Writing: Plotting Vs. Improvising - Which Way Is Better? How I Write Any Story

Finally, I’m busy enough to write a short blog post :)

When it comes to writing, there are generally two distinct camps of thought on how one should go about crafting a story (and a millions sub-camps in between).  They’re usually referred to as the Plotters and the Pantsers.  The Plotters do as their name would suggest, and plot everything out to the last detail before they write a word.  Pantsers, on the other hand, just start writing.

And the debate rages (I suppose.  I’ve never actually gotten into an argument about this) over which of the two is the better method for a writer to use.

And I have the answer:  Both and/or Neither.

Before your knees get all weak over my ability to take a stand on this subject (As bullets bounce of my chest ;) , let me just say that I don’t believe either way is necessarily the right way for anyone to write.  Different people have different styles and, whichever one you are (A Plotter or a Pantser) is the way you should write.

If you think plotting stifles your creativity, then don’t plot, and if you can’t write a word without a plot, then don’t just start writing with no direction.  Whatever you do, pick a style that suits you.  You may just have to try both ways, and some variants thereof, until you figure out where you fall on that spectrum.  And that’s okay.  That’s part of what writing is all about.  Finding the place from which you can best express yourself and expressing yourself from there.

I’m somewhere in the middle, as I believe most people are.  And this is, pretty much how I write any story, long or short.  It’s a simple formula that I’ll somehow make complicated ;)

1.  I come up with a theme or message.  Some interesting question.  What I want to say with my writing (or that particular piece).

2.  Then I’ll come up with a thin idea.  Some sort of story that could wrap around my theme, and showcase it while being slightly more interesting than a simple dissertation on the matter.

3.  Then I’ll start writing the beginning.  This usually results in a few paragraphs, or pages of writing.  Most of it is useless, because I just start writing and I don’t worry about whether the beginning is any good or not.

4.  Next, I take the writing I have and remove everything up to the point where my thoughts actually start making sense and I feel like the story begins.

5.  I write plot points after that, and list them, in order, on the page (or in the word document on my computer).

6.  Then, I write the rest of my story, while looking to the plot points for guidance (As I address each one, I delete it.  When I get to the next one, I know what I’m going to write next, because it’s right there to remind me).

7.  At some point in the process (since I’ve familiarized myself with my characters to a certain degree and know what my story is about), the story, and/or the characters in it, have me writing scenes that I didn’t anticipate.  I usually go with this and just write them.  If they’re completely off, I get rid of them.  If they’re better than what I’d originally planned (which is generally the case, because my subconscious mind knows better than my conscious mind how to get my story across), I work with that.  This generally takes me right off the course of all the plot points that follow, although I usually find that the major turning points remain the same.

8.  Next, if I feel like it, or the piece I’m writing is long enough, I rewrite the plot points that follow the particular scene where things started changing direction.

9.  Then I do the same thing:  Writing, refining, changing direction if necessary, plotting, and over and over until I reach the end.

It’s a pretty simple process, and it allows for a lot of freedom, while also keeping me on point and never putting me in a position where I have to worry that I’ll forget about where I intended the story to go, because the plot points are always right there on the page.

As with anything else, you probably have your own way of doing things, and my way certainly isn’t the only way.  There are probably as many different “correct” ways to write a story out there as there are writers.

Hopefully, this little insight, into one more ways to go about cranking out some prose, has been helpful to you.

As, always, I wish you the best in your writing and in life.

Peace,

, Mike (This post may contain lots of typos ;)