Pantser Type Authors Help!

BucksTS

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there was 2 type of writing style one is planner other one is pantser.
I think i am pantser and how should i approach in writing
Should i just keep writing while trusting my instincts?
I tried to outline what's gonna happen in my story , plot , general events
When i tried to write it. I unconsciously add some events and talk conversation to it and suddenly my story's destination or whatever called is changed to other direction.
And i tried to World Building first but it was hard for me to create world and system because i thought i might go to random direction while i am typing.
So is there any good tip. I was just trying to create some LN like things while in quarantine.
https://www.scribblehub.com/series/101914 this is my story can you review it and tell me does this story have any problem or is it okay?
Any tips help!
 

Daoist_Aileus

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Well while I've never heard the term before I believe I'm a Pantser type of writer.

I've always trusted my instincts when writing (because I find planning too boring and quite honestly I never follow them anyway because I always think of something more interesting while writing that I incorporate while keeping to the pain plot.) The only advise I can give you is that you should make a notepad file for the direction of the plot you want to follow, any small details you've included while writing so you don't forget them and reference back to them when you need to, writing from instinct can make you forget a majority of what you've written sometimes so definitely be careful and don't let your mind go off the deep end on some Alice in Wonderland down the rabbit hole story telling (something I'm guilty of haha)

End of the day all you can do is trust yourself, I'll have a look at your novel when I wake up more, it's 7:30am, good luck writing!
 

Nanakawaichan

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I would say I'm both.
When the first time I created my story I'm planner type.
But when I create my second story I'm pantser type.

I would say it depends on which one you like the most. If you didn't enjoy it, it only matters of time you will drop your story halfway.

I just noticed, you said you are in quarantine. It's because the virus?
 
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Nerodith

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I don't think being a full pantser is a good idea. You won't have enough hindsight on your story, so it'll be only a matter of time before you start having plot holes. Another problem with being a pantser is that you tend to forget your plots. You have so many ideas you want to include at once that you will inevitably forget some of them as you progress in your story.

Ideally, we should all be plotters. But let's be honest, unless you're writing a short story or you've been working on your story for years, it's not possible.

It's totally fine to be semi-plotter semi-pantser. It's probably the case for most of us. I've noticed we all tend to have a general outline to follow, but nothing too precise, leaving room for new ideas. But once again, if you want to avoid plot holes, keep trak of everything you include so as not to forget anything.

Personally, I write on Scrivener, so it helps a lot to organize my story. I have full character sheets, basic plans, plots, side stories, places, species etc. It's quite time consuming at first, but the more your story progress and the more helpful it is. Once you have enough infos, you can ask yourself, does it make sense for this A to do this? And how does this affect B? Why would C allow that? Etc. It can even gives you entire arc ideas.
 

CupcakeNinja

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there was 2 type of writing style one is planner other one is pantser.
I think i am pantser and how should i approach in writing
Should i just keep writing while trusting my instincts?
I tried to outline what's gonna happen in my story , plot , general events
When i tried to write it. I unconsciously add some events and talk conversation to it and suddenly my story's destination or whatever called is changed to other direction.
And i tried to World Building first but it was hard for me to create world and system because i thought i might go to random direction while i am typing.
So is there any good tip. I was just trying to create some LN like things while in quarantine.
https://www.scribblehub.com/series/101914 this is my story can you review it and tell me does this story have any problem or is it okay?
Any tips help!
There's three, actually. Its called the Stoner type author, of which i am one. I get high as balls and then start writing. We trust in nothing but our weed-induced ideas.
 

SaddyStorm

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There's three, actually. Its called the Stoner type author, of which i am one. I get high as balls and then start writing. We trust in nothing but our weed-induced ideas.
So is that how you wrote this now too?🤔
Also semi-panser sounds like a good idea and writing down ideas as you go an even better one . Although the weed thing, other than for therapy and recreational use seems like a bad idea ,just saying 😅.
 
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for me, i'll just make a world where anything could work and mc that could bend reality itself. that way, i could just get away without making any sense.
 

