Saturday Chit-Chat (Sept 30)
Are you a seat of the pants type writer, or do you plan and plot your books before starting the writing process?
JEL: I just answered this question for another interview. I’m both. It depends entirely on the book. I think being a switch-hitter is valuable because you have all the tools available and can use them as needed rather than being stuck to one way of doing things. I always have some type of plan or plot for my books (how could I not with my Plotmonkeys around!) but it’s not always sketched out in detail. Dirty Little Secrets and Lies were both plotted out scene by scene. My Blazes Undeniable and The Domino Effect had very little plot before I started writing and no outline at all.
CP: Seat of my pants. I’m a pantser. Except when I start to panic around page 100 and then I outline as far as I can figure out what happens, and write until that point. But I am not devoted to the outline and if it doesn’t work, I trash it and go with what the characters dictate because it’s their story and they know best – unless they aren’t behaving, in which case they write themselves into a corner and I have to call a Plotmonkey to pull them out.
LK: I’m a pantser. I try to pull together some kind of cohesive overview of a story–because my publisher usually needs one long before I’m ready to turn the book in. (Gee, I guess they do have to get those covers done…lol!) But I generally don’t have more than a big overview when I sit down to start a book. Even after working with the Plotmonkeys at one of our sessions, I only have the “big picture.” The little one develops scene-by-scene as I’m writing.
JD: I’m a bit of both. Before I start a book, I do need to have the storyline and plot lined out. The characters need to be defined in my head and on paper. I need to know that I DO have a story, even if it might change during the course of actually writing the book. However, once I’m into the story, the characters and plot usually take on a life of their own that doesn’t always match my outline. That’s when I have to switch into “pantser” mode. I suppose I’m similiar to Leslie in as that I, too, have the overall picture of the story, but the actual scenes develop as I’m writing.
It’s great to hear you all have a little pantser in you. So often, unpublished writers are pushed to plot and map out every detail. For me, that kills my ability (and desire) to want to write said book.
I tried very hard to become a plotter, but I’ve stopped feeling the need to put post it’s on a story board. That’s not who I am as a writer and that’s okay.
Comment by Kristen Painter — September 30, 2006 @ 8:17 am
Good answers!
Comment by Estella — September 30, 2006 @ 2:23 pm
It is great, to know that you all go with the flow to a degree and not plot and map everything you do…..although you have to at times. Great answers, thanks…….:thumbsup2:
Comment by Cryna — September 30, 2006 @ 2:59 pm
Interesting how the story unfolds! Plotting or not!
Just keep giving us good books to read. Thanks. 
Comment by Donna M — September 30, 2006 @ 3:05 pm
I think flying by the seat of your pants is a good thing myself. If you have the whole book mapped out, then you might not want to make any changes while you are in the midst of writing it.
Comment by Kelly — September 30, 2006 @ 4:32 pm