I recently read this interesting piece by Hank Phillippi Ryan: “Wanna Be A Pantser? Writing Without An Outline.” Like it says on the tin, it purports to teach you how to write from the hip. To type without a net. Pick your metaphor.
I’m not entirely persuaded that you can be taught how to write without an outline (it feels vaguely like planning spontaneity to me), but Ryan’s piece is an excellent look into the brain machinations of a “pantser.” And since I am a pantser (a colloquialism I don’t particularly like, but it’s the best word we have), I started thinking about why I’m a pantser.
For me, I’ve realized that I write the story to learn the story. To figure it out. To see if it’s possible at all. Can I make the characters work and will it all gel and does it come together or not?
Fortunately for me, the answer has usually been yes. At least 30 times over the past 20 years. But sometimes the answer is no, and those novels then go into a virtual drawer, never to be seen again, chalked up to a learning experience.
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