tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7663321286319002443.post2186244007142270655..comments2024-03-28T08:02:30.057-04:00Comments on Word-Whores: Play Misty for MeK.A. Krantzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06674754426001151828noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7663321286319002443.post-27875509937887826682011-03-21T11:20:04.933-04:002011-03-21T11:20:04.933-04:00I really do think it's like being right-handed...I really do think it's like being right-handed or left-handed, or whether you're good at algebra or geometry. Congrats on your perfect outline! ;-)<br /><br />I do worry about when I have a contract and they ask me for an outline or synopsis. Maybe I'll have to cheat and write ahead, *then* do the outline?Jeffe Kennedyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04779020656676094853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7663321286319002443.post-20146041016493749402011-03-21T11:08:03.681-04:002011-03-21T11:08:03.681-04:00I love this! I actually had a professor who used ...I love this! I actually had a professor who used me as an example of how to write a paper by following an outline. I had a hard time not laughing, especially since about half the class knew I had written the paper first.<br />I tried outlining for this book. I wrote a ten-plus-page outline, but I have already strayed far from it (and I am only on Chapter 4). Oops. I guess I am just not meant to write from an outline, especially since I like the new direction of the story much better. :-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7663321286319002443.post-57540786145727952572011-03-21T10:40:06.264-04:002011-03-21T10:40:06.264-04:00Yes - the sense of discovery is important to a mis...Yes - the sense of discovery is important to a mister. It's the same sensation that terrifies a plotter, I suspect!<br /><br />That sounds very similar to my process, Lynn. Love that phrase: "a mind map."Jeffe Kennedyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04779020656676094853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7663321286319002443.post-76772722499758943212011-03-21T09:55:21.549-04:002011-03-21T09:55:21.549-04:00Great post. Love the picture, too. The only type ...Great post. Love the picture, too. The only type of "planning" I do for a novel is a bit of thinking and a rough "mind map." Just random thoughts that come to mind. And then I write until it's all out. Love the twists and turns that present themselves as my characters develop on the pages before me!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7663321286319002443.post-82839177385090834872011-03-21T09:42:53.102-04:002011-03-21T09:42:53.102-04:00Misting is a perfect way to describe my process. I...Misting is a perfect way to describe my process. I sit up on the top of the hill, looking over the fog shrouded town in the valley below, and I'll see a church steeple here, a water tower there, the top of a tall tree across the river. Once I drive down into the fog I find landmarks that tell me where I am and how navigate to that steeple, and then to the water tower. Along the way I discover who- and what- else is wandering around in the fog as well. It's the journey of discovery along the way.<br /><br />Plotting very much lets me know the story too far ahead of time, and I find I'm less inclined to write it then. I already know what's going to happen. There's no sense of discovery.wrytersblockDHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00801963484684535680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7663321286319002443.post-53180790602288124552011-03-21T09:17:02.209-04:002011-03-21T09:17:02.209-04:00Tawna? Heh heh heh
That's exactly how it is f...Tawna? Heh heh heh<br /><br />That's exactly how it is for me, Linda. The revising is all about taking out those non-sustainable paths. It can be annoying, like me taking out an entire POV, but now those are all things I know. KAK's secrets.Jeffe Kennedyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04779020656676094853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7663321286319002443.post-65572101571140916692011-03-21T08:45:30.306-04:002011-03-21T08:45:30.306-04:00Pure pantser here. I like the term "misting,&...Pure pantser here. I like the term "misting," though -- that really describes it well. <br /><br />I was exactly the same way with my research papers in school, too. Backwards. I wrote the final draft, then scribbled a rough draft, after which I wrote the outline. Teachers were always amazed at how closely my final product stuck to my outline. ;)<br /><br />Of course, with my books, I revise like mad once I'm done with the first draft. Not all of my pantsing paths are sustainable. The thing is, if I hadn't gone down them, I would have never found the RIGHT paths. :)Linda G.https://www.blogger.com/profile/04576828490765434497noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7663321286319002443.post-88576568198770863542011-03-21T00:53:58.427-04:002011-03-21T00:53:58.427-04:00I have a keen appreciation for the way you pulled ...I have a keen appreciation for the way you pulled out the lines "it was hard" and "nothing comes."<br /><br />Also, I said "pulled out."<br /><br />TawnaTAWNA FENSKEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11468819219529035563noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7663321286319002443.post-12762952866742468782011-03-20T23:04:14.300-04:002011-03-20T23:04:14.300-04:00We can never forget the fun part, Sue! Without tha...We can never forget the fun part, Sue! Without that, what's the point??Jeffe Kennedyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04779020656676094853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7663321286319002443.post-58474664200306887032011-03-20T22:27:38.879-04:002011-03-20T22:27:38.879-04:00Although I do all sorts of plotting and planning t...Although I do all sorts of plotting and planning these days, a lot of it can go out the window when writing. For me writing will always be part improv with things popping out that I wasn't expecting and every now and then a little magic happening. That's the part that makes it fun!Sue Londonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12820606642097170654noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7663321286319002443.post-66777104665147922982011-03-20T21:39:00.451-04:002011-03-20T21:39:00.451-04:00"Revisions are when you get to move the darts..."Revisions are when you get to move the darts onto the bullseye while no one is looking." <br /><br />I love that, Bill! That is *exactly* how I feel about my revising. ~fiddle with early bit to make it look like I totally planned that chicken in the clown suit that appears at the end~Jeffe Kennedyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04779020656676094853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7663321286319002443.post-10840743854279772912011-03-20T21:31:16.526-04:002011-03-20T21:31:16.526-04:00The thing I dislike about the pantser vs. plotter ...The thing I dislike about the pantser vs. plotter debate is how pantsing is almost always framed as some kind of disorder, something which needs to be cured or overcome.