Brilliant post! My favourite analogy for the way I write is that it is like driving at night. I know the towns I need to pass through, and the major road junctions along the way, but the route in between is dark. I can only see a short way clearly by my headlights. But as I approach the dark bits, all becomes clearer!
My experience is limited to just one novel but I took the pantser approach, and that worked for me. Until it came to editing, which has been a bit of a nightmare (but still kind of fun). I knew the twist and where I was going, but otherwise, I kind of just plodded along and wrote what came into my head. To give one example (this might be TMI, but I wrote a whole post about it!), back last November, my darling little 6 year old kicked me very hard in the balls and I was in excruciating pain. And guess what - my next day of writing, lo and behold, my main character gets viciously kicked in the same spot in a similar manner, and it turned out to be one of my favourite, and the funniest chapters in the book! Inspiration comes from all sorts of places.
The reason why editing has proven so difficult is that I got carried away in writing it, so that meant a ton of plot holes and gaps and mysterious characters who didn't seem to have much purpose. I think I've just about tidied everything up, but for part 2 (I'm ambitiously hoping to make it a series) I think I might plan a tiny bit more, just to at least have a framework.
Interestingly, after the first draft was done, I read Save the Cat and it turns out that my story fits the structure quite well, which means I must've been doing something right (I hope).
Ha, that is sometimes the case that a pantser approach can mean more editing is needed – but if it helps you get the first draft down then sometimes that's still better! First drafts often tend to be full of plot holes and characters or plotlines that don't end up being vital in the end. Writing is a journey, and you don't always know what is necessary and what will end up unused until you're done.
That's funny that your draft matched the Save the Cat structure! The book I mentioned, Into the Woods, argues that when we tell stories we unconsciously follow the same pattern – and it seems that is what you've found!
Good luck with part 2, and I hope trying a new route with a little bit more outlining helps cut down on the editing a bit... Just make sure you still give yourself lots of room to explore!
Brilliant post! My favourite analogy for the way I write is that it is like driving at night. I know the towns I need to pass through, and the major road junctions along the way, but the route in between is dark. I can only see a short way clearly by my headlights. But as I approach the dark bits, all becomes clearer!
Oh I love that!
My experience is limited to just one novel but I took the pantser approach, and that worked for me. Until it came to editing, which has been a bit of a nightmare (but still kind of fun). I knew the twist and where I was going, but otherwise, I kind of just plodded along and wrote what came into my head. To give one example (this might be TMI, but I wrote a whole post about it!), back last November, my darling little 6 year old kicked me very hard in the balls and I was in excruciating pain. And guess what - my next day of writing, lo and behold, my main character gets viciously kicked in the same spot in a similar manner, and it turned out to be one of my favourite, and the funniest chapters in the book! Inspiration comes from all sorts of places.
The reason why editing has proven so difficult is that I got carried away in writing it, so that meant a ton of plot holes and gaps and mysterious characters who didn't seem to have much purpose. I think I've just about tidied everything up, but for part 2 (I'm ambitiously hoping to make it a series) I think I might plan a tiny bit more, just to at least have a framework.
Interestingly, after the first draft was done, I read Save the Cat and it turns out that my story fits the structure quite well, which means I must've been doing something right (I hope).
Ha, that is sometimes the case that a pantser approach can mean more editing is needed – but if it helps you get the first draft down then sometimes that's still better! First drafts often tend to be full of plot holes and characters or plotlines that don't end up being vital in the end. Writing is a journey, and you don't always know what is necessary and what will end up unused until you're done.
That's funny that your draft matched the Save the Cat structure! The book I mentioned, Into the Woods, argues that when we tell stories we unconsciously follow the same pattern – and it seems that is what you've found!
Good luck with part 2, and I hope trying a new route with a little bit more outlining helps cut down on the editing a bit... Just make sure you still give yourself lots of room to explore!