The Frustrations and Triumphs of a Self-Proclaimed “Pantser”

There are two basic types of writers: Plotters and Pantsers.

Pantser is short for “fly by the seat of your pants… er.” It’s someone who sits down to write and lets his or her fingers clack away on the keyboard however they want to.

Plotters, on the other hand, are much more organized. In fact, they’re the very definition of organization. These people compose an outline – complete with bullet points – of how their story will look before they touch their first chapter.

If you’ve read my other blog posts here on Muses and Musings, you’re all too well aware of my (probably annoying) habit of saying stuff like “I didn’t mean to” or “It wasn’t my fault” or “It turned out completely differently than I intended” about my storylines. In which case, it should be clear I’m not a plotter.

Normally, I’m okay with that. But every once in a while, I envy those writers who know exactly what their characters are going to do next.

That longing to be something I’m not definitely happened while writing “Amateurs Play Elsewhere.” After finishing its predecessor, I actually thought I had the plot down pretty pat. Events S and T from “Moves and Countermoves” were going to spark Event U in Rod’s story, which would lead to V, W and then Grand Finale X.

It worked out pretty perfectly too until I wrote up to about W… upon which time, I realized my word count was WAY short of where I needed it to be. That led me to keep in Plot Point X, which I would use as a springboard to Y. Whatever Y turned out to be.

Confused yet?

Believe me, so was I. I’d once again proven that I can’t plot to save my sanity.

On the plus-side, being a pantser means improvisation. It requires testing your limits. It involves solving impromptu puzzles. And I do love me a good puzzle.

So I looked over what I’d already put together and reached for the next, unexpected piece. I’d love to tell you exactly WHAT piece that was, but that’d be spoiling a whole lot of awesomeness.

So you’ll just have to find out on Friday, the 24th.

(Unless, of course, you haven’t read the first two Dirty Politics books. Then you have some catching up to do right here.)