<br /><br />It's not a disorder, a disease, an affliction. It's a process. It works. Not for everyone, but then plotting doesn't work for everyone either. In the end, it doesn't even matter. Does a reader make a decision about a book based on whether or not the author pantsed or plotted? Hardly.<br /><br />Now that I have that off my chest, I'd like to add that I do like the term misting. Makes sense to me. Probably serves as an apt description of my own process, though at times I've outlined as well.<br /><br />And, of course, revisions are crucial. We have to be willing to hack, slash, re-cast, re-create. Besides, as I like to say, revisions are when you get to move the darts onto the bullseye while no one is looking.Bill Cameronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04796321136771189464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7663321286319002443.post-76954771422590672322011-03-20T19:29:42.869-04:002011-03-20T19:29:42.869-04:00Yes, Alayna/Laura, and there has to be time figure...Yes, Alayna/Laura, and there has to be time figured in for the revisions - no matter the drafting process.Jeffe Kennedyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04779020656676094853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7663321286319002443.post-18994145018769536082011-03-20T19:12:01.999-04:002011-03-20T19:12:01.999-04:00"The only time to frown upon a Pantser -- or ..."The only time to frown upon a Pantser -- or any style of writer -- is when they refuse to revise."<br /><br />This. Exactly. I'm a plotter, but a story is not finished until it's printed. There will always be changes.Alayna Williamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09525990026112187575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7663321286319002443.post-25464747398730899742011-03-20T18:50:26.169-04:002011-03-20T18:50:26.169-04:00Interesting, Sullivan. I don't really get stuc...Interesting, Sullivan. I don't really get stuck if I'm misting, but sometimes I go down the wrong path.<br /><br />It's true, KAK - revision is the professional thing to do. And I agree with Kerry, it makes it easier to dismiss those yummy parts that aren't needed if you think of them as special between you and the characters. I expect that plotters plan out all kinds of things that never make it into the final story.Jeffe Kennedyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04779020656676094853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7663321286319002443.post-7577277025138208262011-03-20T17:37:19.793-04:002011-03-20T17:37:19.793-04:00I love that idea, KAK - that those bits (chunks) t...I love that idea, KAK - that those bits (chunks) that need to be shaved out of the manuscript are really shared secrets with the story.Kerry Schaferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03821175497518362926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7663321286319002443.post-63217755374426721062011-03-20T16:32:04.091-04:002011-03-20T16:32:04.091-04:00The only time to frown upon a Pantser -- or any st...The only time to frown upon a Pantser -- or any style of writer -- is when they refuse to revise. I wholly agree there's a sense of wonder when you ride the currents with your characters, but not every experience is meant to be relayed to the audience. They're secrets the characters have shared with the author, a sort of thank you for spending time together.K.A. Krantzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06674754426001151828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7663321286319002443.post-4911625996351319822011-03-20T15:38:39.900-04:002011-03-20T15:38:39.900-04:00I must say I do both.
Some stories I got all line...I must say I do both. <br />Some stories I got all lined up in my head and I write from one event I got plotted to the next until I reach the pre thought out ending.<br /><br />Other stories start with just a vague idea and unfold while I'm writing them. <br /><br />With both kinds of writing I get stuck from time to time.<br /><br />With the plotting I usually get stuck on how to get from one plot point to the next in a natural, unforced way.<br /><br />With pantsing I get stuck on not knowing what will happen next.Sullivan McPighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15133432350331782496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7663321286319002443.post-28714391542042945042011-03-20T15:21:42.862-04:002011-03-20T15:21:42.862-04:00I'm there with you, Kerry. Trying to plan just...I'm there with you, Kerry. Trying to plan just kills everything. They all sit there, staring at me...Jeffe Kennedyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04779020656676094853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7663321286319002443.post-15126402180852697342011-03-20T13:16:40.639-04:002011-03-20T13:16:40.639-04:00Oh, I do love the concept of misting. Interesting ...Oh, I do love the concept of misting. Interesting about your research papers - I used to do the same thing. Get it written, and if an outline was required, create it from the finished product. I think it's possible the reason I'm struggling so much with the current WIP is because I'm trying to plan more. And I keep coming up against that opaque wall of fog. I guess it's time to just start walking through it again, one step at a time, holding onto the shirt tails of my characters.Kerry Schaferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03821175497518362926noreply@blogger.com