FlutterOfCrows

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More Alice in wonderland kind of writer. make it so esoteric, people will find their logic in it. :blob_evil_two::blob_evil:
 

CupcakeNinja

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So is that how you wrote this now too?🤔
Also semi-panser sounds like a good idea and writing down ideas as you go an even better one . Although the weed thing, other than for therapy and recreational use seems like a bad idea ,just saying 😅.
Nah fam i ran out. But it gets the creative juices flowing, trust me
 

AliceShiki

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there was 2 type of writing style one is planner other one is pantser.
I think i am pantser and how should i approach in writing
Should i just keep writing while trusting my instincts?
I tried to outline what's gonna happen in my story , plot , general events
When i tried to write it. I unconsciously add some events and talk conversation to it and suddenly my story's destination or whatever called is changed to other direction.
And i tried to World Building first but it was hard for me to create world and system because i thought i might go to random direction while i am typing.
So is there any good tip. I was just trying to create some LN like things while in quarantine.
https://www.scribblehub.com/series/101914 this is my story can you review it and tell me does this story have any problem or is it okay?
Any tips help!
You don't need to plan too much before you start your novel, but you should have a very basic planning... Mainly...

Main Character.
Main Love Interest. (If applicable)
Main Antagonist. (If applicable)
What will happen in the beginning of the story.
How will the story end.

Last one is the most important part. You need to know how your story ends before you start. It can be a vague definition, but you need to have an end planned to know where you want your story to go.

Also, something you need to keep in mind is that everything can be changed. The main defining characteristics of the MC, the basic setting, the premise of the novel, how it will end... Everything can be changed if you feel like it would make a better story, you don't need to stop yourself from making drastic changes to your original plans... Just make sure to have at least a minimal plan in order to drive your story somewhere.
 

Elateam

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My advice might be what others have alluded to already by I'll just give it anyways.

I'm 100% a pantser.
I don't have time nor do I care about planning my arcs.
The most I ever plan is 5 chapters ahead with a single sentence to get the gist of what I'll be writing towards.
And I used to write chapters for release on the same week.

Now when I first began writing I encountered many issues that I only realized a month ago, which is that I created plot holes because I forgot to include X information or epsilon equation or whatnot.

So I forced myself to plan for an hour and you can tell how that went considering what I've said above.

What I have found to be the best remedy on my end is creating buffer chapters. Why? Because I can just keep writing, realize I forgot to add some information in the last few buffer chapters and just sprinkle it in there to avoid making problems for myself and I can tell you that after having done that for a few weeks now it's great. I can release that chapter without re-editing it 30 times.

Hope my advice helps a fellow pantser.
 

Jemini

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I was actually a major pantser when I first started writing. Now I've gotten to a point where, if you were to read my series, you would think I was an amazingly meticulous planner. This is something of a false image though, and I think I can share my methods with you to a point where you can take your natural pantser instincts and turn them into something where you could bluff most audiences into thinking you are a planner due to the way your work keeps turning out.

--------------------

1st, and this may sound strange, get familiar with a board game called "go." That's the game's Japanese name anyway. Originally, it was a game that came from China and was called Wei-Chei at the time. It was a board game designed by a Chinese warlord to teach military strategy to his son. There is actually some very deep philosophy attached to what is the proper approach to this game, and that philosophy is applicable to a lot of other areas of life, writing included.

The key lesson you are trying to take from this game is the part where there is a lot of intuition in the game. In other words, you have to respond to what you are presented with, but there are some formations that you can keep going back to. Some base rules and approaches that will always be better than others. In other words, there is no single right way to do thing and you can never plan very far in advance, but you can stick to a few formations which will be stronger than others.

(there are a number of other philosophies and lessons to learn in the game which will also be helpful in writing, but that's the one that's the most immediately applicable.)

--------------------

2nd, DO make some kind of rough plan. Goal setting is a good example. In my case, I use a method of planning I like to call "dynamic rendering." It is kinda on the fence between pantsing and what most would think about when they hear the term "planning."

