Outlines? Who Needs 'Em?
June 29th, 2015
So you've completed your first book. First off: congrats -- that's a huge accomplishment! Many people want to write but never do, or they do write but never finish; you, however, did the impossible.
Let me ask you something: How did it turn out? Good? Bad? Could've been better? Well, face it, your work can always improve.
Follow-up question: Do you think your choice in outlining or winging the book played a part in its quality?
Pantser or Plotter?
Who are you? Do you enjoy planning everything from beginning to the end, or do you "wing it"? As the names give away, a plotter is someone who writes with structure in mind. A pantser is the opposite: someone who develops the story as they write. Both have their advantages, and a writer does not necessarily write better because they outline or not. It all depends on identifying which method works best for your personality.
Personally, I'm a plotter -- but that wasn't always the case. For me, the choice is clear: to build a quality house, you need a foundation and scaffolding.
If you're a fan of Chuck Wendig, then you may be interested to know that he's a self-proclaimed "reformed pantser".
Much like why I brush my teeth at least twice a day, shower every morning, and drive to the gym to spend an hour lifting, as well as an additional forty minutes running until I've come to terms with my mortality, there's a method to the madness.
Pros of Being a Plotter
*Structure & Coherence: Plotters may suffer from anal retentive tendencies. Simply put: you might be a control freak. But don't have an anxiety attack and piss all over the floor just yet, control freak. This just means you prefer to know what'll happen next. You may dislike surprises in real life, but more than likely, you're just waiting on the perfect moment to plan your reader's surprise. You're sick like that. Moreover, you probably planned your protagonist's funeral before the title of the story. Again, nothing wrong with that (psycho...).
*Pacing: When you know what's going to happen, you then plan when it's going to happen. To set the tracks, you must identify the speed in which events unfurl. As everyone knows, a quality book keeps pacing in mind. You don't want the death of your character to happen two pages after they were introduced for no reason. If you plan the death to happen 200 pages down the line, however, you may find a more satisfying effect. Naturally, plotters have the advantage in this regard.
*Lore: If you write fantasy, then you understand the importance of world-building. A rich background is immersive, and if you've the time to connect characters to one another, to weave their story with towns, villages, hamlets, cities, or certain families, then you're one step ahead of a pantser. This isn't to say pantsers can't piece together a good background story, but it's more believable when first plotted and tested.
Cons of Being a Plotter
*Creativity: The largest downside to being a plotter is that, when writing an outline, it's easy to adhere to the literary norms. In other words, your book stands a great chance of being labeled "cliche," but only if you're not careful. One reason for this may be attributed to the very reason you chose to outline your book in the first place: you desire structure. Brace yourself: I'm about to take you back to your middle school art teacher's pot-head harangues. Creativity isn't about working within your boundaries (man...). The greatest human creations were accidental, as is literary creativity. My best advice for plotters: don't be afraid to work around your structure a bit in order to spice up the story.
Pros of Being a Pantser
*Limitless: Do you just understand the 1984 pop hit by Alphaville's Forever Young on a spiritual level? The song speaks to you. It's likely you fervently hold on to your childhood imagination, and you'll continue to do so well past your first gray hair. Being a pantser allows you to work without a pesky timeline or rigid string of events. Pantsers have wiggle room to adjust their story how they see fit, and if you're an author blessed with foresight, then an outline is near useless.
Cons of Being a Pantser
*Incoherence: I cannot begin to express just how many pantsers I've encountered who vehemently denounce outlining, but absolutely suck at writing a coherent arc. The best part about outlining is clarity. Naturally, if you choose to forgo an outline, you're admitting to yourself (and your readers) that you know what you're doing, that you're perfectly capable of writing a clear, concise story, and you know your destination. So why are there so many indie stories confused about their genre, about their characters' personalities, about their pacing, and their foreshadowing (or lack thereof), and the million other things an outline can provide?
Simple. Because they're inexperienced. They haven't read enough; they haven't written enough. They don't know what works and what doesn't work. And that's really the crux of formula to good writing: experience.
The moral of the story is this: both plotters and pantsers can write fantastic stories. Pantsers are allowed the creative space that plotters may not have, but plotters work within a structure that can help avoid many rookie mistakes. So the best way to go about writing is to start out as a plotter, then transition to being a pantser, right? Not exactly; it all depends on how you write. Hopefully reading this article helped clear up a few points and will aid you with your writing.
