EPISODE 6: DISCOVER YOUR PROCESS: PLOTTERS, PANTSERS, AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN

EPISODE 6: DISCOVER YOUR PROCESS: PLOTTERS, PANTSERS, AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN 

In this episode, Pamela Samuels Young walks listeners through every stage of building a writing process, from clarifying your story concept and constructing a Book Bible to building a flexible outline and choosing the right tools to bring it all together.

Welcome To Episode 6.

Ask ten published authors whether they outline their novel and you'll get ten different answers. You have Plotters, those writers who swear by detailed chapter-by-chapter outlines. Other writers are Pantsers. They're called that because they work without an outline and write by the seat of their pants, figuring it out as they go. This episode is about finding out which kind of writer you are. Plotter or Pantser, and giving you the tools to work that way effectively.

When I finally sat down to write my first book, I dove in headfirst without an outline. I had a vague idea of fictionalizing a sexual harassment case where I had served as counsel for a large corporation. I had no idea how the story would end, but I did have a clear idea of my main characters.

Looking back, I was a full-fledged pantser, though at that time, I'd never heard of the term. It took me three years to complete the novel, with a lot of missteps along the way. For one, I ended up deleting scenes I'd spent weeks crafting and writing myself into dead ends I couldn't escape from. I had no success trying to sell that first book, so I started working on a second one. By the time I started my second book, I'd made the switch from Pantser to committed Plotter, and I never looked back.

You'll need to experiment with both approaches as I did to discover what works best for you. 

Here's Your No-Excuses Challenge for Episode 6.

Give some thought to whether you see yourself as a plotter, a pantser, or somewhere in between. Then pick one outlining tool index cards, Scrivener, a Word document, or a simple notebook and jot down at least three scenes that you know need to happen in your book. That's your story beginning to take shape.