My approach to it is that I divide my writing up into scaled chunks. I have the goals for the story as a whole, which are kinda indistinct. I also divide it into books, and I have my goals for the books. The point I want to end the book on for the most part. Then, I divide the books into approximately 10 chapter acts. Each act has a goal and a basic theme. Finally, I have my chapters. I attempt to have a rough plan of what the chapter should generally be about. Once all those paramiters are set up, I just start having my characters go at it. Speaking of which...

----------------------

3rd. Put a large emphisis on improving your characterization and world building. Your instincts already tend toward being a pantser, so don't fight against it. Instead, embrace the greatest strength of the pantser, that being the ability to dive deep into the characters and have that character drive the story in turn. The best way to do this well is to also dive deep into your world building in addition to your characterization. If you put effort into designing both your world and characters in depth, the discipline involved in this will actually improve the rest of your writing. You will also come to care about your characters and the world more, so you will not want to mess up in your writing because you want the story to continue.

EDIT: Another thing this does is it establishes some "guard rails" for your story. As a pantser, you can't really keep your story from rambling a little. But, you can keep it from getting WAY off track if you start from the ground establishing some rules for your world that prohibit the story from going in certain directions. The best part is, these are the exact kind of limitations that improve the story rather than taking away from it. Readers actually like stories that have limits and watching the characters overcome those limits. It's inspiring. But, having characters that can just do anything from the start is nowhere near as interesting.

-----------------------

EDIT: Oh, 4th. I just remembered something that helps me to really stay motivated and on track to write in a particular direction. Picture a future encounter for your story in your head, and play out the entire scenario. Make it an epic fight scene or some kind of huge dramatic encounter and allow yourself to fall in love with this scenario that's well in the future and away from the point in the story you're at right now. Then, try to go through the efforts needed to set the stage for this event to happen.

The encounter is probably not going to go exactly like how you envision it. You will have to make several adjustments to the scenario by the time you reach it. But, it is the single most powerful tool to keep you on track toward the planned objective. Again, you really do have to fall in love with the scenario you have planned. That's the only way to keep your pantser nature from driving the story off course.

For an example, most books in my series have the ending conflict written (in my mind) first, and then I pants my way through the early phases while trying to guide it toward that final huge event I so desperately want to write. In the first book, it was a scenario where a baby manages to successfully stab an adult man in the chest. Literally the entire rest of the book was written in order to find a way to reach that end-goal moment. (I came up with that ending scenario around the time I was half way through the second 10 chapter act, so you don't necessarily have to start with the end goal in mind. You just need to develop the idea somewhere along the line.)
 
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BucksTS

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Messages
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I would say I'm both.
When the first time I created my story I'm planner type.
But when I create my second story I'm pantser type.

I would say it depends on which one you like the most. If you didn't enjoy it, it only matters of time you will drop your story halfway.

I just noticed, you said you are in quarantine. It's because the virus?
yeah , i am and i will try to keep writing and reviewing i guess

Well while I've never heard the term before I believe I'm a Pantser type of writer.

I've always trusted my instincts when writing (because I find planning too boring and quite honestly I never follow them anyway because I always think of something more interesting while writing that I incorporate while keeping to the pain plot.) The only advise I can give you is that you should make a notepad file for the direction of the plot you want to follow, any small details you've included while writing so you don't forget them and reference back to them when you need to, writing from instinct can make you forget a majority of what you've written sometimes so definitely be careful and don't let your mind go off the deep end on some Alice in Wonderland down the rabbit hole story telling (something I'm guilty of haha)

End of the day all you can do is trust yourself, I'll have a look at your novel when I wake up more, it's 7:30am, good luck writing!
Thank you if you can leave your review about my novel its not that long only 3k words for now

I heard the snowflake method is good for outlining. Personally i didn't like how complicated the later stages were, it also made my outline a complicated mess. But i think it's pretty helpful for planning a novel.
i will check it out thanks for information

Nah fam i ran out. But it gets the creative juices flowing, trust me
haha nice one

You don't need to plan too much before you start your novel, but you should have a very basic planning... Mainly...