For questions, comments, concerns, feel free to contact me and we'll chat. As always, thanks for reading. Happy writing/reading!
-V.C. Remus
Let me ask you something: How did it turn out? Good? Bad? Could've been better? Well, face it, your work can always improve.
Follow-up question: Do you think your choice in outlining or winging the book played a part in its quality?
Pantser or Plotter?
Who are you? Do you enjoy planning everything from beginning to the end, or do you "wing it"? As the names give away, a plotter is someone who writes with structure in mind. A pantser is the opposite: someone who develops the story as they write. Both have their advantages, and a writer does not necessarily write better because they outline or not. It all depends on identifying which method works best for your personality.
Personally, I'm a plotter -- but that wasn't always the case. For me, the choice is clear: to build a quality house, you need a foundation and scaffolding.
If you're a fan of Chuck Wendig, then you may be interested to know that he's a self-proclaimed "reformed pantser".
Much like why I brush my teeth at least twice a day, shower every morning, and drive to the gym to spend an hour lifting, as well as an additional forty minutes running until I've come to terms with my mortality, there's a method to the madness.
Pros of Being a Plotter
*Structure & Coherence: Plotters may suffer from anal retentive tendencies. Simply put: you might be a control freak. But don't have an anxiety attack and piss all over the floor just yet, control freak. This just means you prefer to know what'll happen next. You may dislike surprises in real life, but more than likely, you're just waiting on the perfect moment to plan your reader's surprise. You're sick like that. Moreover, you probably planned your protagonist's funeral before the title of the story. Again, nothing wrong with that (psycho...).
*Pacing: When you know what's going to happen, you then plan when it's going to happen. To set the tracks, you must identify the speed in which events unfurl. As everyone knows, a quality book keeps pacing in mind. You don't want the death of your character to happen two pages after they were introduced for no reason. If you plan the death to happen 200 pages down the line, however, you may find a more satisfying effect. Naturally, plotters have the advantage in this regard.
*Lore: If you write fantasy, then you understand the importance of world-building. A rich background is immersive, and if you've the time to connect characters to one another, to weave their story with towns, villages, hamlets, cities, or certain families, then you're one step ahead of a pantser. This isn't to say pantsers can't piece together a good background story, but it's more believable when first plotted and tested.
Cons of Being a Plotter
*Creativity: The largest downside to being a plotter is that, when writing an outline, it's easy to adhere to the literary norms. In other words, your book stands a great chance of being labeled "cliche," but only if you're not careful. One reason for this may be attributed to the very reason you chose to outline your book in the first place: you desire structure. Brace yourself: I'm about to take you back to your middle school art teacher's pot-head harangues. Creativity isn't about working within your boundaries (man...). The greatest human creations were accidental, as is literary creativity. My best advice for plotters: don't be afraid to work around your structure a bit in order to spice up the story.
Pros of Being a Pantser
*Limitless: Do you just understand the 1984 pop hit by Alphaville's Forever Young on a spiritual level? The song speaks to you. It's likely you fervently hold on to your childhood imagination, and you'll continue to do so well past your first gray hair. Being a pantser allows you to work without a pesky timeline or rigid string of events. Pantsers have wiggle room to adjust their story how they see fit, and if you're an author blessed with foresight, then an outline is near useless.
Cons of Being a Pantser
*Incoherence: I cannot begin to express just how many pantsers I've encountered who vehemently denounce outlining, but absolutely suck at writing a coherent arc. The best part about outlining is clarity. Naturally, if you choose to forgo an outline, you're admitting to yourself (and your readers) that you know what you're doing, that you're perfectly capable of writing a clear, concise story, and you know your destination. So why are there so many indie stories confused about their genre, about their characters' personalities, about their pacing, and their foreshadowing (or lack thereof), and the million other things an outline can provide?
Simple. Because they're inexperienced. They haven't read enough; they haven't written enough. They don't know what works and what doesn't work. And that's really the crux of formula to good writing: experience.
The moral of the story is this: both plotters and pantsers can write fantastic stories. Pantsers are allowed the creative space that plotters may not have, but plotters work within a structure that can help avoid many rookie mistakes. So the best way to go about writing is to start out as a plotter, then transition to being a pantser, right? Not exactly; it all depends on how you write. Hopefully reading this article helped clear up a few points and will aid you with your writing.
For questions, comments, concerns, feel free to contact me and we'll chat. As always, thanks for reading. Happy writing/reading!
-V.C. Remus