What happens when a writer starts his career as a pantser, then converts to being a plotter? Is it all happy, sunshine, rainbows, and unicorn farts? Not exactly...
My early works just kind of came to me a few years ago, nearly complete from the start, at least in my head. It helped that it was inspired by another work I decided to spin off of. For my current WIP, Lost in Camelot, this was not the case. It came to me conceptually, but then I had lots of work to do in filling in the plot holes, adapting it to the Arthurian Legend, and crafting my magic system. This last part was a particular challenge.
I completed the original draft of Lost in Camelot with little to no advanced plotting or outlining, despite it only coming to me in bits and pieces. I fully admit I pantsed my way through it. But the magic system I had originally envisioned? Yeah, it no longer existed in that capacity. In pantsing, I also went completely off the rails, making up new rules to the magic system as I went. As my intrepid test readers pointed out, this caused the story to suffer, especially as I was writing for the adult fantasy/urban fantasy market. Thus, I went back to the drawing board and, in so doing, became a plotter.
I analyzed every part of the book I had written, figuring out which parts were still usable, which needed reworking, and which just needed to be set on fire. Thankfully, the bones of the story were good, but the meat needed so much work. I labored like I never had before, outlining the various plot points I wanted to keep and the characters' motivations behind the events of the story. I even wrote myself a bible for my magic system and forced myself to stick to it as I reworked scenes. It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do as an author, but the story is so much better for it. The finished product that now sits on my computer is far superior to where it started, and I can truly say the agonizing over all the changes was worth it in the end.
Of course, this is not to say that being a plotter is superior to being a pantser - to each their own, whatever gets the best results for you. But for me, I now outline heavily before even starting the story itself to avoid having to do such insane rewrites again. (Yes, I realize such rewrites will still likely have to happen for one reason or another, but a man can dream!) I'm quite happy with my conversion to the plotting mindset, and feel it has further awakened me as an author and a writer. If nothing else, it fits with my highly analytical brain and slightly OCD tendencies!
Comments