Main Character.
Main Love Interest. (If applicable)
Main Antagonist. (If applicable)
What will happen in the beginning of the story.
How will the story end.

Last one is the most important part. You need to know how your story ends before you start. It can be a vague definition, but you need to have an end planned to know where you want your story to go.

Also, something you need to keep in mind is that everything can be changed. The main defining characteristics of the MC, the basic setting, the premise of the novel, how it will end... Everything can be changed if you feel like it would make a better story, you don't need to stop yourself from making drastic changes to your original plans... Just make sure to have at least a minimal plan in order to drive your story somewhere.
Yeah i created main character and main antagonist(i will try to introduce main love interest at some point)hopefully before end of vol-1
and i have image that how will the story end in first volume 1 so i am trying to head there.

My advice might be what others have alluded to already by I'll just give it anyways.

I'm 100% a pantser.
I don't have time nor do I care about planning my arcs.
The most I ever plan is 5 chapters ahead with a single sentence to get the gist of what I'll be writing towards.
And I used to write chapters for release on the same week.

Now when I first began writing I encountered many issues that I only realized a month ago, which is that I created plot holes because I forgot to include X information or epsilon equation or whatnot.

So I forced myself to plan for an hour and you can tell how that went considering what I've said above.

What I have found to be the best remedy on my end is creating buffer chapters. Why? Because I can just keep writing, realize I forgot to add some information in the last few buffer chapters and just sprinkle it in there to avoid making problems for myself and I can tell you that after having done that for a few weeks now it's great. I can release that chapter without re-editing it 30 times.

Hope my advice helps a fellow pantser.
thanks i will try creating buffer chapters.

I was actually a major pantser when I first started writing. Now I've gotten to a point where, if you were to read my series, you would think I was an amazingly meticulous planner. This is something of a false image though, and I think I can share my methods with you to a point where you can take your natural pantser instincts and turn them into something where you could bluff most audiences into thinking you are a planner due to the way your work keeps turning out.

--------------------

1st, and this may sound strange, get familiar with a board game called "go." That's the game's Japanese name anyway. Originally, it was a game that came from China and was called Wei-Chei at the time. It was a board game designed by a Chinese warlord to teach military strategy to his son. There is actually some very deep philosophy attached to what is the proper approach to this game, and that philosophy is applicable to a lot of other areas of life, writing included.

The key lesson you are trying to take from this game is the part where there is a lot of intuition in the game. In other words, you have to respond to what you are presented with, but there are some formations that you can keep going back to. Some base rules and approaches that will always be better than others. In other words, there is no single right way to do thing and you can never plan very far in advance, but you can stick to a few formations which will be stronger than others.

(there are a number of other philosophies and lessons to learn in the game which will also be helpful in writing, but that's the one that's the most immediately applicable.)

--------------------

2nd, DO make some kind of rough plan. Goal setting is a good example. In my case, I use a method of planning I like to call "dynamic rendering." It is kinda on the fence between pantsing and what most would think about when they hear the term "planning."

My approach to it is that I divide my writing up into scaled chunks. I have the goals for the story as a whole, which are kinda indistinct. I also divide it into books, and I have my goals for the books. The point I want to end the book on for the most part. Then, I divide the books into approximately 10 chapter acts. Each act has a goal and a basic theme. Finally, I have my chapters. I attempt to have a rough plan of what the chapter should generally be about. Once all those paramiters are set up, I just start having my characters go at it. Speaking of which...

----------------------

3rd. Put a large emphisis on improving your characterization and world building. Your instincts already tend toward being a pantser, so don't fight against it. Instead, embrace the greatest strength of the pantser, that being the ability to dive deep into the characters and have that character drive the story in turn. The best way to do this well is to also dive deep into your world building in addition to your characterization. If you put effort into designing both your world and characters in depth, the discipline involved in this will actually improve the rest of your writing. You will also come to care about your characters and the world more, so you will not want to mess up in your writing because you want the story to continue.

