Pantsing a novel, for me at least, is exciting. I get to discover the story as I write. Often, when I start pantsing, I have a lot of momentum. The story flows from my fingertips. However, it doesn’t always stay that way.
Pantsers can face many problems. We may get off track with our stories, feel lost, or write ourselves into a corner. But since I’ve been pantsing for years, I’ve come up with a few strategies to help me get back on track when I encounter problems like these.
This article will explain what it means to be a pantser, the difference between pantsers and plotters, and strategies pantsers can use while writing their novels.
What Is Pantsing in Writing
“Pantsing a novel” refers to the idiom “flying by the seat of your pants.” It means writing without a plan.
Pantsers don’t outline their books much before they write them. They write by instinct, discovering the story as they write it. In fact, Brandon Sanderson often refers to these writers as “discovery writers.”
Pantser vs. Plotter
Writers generally fall into 2 categories: pantsers and plotters. While pantsers figure things out as they go and do more revision work after writing the book, plotters plan and do more prep work before they start writing their books.
But really, it’s more of a spectrum. Some writers are full-blown pantsers, and others are full-blown plotters, but many (perhaps even most) fall somewhere in the middle.
Those who fall in the middle are sometimes called “plantsers,” meaning they use a combination of planning and writing by the seat of their pants.
I consider myself a pantser, but I do plan and brainstorm a bit before I start writing. Check out this post to learn how I create my characters before I start writing.
Tools and Strategies for Pantsing a Novel
When you’re pantsing a novel, you may encounter obstacles, including writer’s block, lack of narrative structure or cohesion, plot holes, inconsistencies, etc. But there are ways to address these issues while writing your story.
Here are some tools and strategies on how to plot a book as a pantser.
Write With the Save the Cat Beats in Mind
When I wrote my first book, I knew little about narrative structure. Because of that, the novel lacked some key elements of storytelling.
Now, I’ve learned a lot more. If you’ve read some of my other blog posts, you’ve probably heard me talk about Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody. This book changed how I write. It truly improved my stories exponentially. If you haven’t read it, check it out or take a look at the series of articles I wrote breaking down the story beats.
Essentially, Save the Cat details 15 story beats (aka plot points) that make up the structure of most popular novels (and movies).
Having studied Save the Cat, I now write with this structure in mind and check in with it whenever I feel lost or don’t know where the story should go.
For example, in my current WIP, I knew when I started approaching 40k that the midpoint was coming soon. I used that knowledge to build the tension leading up to the midpoint.
As a pantser, Save the Cat always comes in clutch, giving my story structure and helping me maintain narrative cohesion while I write the first draft.
Outline as You Go
While I don’t create a detailed outline before I start writing a book, I do outline and plan as I go. I usually have an idea of the next few scenes or chapters. These ideas typically come to me as I write, but sometimes I stop to brainstorm about them.
I also use what I call the major beats of Save the Cat to outline as I go. These are the major beats:
- Catalyst
- Break into 2
- Midpoint
- All is lost
- Break into 3
When I start a story, I often know what will happen during one or two of these beats, and as I write, ideas for the rest of them come too.
Outlining as I go is useful for me as a pantser because it gives me the feeling of discovering the story as I write it while also giving me direction for the current scenes I’m working on.
“Yes, But/No, And”
“Yes, But/No, And” is the (somewhat confusing) name of a fantastic writing tactic. This tactic leverages cause and effect and try/fail cycles to make a story feel connected and engaging.
Essentially, while writing, you take your character’s current goal and ask yourself if the character will succeed. The answer is either “Yes, they succeed, but there’s a consequence or setback,” or “No, they don’t succeed, and there’s a consequence or setback.”
If you want to know more about this method, check out this blog post.
Whenever the conflict in my story is falling flat or I don’t know where to take the story, I use this tactic to help me create a compelling plot.
Free Writing
Several years ago, one of my creative writing professors introduced me to free writing, and I’m so grateful they did. It’s another tactic I use when I feel stuck.
Free writing is a method where you write without stopping for a set amount of time. Doing this helps me get the ideas flowing, and I often devise a solution to whatever problem I face.
These days, I don’t usually set a specific amount of time. Still, I recommend doing that if you’ve never tried free writing.
While free writing is often used in the early brainstorming phases, it’s also an excellent technique for pantsing a novel.
Conclusion
Those are my tips on pantsing a novel. Fellow pantsers, leave any other tips you have in the comments. If you want to see more blog posts like this, don’t forget to subscribe!
