The Writing Gut Compass

I recently pulled back on an idea and didn’t pull the trigger on beginning writing the story. It had nothing to do with perfectionism or self-confidence, my writing gut compass was telling me not to proceed.

Something was off.

Something just didn’t feel right…

I’m glad I listened.

As an ex-Pantser, I’ve found the world of plotting to be a welcome change. Idea execution and and general story processes have improved immensely. I find the story side of my ideas more compelling and full, characters too feel more rounded. But I believe those same improvements still stem from their beginnings in pants-ing.

What my experience as a pantser has taught me is to ‘feel’ a story.

While a story can be ready to go, hit all the beats, nail all the acts, have compelling goals and motivations for each character, I have also felt how the planning of plotting can satisfy the logical brain. It’s fun to plot and plan. It’s satiating because things are justified. But even with all boxes ticked we must be weary.

What pantsing taught me was just as invaluable as what it couldn’t do. Because pantsing allows us to write with intuition and emotion without the scaffold. It may be a slower process, but I think in some ways it’s a deeper one. We rely on curiosity alone to find our story.

That’s not to take away the curiosity in plotting, or the discovery in planning out our ideas. I think they actually pair well.

Writing countless short and long stories off the cuff gave me a strong inner compass. It showed me how to see. Plotting has given the addition of map reading, yet seeing is still just as important. But it’s the push and pull of both that has come to make me a stronger writer.

Why?

Because an idea can come quick, and with some quick planning, can be turned into a fully fledged idea. Without writing the book until getting stuck, or discovering after 80K words that you’ve hit the ditch, the story can be felt to be a good one or not.

Or whether the right character is in the right place.

Which is what stopped me from pulling the trigger recently.

I realised the wrong character was the protagonist, and the much more interesting option had introduced themselves in the planning stages.

It changed everything.

It altered a lot of the panning not just for the novel, but the entire series…

But it’s for the better. And I think it’s a goodie. Because even if no one reads it, I’m sure as shit gonna enjoy writing it!

Who’d a thought?

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