Pantsing Leftoverture
By Vaughn Roycroft | December 18, 2017 |
It’s the holiday season! And I know what you’re thinking. “So he’s bringing us yet another article about pantsing?” Well, in a way, yes. But one of my fondest Christmas wishes is that—whether you lean to plotting or pantsing—this essay will seem like a present, from me to you.
I recently had an epiphany, you see. And it feels like a gift. Which made me think that this is the perfect time of the year to share it.
Allow me to start at the beginning. The very beginning.
My Pantsing Puppyhood
From the first page of fiction I wrote, I was a pantser (someone who writes by the seat of their pants, sans outline). This was long before I’d heard the term, or knew any different. It was my natural inclination. And looking back, I can see that pantsing was part of what kept me going. Or, more specifically, the surprising revelations that came early via my intuitive storytelling attempts left me wanting more. The surprises didn’t come just in the form of plot. New characters would pop up, as well as new connections between them. Visualizations of settings that expanded my story world came to mind all but fully formed.
It left me astonished. I wondered where it all came from, and still do. Whether you believe the arrival of story epiphany is at all mystical (the muse), or simply the conjuring of the subconscious becoming conscious, the phenomenon is worthy of our astonishment. Regardless of how the revelations came, the hankering I had for more is what kept me forging on to “The End” for the first time.
Pantsing Supplanted
As writers, we all change and grow with experience, of course. And one of the changes I underwent—which I think is fairly common—is that I stopped relying on pantsing alone, and added many elements of what is commonly called plotting, but could perhaps be better described as advanced planning. This came about as a result of hard-won experience. Turns out it saves a TON of work if you have some things worked out in advance. I have experimented with, and adopted, many forms of advance work, including (but not limited to): character profiles and interviews, story-structure breakdowns, and short stories and scenes that explore backstory (that aren’t intended for the manuscript). I’ve even done a complete scene chart. On a spreadsheet! (Once.)
On a micro level, to this day, before each scene, I jot down the goals, motivations, and conflicts for the POV character, as well as a forecast for the crisis or segue that will end the scene. The practice has often helped keep me on course.
All of my prewriting rituals have made me more concise, focused, and aware, which has strengthened my writing. I firmly believe I am a better writer than the pantsing pup I describe above, in no small part due to the advance work I’ve adopted.
And yet… (You knew there was a “but” coming, didn’t you?)
Here’s My But (Or, Return to the Seat of the Pants)
In spite of my usual advance work, I recently found myself a little lost. My WIP is the center section of a story I developed several years ago (book two of an eventual trilogy). There is a completed manuscript of the first third of the story (book one), and I know where the story is going (the crux if not all of the details of book three). And yet, as I galloped toward the resolution, it felt like something wasn’t quite right. Which left me feeling cranky and adrift. After all, this was a manuscript I’d started almost a year ago—one I thought I had already figured out, and would finish by this past autumn. But here I was, in the midst of the holiday bustle, with no end in sight.
Thankfully, I recently made a breakthrough. I stumbled across an old note I’d written while reading one of Don’s essays here on WU regarding layering the forces of antagonism. I wrote, “Personify the Empire sooner.” The military might of the Roman Empire is a looming force of antagonism throughout the trilogy, but it’s sort of a nebulous one in book two. Eventually a Roman general becomes an archenemy to my protagonist, but this general wasn’t scheduled to appear until part three of the story. I wracked my brain for ways to get him involved sooner, but to no avail.
In the meantime, I started rereading what I had, hoping a solution would occur to me in the process. And then it hit me. I came across an unnamed character (known only as “the sister of character X”) who is a source of contention for her brother. The siblings’ conflict isn’t deeply explored, and ends up resolved by her death during a raid on their city.
Thinking about her, my old pantser instincts kicked in. What if, years prior, my Roman general had been stationed in the siblings’ city? What if he and the sister had been an item, and their tryst had been part of the source of contention with the brother? What if, rather than dying, the unnamed sister lives through the raid and is held captive? What if the Roman general, now stationed far away, hears of it? What if part of the general’s motivation to so doggedly pursue my protagonist is that his long-lost love is being held against her will?
Bound By… Me?
Do you know that I actually scolded myself? “Nah,” I told my inner pantser pup. “It’s too complicated. It’d be yet another named character. And to do the idea justice, I’d need to have scenes from her POV. And I already have another love interest for the general.” What troubled me most was that I couldn’t (easily) work through the details as to where she’d be held, how her brother would react to all of this, how it would affect things in book three, and on and on.
