Tetris vs. Jigsaw Puzzle

My writing “process” has so differed from project to project, I can’t even relate to the die-hard pantser/plotter discussions anymore. And really—when it comes down to it, a pantser is simply someone who plots in detailed prose, and a plotter is simply someone whose pantsing happens in a streamlined outline.

The writing process for Breath of Stone is, again, very different. Tearing apart two novels, ripping out an entire plotline and set of characters, cramming everything that’s left back toge...