Andrew Sweet's Blog: Reality Gradient - Posts Tagged "pantser-character-evolve"
Pleasure in the writing
The word pantser is a term that some folks struggle with. It's casually thrown around so much in podcasts about writing that we can sometimes get a little confused about what the word actually means. Though it might mean something different, in writing, it means to "write by the seat of one's pants", or to write without outlining or idea of where the story goes.
The appeal for this as a writer is that we find it fun to follow characters around and experience the world through them. This offers a completely different writing experience than having everything outlined to the nth degree. However, without a nudge here or there, characters rarely do what they're told, including coming to a reasonable place to stop a novel.
Sometimes the characters stubbornly refuse to evolve at all, which may make for an interesting plot-driven experience, but even the plottiest of plot-driven novels becomes disappointing if the character doesn't at least come to some sort of realization, whether it fundamentally alters their core or otherwise.
Models and Citizens began life as a pantser experience. Many an evening in the pub was spent following the over-anxious Harper and her co-pilot, stoic and dependable Ordell, through their harrowing lives. Then, the novel had to be rewritten and substantively changed and squeezed into a story arc with a defined beginning and end.
As such, Models and Citizens is a strong character-driven experience that follows a plot undertow which carries throughout the book. Like one reviewer suggested, if you like "character-driven scifi" and "realistic futuristic worlds", then you will love Models and Citizens as much as I do.
By the end, you come to understand how good people make bad choices, yet you really can't help loving the main characters despite their many, many flaws.
If you're looking for a 'person vs. society', where the person emerges victorious and society is pushed to improve, this isn't the book for you. If you want to root for an underdog and hope against hope that there's some light at the end of three-hundred pages of trying really hard to do the right thing (and sometimes failing miserably), then you absolutely must pick up this book.
The appeal for this as a writer is that we find it fun to follow characters around and experience the world through them. This offers a completely different writing experience than having everything outlined to the nth degree. However, without a nudge here or there, characters rarely do what they're told, including coming to a reasonable place to stop a novel.
Sometimes the characters stubbornly refuse to evolve at all, which may make for an interesting plot-driven experience, but even the plottiest of plot-driven novels becomes disappointing if the character doesn't at least come to some sort of realization, whether it fundamentally alters their core or otherwise.
Models and Citizens began life as a pantser experience. Many an evening in the pub was spent following the over-anxious Harper and her co-pilot, stoic and dependable Ordell, through their harrowing lives. Then, the novel had to be rewritten and substantively changed and squeezed into a story arc with a defined beginning and end.
As such, Models and Citizens is a strong character-driven experience that follows a plot undertow which carries throughout the book. Like one reviewer suggested, if you like "character-driven scifi" and "realistic futuristic worlds", then you will love Models and Citizens as much as I do.
By the end, you come to understand how good people make bad choices, yet you really can't help loving the main characters despite their many, many flaws.
If you're looking for a 'person vs. society', where the person emerges victorious and society is pushed to improve, this isn't the book for you. If you want to root for an underdog and hope against hope that there's some light at the end of three-hundred pages of trying really hard to do the right thing (and sometimes failing miserably), then you absolutely must pick up this book.
Reality Gradient
Keep up with what's happening as I progress toward the publication of my first novel Models and Citizens in the new series Reality Gradient.
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