But damn it, I was excited. For the first time in a long time. And I wanted to explore it.
It occurred to me how ridiculous it was to want to write something, and to not do it. I told myself I’d just try a scene. I’d give her a name, and imagine what had happened to her during the raid (how she’d be captured rather than killed).
The Gift of Pantsing
You can probably guess what happened. Yep, the sister character sprang to life. She is vibrant. She has spunk. Plus, she seems to make my gruff Roman general more dynamic. Seems like their fling back in Pontea was what made them each feel truly alive, and provided a shared scar. Best of all, my now-named sister gives my Roman general a plausible reason to appear in book two! I’ve since written four scenes from the pair’s POVs, and incorporated them into the manuscript.
I still haven’t worked out the details. I have no idea when, or even whether, she’ll die. I haven’t informed her brother that she’s survived the raid yet, but I’m sure that’ll be messy, too.
I’ve complicated my life, but so be it. I’ve restored my enthusiasm! I’d forgotten how freeing and exhilarating pantsing can be.
And so my gift to you is a simple reminder. Whether you’re a pantser at heart, or an extreme plotter, or something in between (as most of us are), take a look back at what brought you to the page. Remember not just the spark that started your journey, but what fueled your early attempts, filled your heart and kept you going.
I want to remind you that you don’t always have to have it all worked out.
I want to remind you that it’s okay to explore—to wander off of the beaten (pre-planned) path.
I want to remind you that the muse rewards the work, the butt-in-chair effort, not the talking about it or the agonizing over it.
I want to remind you to not be so hard on yourself, that steady effort will yield results.
I want to remind you that it’s okay to enjoy this, that it’s good to be astonished sometimes, and that enjoyment and astonishment will likely make your work stronger.
I want to remind you of all that you’ve already accomplished, and of how far you’ve come.
I want to remind you how lucky we are to live all of these separate lives, in these various worlds; how much fuller our lives are because of our characters, our storytelling, and our community.
I want to remind you to find—or more likely to relocate—the joy in this gig, and to hold it in your heart, and to cherish it, and to find ways to share that joy with those who are dear to you.
That’s my pantsing-inspired gift to you, WU. Wishing you and yours the best of the season.
I’d love to hear from you. It’s great if you want to tell me how you feel about pantsing (or how silly I am for allowing myself to wander down that pantsing path again). But I’d also love to hear about that spark, and that early fuel, and how you reconnect with the joy.
[Image is Snowy Path, by Kylle_Jaxxon on flickr]
Vaughn Roycroft’s (he/him) teacher gave him a copy of The Hobbit in the 6th grade, sparking a lifelong passion for reading and history. After college, life intervened, and Vaughn spent twenty years building a successful business. During those years, he and his wife built a getaway cottage near their favorite shoreline, in a fashion that would make the elves of Rivendell proud. After many milestone achievements, and with the mantra ‘life’s too short,’ they left their hectic lives in the business world, moved to their little cottage, and Vaughn finally returned to writing. Now he spends his days striving to finish his epic fantasy series.
Thanks Vaughn. What a wise gift to recall the fire that started it all. I’ve loved playing What If? a game my sister and I often played as children and writing stories is just that. But so much more. I began because I wanted to understand why people do the things they do, our shared human condition. So thankful to have this writing life. Merry Christmas to you and yours!
That’s not only a great spark for your journey, but what wonderful training for a writer to play “What if?” You should thank your sister for that gift. :-) Merry Christmas, Vijaya!
Vaughn, first, let me share my best wishes to you and Maureen for a joyous holiday season, and thanks for your valuable contributions to the WU community. Secondly, we share a similar view of pantsing. Like you I started out as a pantser, but I found I wasted a lot of time going down unproductive rabbit holes. I now try to work out at least the major plot points of my stories and I mull most of my scenes in my head before writing them. I had a similar experience with my WIP, but in my case it was one of my critique partners who identified the solution. It will mean a lot of rewriting, but it really strengthens the story. Thanks for a timely and thoughtful essay.
Sounds like you’re blessed with at least one very wise and generous critique partner, Chris. Another gift!
Ah, being a part of this wonderful community is truly my pleasure, so it pleases me all the more to be considered a valued part of it. Merry Christmas to you and yours, my friend!
