Incase we have some who are unfamiliar with the terms pantsing or outlining we’ll define them.
Pantsing = writing by the seat of your pants or in other words, generally done with minimal preplanning.
Outlining = those who preplan before they write.
When I first started my novel I had no idea about these terms. I learned I was an outliner in 2013 during a professional development class. That bit of revelation really brought some things together for me. Sometimes we have a tendency to act in certain ways without ever addressing why we’re that way. That was the case with me.
For as long as I can remember I’ve relied heavily upon note taking. I find that my mind has a tendency to wander easily. Taking notes keeps me engaged with the speaker. I wish I’d known that little trick during High School…
When things are not planned out I have a tendency to get overwhelmed and frustrated more easily. Essentially, a brief outline to me is my plan. I like to address my questions about the story upfront. For example, if character X does this, what does that mean later on for character Y. I aim for a minimum of a few sentences per chapter to get my thoughts organized.
Once, I’ve organized my thoughts I seldom go back to the outline; however, they do need to be organized. I find simply writing without order doesn’t suffice. I need some type of structure. For whatever reason that’s how my brain works.
Once, the road map is laid out I seldom need to reference it. Does that imply I use a combination of pantsing and outlining? Honestly, I’m not sure, but it works for me, and that’s what matters.
I’d like to share a few tips that really help me when organizing my thoughts.
Firstly, I have a minimum of three documents within the folder labeled my WIP (work in progress); however, I prefer 5 or 6 total documents.
1st: A working copy of the manuscript
2nd: A final copy of the manuscript
3rd: Brainstorming
4th: Questions
5th: Outline
6th: Optional, but useful is old writings
1st: The working copy of the manuscript is one I’m not worried about messing up. I write here and edit it once before moving it over to the final copy.
2nd: The final copy is just what the name implies. I move the writings from the previous day over after a first pass edit. This copy will still need work, but it’s been through at least one edit.
3rd: Brainstorming is really where the magic happens for me. As the name implies, this is a place I can make conjectures about the story. It’s almost like my playground. My imagination runs wild here.
4th: Questions are key to my stories progression. This is where I organize my thoughts. These are the “what if” scenarios.
5th: Outlining is where I preplan my route from beginning to the end. It’s like my Rand McNally.
6th: Old Writings are useful for me. Instead of simply deleting whatever I didn’t want, I move it to the old writings document under the proper chapter. I seldom ever go back to this place, but it’s like a safety net for me. If I had direction but lost it by deleting a section, I can always go back and find it here.
If you found this information useful, please consider watching my short video about the same topic: https://youtu.be/Z6EuEE1qwnw