out my main POV character. I have also cut—or rather combined—several chapters
after I realized that my secondary POV character wouldn’t be present for those
events and would have to learn about them second-hand rather than by participating
in them. Sometimes telling is necessary, but it takes less space than showing
does.
If I didn’t start with an outline, I would soon get lost. But if I
stuck to it rigidly, I would miss out on the scenes that pop up along the way.
Flexibility is key.
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