Vaughn – I think one of the most debilitating experiences possible in the writing process is knowing instinctively that the story is somehow going wrong, but not being able to identify how. It derails the whole process and kills the joy of writing. It leads to rote mechanical writing along the wrong trajectory. It causes writer’s block and avoidance, sometimes for lengthy periods. I’m glad your return to pantsing (or opening yourself up to the muse, however you want to label it) freed you, and that you have found the right path again. That is the best holiday present ever. Thanks for sharing that joy!
Hey Jeanne – It was definitely one of those kill-joy experiences for a few weeks there. I definitely needed a game-change. As I say, I’m not completely certain that this one change is a magic wand. There will be other issues, but I think my recent experience made me realize that I’m up to the task, and able to find solutions over time. We all need an attitude adjustment now and again, don’t we?
I couldn’t be more pleased to be sharing my epiphany and the joy, and to have it resonate for my community. Merry Christmas, Jeanne!
Hi Vaughn–this is a marvelous gift, thank you. The process is such a tricky balance between advanced planning (I love that phrase) and letting things happen organically. Certainly I have had some moments this year where I’ve wondered if, in my attempt to make the structure of the story sound, I’ve taken the energy out of it. I think I’m still learning how to let the story evolve itself–or rather, leave room for it to surprise me and take detours. Sometimes it’s necessary to go down a rabbit hole before figuring out if it’s the right path–I have to remember that.
You remind me of something a friend said to me recently. I mentioned a couple of minor characters I’ve been developing and the fact that I’ve been tempted to write things from their POV, even though right now the story stays closely to the two main characters and their separate storylines. And of course she encouraged me to experiment with their POVs anyway, to see what happens–naturally, these two minor characters appear in both storylines already. I haven’t done it yet, but when I get back from holiday travel/family time and back into the routine, I may start right there, with those two characters and see what happens.
Have a wonderful holiday!
What an excellent observation, Alisha – that it’s a balance, and that we *need* the organic part of the process in order to find our way down the proper path.
I absolutely agree with your friend, and I’m so glad that my experience is giving you the nudge to explore these two characters. Please keep me posted. Thanks for your wonderful enhancement of the conversation. Merry Christmas!
“I told myself I’d just try a scene.”
What a practical and magical way to get restarted, whatever the trouble or cause of the trouble. Practical because it shoves all those huge looming doubts into the background, and magical because it gets the pen (or keyboard) moving again, and as we all have experienced, the movement of writing activates the mind in strange and mysterious ways.
The more we can keep ourselves from awfulizing by focusing on “just” one thing, the more we will surprise ourselves by what happens on the page.
Vaughn, thanks for this excellent description of how you arrived at a diagnosis and a cure. It’s a perfect gift. Merry Christmas!
Anna, you’re so right – jumping back in is an inertia-buster. And you’re also spot on that it keeps us from awfulizing (love that!).
I’m absolutely delighted that you found it to be the perfect gift. Thanks for the excellent additions to the conversation. Merry Christmas!
Thank you for your gift Vaughn. Here’s my recent pantsing experience to share. I write a middle-grade mystery series and have been trying to be more selective and focused when I research and plot. Each book is set in a different state…so to finish the series in my lifetime, well let’s say I mustn’t dawdle! Found some difficulty with a continuing character. All I needed to do was relax about a scene I had planned on putting him in…and voila…he popped up in another. The feeling of lightness I experienced watching the words flow out on my screen was AMAZING!
Hi Brenda – You made me lol with “mustn’t dawdle.” I know the feeling.
Isn’t that great about our recurring characters? Sometimes I think we’d have trouble keeping them out of the story if we wanted to! Thanks for sharing your cool experience. Wishing you a wonderful holiday season!
Hi Vaughn,
As you know I just finished with a partial rewrite (first hundred pages or so) prompted by some spectacular feedback from a couple of WU authors. I thought originally that I’d be able to compose a few new scenes, delete a couple of old ones and simply rework the rest of what I had to infuse a new tone. The new scenes, it turned out, made my protagonist leap of the page in a way she never had before, and her level of spunk raised from a 5 to a 9.5. I adored this young woman, but she would not do or not feel what I had her doing/feeling in some of the other scenes. Very inconvenient, but making the necessary changes breathed new life into the story and dramatically ratcheted up the tension. I am now excited to start the query process soon.
