Defining the Terms
Bear with me a moment while I sound like an author. Notice I said sound like and author because, even after completing my ninth book (yes, the Psalm 137 novella is done!), it’s hard to think of myself as an author.
Pantzing
- I AM NOT referring to the junior high practice of pulling down your friend’s gym shorts.
- I AM referring to what we writers call writing without a detailed plan or outline. It’s writing by the seat of your pants.
Plotting
- I AM NOT referring to planning the assassination of the next person that interrupts your train of thought.
- I AM referring to assigning short-phrased descriptions to each chapter of a novel with a purposeful overview of POV, pacing, and structure.
Which Is Best?
Writers have argued about the best method for writing a book since—well, since writers have written books. But you’ll find many authors who have “pantzed” their way to the NYT’s bestseller list and plenty on the same list who swear by plotting.
As you might have guessed by now, a writer’s process seems to be as unique as every writer.
The Psalm Novella Shuffle
The normal length of my books is 110,000 – 125,000 words. A novella, by definition, ranges between 18k-40k. I sneeze longer than that. So I thought I’d try “pantzing” this story. I knew in my head what I wanted the three characters to do. Why not?
OH! For pity sakes!!! I’ll tell you why not…I was boring myself!
Ten thousand words in, I decided to plot the rest of the book, which took me a full day. I laid it down for a week (while traveling and then healing up from a sinus infection) and then started writing with the new outline.
Except I didn’t write the new outline. The characters took me a totally different direction, and by the third “outlined” chapter, the story was completely different than the outline, and I’d added two more characters. Eeee-gad!
What I’ve Learned
Here’s my conclusion: Neither Pantzing nor Plotting works for me. (Aren’t you glad you didn’t pay for a workshop to hear me teach that little gem.) I’ve discovered that each of my nine books required a different method, unique to my life circumstance and the research demanded for that project.
So what do I do with the next project—the sequel to Isaiah’s Daughter—looming on my to-do list? I will plot the whole thing out. Every chapter with general phrases that give direction to main characters and some subplots…with the understanding that I’ll likely change the whole thing as I write because the Lord gives me better ideas once I’m in the moment.
But I still need to make the outline!
Why Do You Care?
I hesitated to share this post, thinking who really cares what process I use to write my books? But I realized the lesson I’m learning about writing is the same lesson God’s teaching me about life.
I try to do waaaaaaay too much pantzing. I hate lists. My poor husband does our taxes and nearly gets an ulcer when trying to find my business receipts. I “plot” and plan a few things in life, but I could be so much more effective with a well-thought-out plan that I prayerfully consider with the Creator of the universe.
How about you? Do you need to finish school? Live on a budget? Pay your taxes? Save for a house? Apply for a new job? Move to a new church?
Plotting our lives doesn’t mean we take the reins from God’s hands. It means He helps us plan and then walks through the story with us through every edit and plot twist. But we can rejoice in the adventure, trusting His presence and His wisdom to make our stories the best they can be.
Tweet-A-Licious!
- Discover how writing a novella changed my perspective on “pantzing vs. plotting.”
- Including God in plotting my life means He walks with me through every edit and plot twist.
- Plotting our lives doesn’t mean we take the reins from God’s hands.
Today’s Question:
- In life and scheduling, are you more of a pantzer or plotter? What lessons might God be trying to teach you about that today?
