PANTSTER OR PLANNER

Today I'd like to share my take on a topic I've seen crop up from time to time on different blogs: pantster or planner?

The definition of pantsing is flying by the seat of your pants, i.e. without a plan, winging it. But, and here I’m sticking my head above the parapet - straight after which I'm flinging myself flat on the ground - and wondering why this phrase is used by writers? (Here writers means novelists, or aspiring novelists.)

What is called pantsing is writing without a formal plan– it’s not writing without any plan. Most pantsters have some notion of where they’re going to start, even if they haven’t planned the entire journey and don’t yet know the destination. They plan as they go, taking up and running with ideas as they arise. 

Writing without a plan is freewriting. And James Joyce’s Ullyses may be written in a stream of consciousness style, giving the impression of spontaneity, but Joyce gave every word he wrote intense consideration.  

Pantsters feel they have the choice to change direction, go where inspiration takes them - at any time.  Doesn’t every writer? Sometimes planning is a way in to the story, and just because you have a written plan, nothing, other than your own reluctance, prevents even the most meticulous of planners with charts, backstories, and detailed scene outlines changing direction. 

My argument is with the terminology. Pantsing implies a closer link to originality and creativity. Planning is a more staid, thoughtful, less inspired word. It is possible there isn’t a great deal of difference - the question is simply one of instant planning, or planning further ahead, and that it's not a choice between the scenic route or the motorway. But somehow I have the feeling that 'informal/instant planner' will never be taken up - it simply doesn’t have that same stylish ring as pantster. 

Writing Update

This week I’ve managed, at last, to put my WIP on the back burner, as it has simply refused to go to sleep, despite efforts to lull it into complaisance by freewriting and working on haikus. 

And with the aim of keeping my writing self as occupied as possible,  I’ve dug out my nano effort from 2012 - genre: soft sci-fi – adventure/romance. Reading a rough draft I wrote over a year ago is a strange experience. It’s like looking at a black and white photo from a long time ago; the memory of the event is fuzzy and details return but slowly. At present, I’m putting chapter one through the pro writing edit mill, with the idea of posting one chapter per month on Wattpad.

Also dusted off, edited, and with a large amount of trepidation, going up on Wattpad later this week are two shorter pieces of writing; one a crime caper short story, and the other a sci-fi flash fiction.

As you see, I’m busy exercising my writing muscle, and the rest of that stuff on the to do list while the WIP rests...well, it'll have to wait!

Today’s haiku 

COUPLE IN THE COFFEE SHOP

they’re tired, jaded,

dulled eyes, mouths turned down, sour smiles –

what murdered their love?

Useful links: 

I posted this the other day, so in case you didn't catch it - it's worth a read. http://theamericanscholar.org/ten-best-sentences/#.UzpmSVfaIkR 

And 40 book promoting sites for the indie author: 
http://bit.ly/12QtGyT 


I'm admitting failure in the 100 Happy Days photo challenge. After the laptop debacle last week, Twitter kept timing out when I uploaded my pics. I couldn’t always come back later to try again, so after almost 40 days of posting happy pics I’ve joined the 70% who drop out. But on the positive side, I did enjoy the challenge.

Join me on Twitter (and check out the happy pics I did post) at: teagankearney@modhaiku

Thanks for visiting my blog, and please do leave a comment.

To all story lovers out there, good reading, and to those of you who write, good writing.

STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS

 

Stream of consciousness is a technique used when a writer wants to illuminate the internal world of a character by showing their thoughts as they pass across the mirror of the mind.

Just as an exercise, write down - even for 10 to 15 seconds - your thoughts as they arise. 

pale grey sky light blue clear in the distance they’re up what colour for the bathroom leaves moving should I wear the blue or the purple what should I give him faint breeze  town or country blog edit poster nothing tired spacing out better look lively ouch traffic grey green lush forest

As you can see, my mind is more like a bubbling pot that splashes hot water all over the stove, and even with punctuation wouldn't have much coherence.  So when a writer uses stream of consciousness they are using it with intent and every word is deliberate and serves a purpose relating to how they are portraying a particular character.

Virginia Woolf in Mrs. Dalloway and James Joyce in Ullysses are two of the most well known exponents who have used stream of consciousness successfully. The advantage is that there is an immediacy (okay, maybe not in my example) to the writing as the reader experiences exactly how a character reacts to circumstances and events.  The disadvantage is that it can be difficult to write and to read. 

There are a certain number of people who never finish Joyce’s book in particular because they find it hard to read. In a famous 1933 US court decision, Ulysses was labelled dirty, blasphemous, and unreadable. Others, including the playwright Samuel Beckett, and poets Ezra Pound and T. S. Elliot, declared it brilliant. This is a long book, and takes time to read – there are even guides and lectures – but I’d put it on a to-be-read list any day for aspiring writers. 

Writing Update

I’ve had a break for about a week and I’m rediscovering the importance of routine. I have the greatest admiration for writers such as  Mrs. Gaskell, a 19^th century rector’s wife, who wrote many of her novels and short stories while sitting at the kitchen table with her children under her feet, as I find it’s taking time to re-establish my writing rhythm.

I remind myself endlessly of the importance of details – not the how many times has she had breakfast today kind of detail – but the 2/3 and even 4 word repeated phrases that ProWrite picks up. And I’m getting faster but it’s painstakingly labour intensive work. However, the task is not without pleasure and the reward is a tighter piece of writing, which is good. 

My activity on Google+ has reduced and I didn't write a post for my blog last week. It felt like I was neglecting a child. Writing posts takes time out of the editing marathon but I do enjoy writing them and I did miss it!  So, I’m working on getting back into the Googlesphere and reciprocating with the many supportive writers I’ve met there.

So thank you for visiting. Your reading this blog is important to me (yeah, I know I sound like one of those voices on the end of the phone) but I mean it!  

Today’s Haiku

single raindrops race

downwards to join with others –

burbling with laughter

Useful Links:

For anyone wishing to investigate self-publishing, the following link gives a straightforward overview of the process.

http://www.writersandartists.co.uk/2013/08/suggested-steps-for-the-self-published-author

For those who have not attempted Joyce’s Ulysses, this post is a good starting point. http://biblioklept.org/2010/06/16/how-to-read-james-joyces-ulysses-and-why-you-should-avoid-how-to-guides-like-this-one/

Reading Recommendations:

http://amzn.to/18SbSaG  Gold Dragon Haiku  - my first attempt at publishing poetry!

Join me on Twitter at: teagankearney@modhaiku

To all story lovers out there, good reading, and to those of you who write, good writing.