Have a wonderful holiday!
Hi Kim, I’m so excited about what’s happened with Madonna. And I’m so excited for you! Congratulations on taking an already wonderful manuscript to another level, Kim. Your hard work is an inspiration to all of us.
Fingers crossed for you, my friend! Merry Christmas to you and the whole family!
“What did you get for Christmas, Don?”
“I, uh…got pants?”
“Slacks, you mean, or a swift kick in the–?”
“No, the gift of pantsing.”
“Dancing?”
“No, ‘pantsing’, meaning working without an outline.”
“Freelancing?”
“No, writing. Without planning.”
“Uh, sure. Happy holidays.”
Don’t bother trying to explain this to family or friends. Better to regard this post as from Secret Santa, something just between us.
Seriously, though, to reference Jeanne: “…one of the most debilitating experiences possible in the writing process is knowing instinctively that the story is somehow going wrong, but not being able to identify how.”
Indeed. What is “wrong” is frequently not a flaw in need of fixing, but an element that has yet to be added. Your example, Vaughn, perfect illustrates how staying open to possibilities can bring the juice that’s missing.
Happy Holidays.
Hey Don – Ah, we’re an odd bunch, we writers, aren’t we? But oh how glad I am to know you and all of these other oddballs who consider a pantsing reminder an actual gift, and to have you all in my life.
I am way past counting the number of times your wisdom has giving me the nudge or provided the fuel, or fanned the creative flame that’s kept me going (or burning, or rolling, or… what have you).
Thanks for everything this past year. Merry Christmas to you and the family.
Vaughn,
I really like your line “the muse rewards the work, the butt-in-chair effort, not the talking about it or the agonizing over it.” I’m a plotter and I’ve been really struggling with a connection between the end of the middle and the beginning of the end of my WIP. Bitching and moaning didn’t do any good. The inspiration came only when I parked my buns on the vinyl and played with alternatives through writing them.
Thanks for the insight. Have a great holiday season!
Hey Fred – The real pisser for me is how I have to relearn this lesson over and over again. I keep trying that bitching and moaning technique, and it never offers an ounce of reward.
Thanks for sharing the POV of the plotter, Fred. Merry Christmas!
I’m stealing an hour to write (guests in the house) so I’m going to just say how much I LOVE THIS POST, Vaughn, along with everyone’s comments, and to wish all of you an awesome Holiday!!
Hey Susan – Wow, I’m honored to have been a part of a cherished writing hour during holiday craziness. Thanks much for always being here for your community, my supportive friend. Merry Christmas!
Happy Holidays, V! Thanks for lighting the candle of inspiration this season.
Back at you, B! You’re a writerly gift. Merry Christmas to you and yours!
You’re right, Vaughn, I suspect most of us are a mix of pants and plots. I’ve written 4 novels, pantsing all the way. But now, in number five, I’m thinking more about story elements. Now I see that “what happens” needs to force the character to make choices, and that what happens is a result of choices made because of character. To do that, I have to explore the choices, right? I guess that’s what you called “planning ahead.”
On another note, I’ve come to trust and even welcome the feeling that something is wrong. It recently stopped the P part of my WIP. Stymied, I let it sit and brew for about three days. During those days, the characters involved expanded and new things happened that now, happily, are working to move the story forward.
Writing is, after all, an art, and I believe that art is emotional in nature, that the sense of what is “right,” an emotion, decides what we put (and leave) on the paper. Art is created by feel, not reason, it seems to me.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Hey Ray – That’s an excellent addition to the conversation. Sometimes it’s best just to let it sit for a few days. Usually the brewing process occurs when I’ve finally managed to set it aside, so that my subconscious can bring things to the fore that I haven’t tried to force. Plus, that’s when our conscious selves can see those unexpected solutions in the proper light.
I’m with you, art is emotional in nature. Creation is much more like feeling than like a rational thought process. Thanks for the excellent additions to the conversation. Merry Christmas, Ray!
Oh, Vaughn…I know EXACTLY what this feels like. :D
Feeling your contagious joy and excitement over here in the middle of the Mitten. It helps me get over the grief that our beautiful snow is already melting and I fear we may have a brown Christmas after all!
This summer I was so excited about working through an idea completely ahead of time with the help of Story Genius. But alas, it lost its sparkle once I knew where it all was going! I’m falling back on mostly pantsing as I start a new novel in January. I fear it is just how I’m wired!