EDIT: Another thing this does is it establishes some "guard rails" for your story. As a pantser, you can't really keep your story from rambling a little. But, you can keep it from getting WAY off track if you start from the ground establishing some rules for your world that prohibit the story from going in certain directions. The best part is, these are the exact kind of limitations that improve the story rather than taking away from it. Readers actually like stories that have limits and watching the characters overcome those limits. It's inspiring. But, having characters that can just do anything from the start is nowhere near as interesting.

-----------------------

EDIT: Oh, 4th. I just remembered something that helps me to really stay motivated and on track to write in a particular direction. Picture a future encounter for your story in your head, and play out the entire scenario. Make it an epic fight scene or some kind of huge dramatic encounter and allow yourself to fall in love with this scenario that's well in the future and away from the point in the story you're at right now. Then, try to go through the efforts needed to set the stage for this event to happen.

The encounter is probably not going to go exactly like how you envision it. You will have to make several adjustments to the scenario by the time you reach it. But, it is the single most powerful tool to keep you on track toward the planned objective. Again, you really do have to fall in love with the scenario you have planned. That's the only way to keep your pantser nature from driving the story off course.

For an example, most books in my series have the ending conflict written (in my mind) first, and then I pants my way through the early phases while trying to guide it toward that final huge event I so desperately want to write. In the first book, it was a scenario where a baby manages to successfully stab an adult man in the chest. Literally the entire rest of the book was written in order to find a way to reach that end-goal moment. (I came up with that ending scenario around the time I was half way through the second 10 chapter act, so you don't necessarily have to start with the end goal in mind. You just need to develop the idea somewhere along the line.)
thank you for your guidance, i will tell you about what i have in my mind about my story
I created my MC first and later her sister ( because i like sisters)
so after outlining my general plot and thinking what should i create -> i tried to create novel with my liked genre(or liked light novels)
I will make my MC have antisocial vibe with hidden talent ->(if you know about hyouka, oregairu , youjitsu) i want to create similiar MC like those stories)because i like them
First i tried to think what should be MC's social status is he highschooler or already graduated etc. So i tried to make him highschooler at start of the story and make him college student at the end in volume 1
Secondly , i think i gonna make elite college or university in that universe so he will enroll in high competition enviroment( he will hide his talent in that school and only few can know about it etc)
Thirdly , after i thinking what should i do to trigger MC to challenge things -> i thought about making her sister betray him at start of novel
so future encounter that you mentioned is where he will meet her sister in that college at end of volume 1.
so i tried to make backstory of why her sister hate him etc
and i thought of this: (Blaine- MC , Kohaku - Sister)

Coded kingdom- special place that nurture extraordinary human (secret lab )and their parents are the one who controlled it.
Blaine raised in coded kingdom after their parents gave birth to him. He was best in there but lab shutdown after their parents died in earthquake that happened in kingdom
He was released from there and lab members erased his memories during kingdom and make him believe that he lived normal life all along in his life.
His abilities go dormant after he lost his memories.
Kohaku takes over lab but she had grudge against his little brother because their parents devoted all their time in lab because they are looking at Blaine’s extraordinary growth(overjoyed by it)
Kohaku rebuild lab after it destroyed in earthquake.
Kohaku steal Blaine's normal day life from him and put him in coded kingdom again.
Blaine undergo coded kingdom’s human experiment that will bring out human’s potential after that he will gain his extraordinary abilities he had in childhood.
And i have 2 route after that:
1.He will run from kingdom and tried to confront her sister again( he dont know the reason why her sister betrayed him )
2.They will release him after experiment end and put him in elite college to let him meet her sister.
Reason for why her sister tried to make his abilities come back is that she want to prove that she is better than him even if he is at his 100% potential.
Well its blurry for now maybe i will let Kohaku kill their parents because she was jealous of him. i will try to make adjustment and change scenes after i thinking it thoroughly.
In my story , it will start with our MC daily life and abduction and i will introduce his past with flash back or something like that during the story.
so how do you think about this story
give me your opinion ( anyone who read this can give their opinion about this, give me guidance)
 
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