P.S. Please finish writing your magnum opus because every time you talk about it I want to read it more.
Hi Erin – Doesn’t this weather change suck? It’s a muddy, slushy, sloppy mess today. And after such a lovely blanket of clean, quiet white. (And don’t even get me started about having to wipe dog paws.) Fingers crossed we’ll get another shot at a white Christmas.
I know what you mean about the lost sparkle. Alisha points out that we each need to find a balance, and that balance has to have a bit of sparkle, darn it.
Thanks for weighing in, and for another year of Mighty Mitten camaraderie. I really can’t wait to share, and I can’t wait to read yours. Best to you for the new project. Merry Christmas to you and yours, Erin! Here’s to a sparkly new writing year, my friend.
‘Turns out it saves a TON of work if you have some things worked out in advance. ‘ – I was a full blown pantser when I started this. How I wish someone had said that to me at the beginning.
I am now in the process of reworking two novels I messed up, by way of pantsing, but I know as I correct my mistakes the pantser in me will come out and you know what…..that’s okay.
Pantsing is nothing more than the story telling you what it wants. When that happens it is up to us to frame it and make it entertaining. Pantsing was never meant to be a verbatim sort of thing.
So Pants away! Just be sure to reword it so the reader can actually enjoy it.
Cheers!!!!!!
Hi Bryan – First off, laughed out loud on “So Pants away!” Must use that one (with due recognition, of course).
Second, your observation that pantsing is nothing more than the story telling us what it wants is very wise. Here’s to realizing that none of this is meant to be verbatim or rigidly adhered to.
Thanks for the laughter and the wisdom. Cheers, and happiest of holidays!
Vaughn, I LOVE hearing that pep in your voice, that joy of writing. That in itself is a wonderful gift. Thank you.
Hugs
Dee
Author of A Keeper’s Truth
Hey Dee – I’m delighted to have provided a gift, just as you’ve so generously offered us the gift of your enthusiasm, support and inspiration. Merry Christmas to you and your family, Dee!
Vaughn, I’m sort of a mongrel pantser, in that I do often let the pedal-to-the-metal momentum of sentences and scenes drive me forward in a work, but I usually structure a blue-sky outline of sorts as well. So it’s like being a pantser, but knowing your clear waistline and cuff measurements. But those well-fit pants also have a removable panel you can replace with plaid or tie-dye.
I have always admired the “all who wander are not lost” quote.
I like the scheme you depict with the general and the sister—there has been good foraging with the damsel in distress and white knight theme before. Though you might want to make it more contemporary by making her a martial arts expert who saves the general when he’s trying to save her, with the clever use of deadly shurikens. Oh, wrong era…
Have a dandy Christmas, or Festivus, or whatever reason to break out the old brandy.
Hey Tom – Now I’m picturing us both wearing those safari pants with the pant-legs that zip off. It’s not pretty. Though I love the camo pattern on yours.
That Tolkien, he occasionally managed a gem, didn’t he? Wonder what alleys I’d be wandering if I’d never read him.
I dunno, you might be on to something with the sister. She’s not the damsel type. I think she might just be packing… something. The very first sentence she uttered after I named her was, “You little shit.” To her brother. (I shit you not.) I can see her whipping out nunchucks on him.
You too! Everything’s dandy with brandy. Especially this jolly time o’ the year. Thanks for sharing your wisdom, and for making me laugh more times than I can count this year. Merry Christmas, Tom!
Thank you for your gentle reminders and a lovely look into your writing project! Spreadsheets of any kind give me a wild headache, so I am firmly a puppy pantser. In fact, I am the kind of puppy pantser that is still gnashing about and having one accident after another. :( eventually I suppose I will evolve. I do have a couple of short story contest winners under my belt, after all. But it’s a tough road, fortunately made easier with WU!
Hey Ellen, I know how you feel – about the spreadsheets, and about the ongoing accidents. Good for you on the short stories! That’s great. :-) This pantsing pup’s shorts always turn into full-on long pants.
Here’s to sharing the road, and having a community that helps to smooth out the potholes. Merry Christmas!
Pantsing is great – if you’re Stephen King.
Great point! The rest of us get hit on the back swing.
Wonderfully inspired! Thank you for sharing, Vaughn.
Thanks for reading and for letting me know, Marta! Merry Christmas to you and yours.