The current novel I'm working on right now is an epic dark fantasy/psychological horror and I'm plotting it!! I've NEVER plotted before... I'm a hardcore pantser. However, I'm trying to reach 600-800 pages so I figure I need to not get lost. Good luck pantsing!
*dramatic low whistle* 600-800 PAGES?! That's incredible and totally makes sense why you'd feel the need to plot! I'm super excited to hear how that goes for you. Psychological horror or any kind of thriller really lends itself to being plotted, I feel like?? I'm always so fascinated by how others writer and tell their stories!
@@KateCavanaugh Thank you 😄 I'm super excited for it and my agent has a gut feeling about it too. Thankfully, I'm typing it 3 chapters at a time for her since I hand write every first draft. This will keep me from having to transcribe such a massive book all at once.
I cannot imagine completely pantsing a novel. I have characters and a premise for a book but the thought of just figuring out the plot as I go seems daunting!
Oh man, I don’t know why, but for some reason watching this vlog just gave me an explosion of new ideas for a series I’ve had stewing in the back of my head.
Boy do I have a tale for you!! I am a linear panster at heart- but after reading the save the cat books I realized that the novel O had already self published was missing the first twi beats!! So I pulled my two books down and now O am using the beat sheet to outline my novel- adding in the missing pieces! Its a hot mess girl!!!
That's so interesting!! I need to go look up what the first beats are (honestly, I just need to buy Save the Cat, period bahaha). I think it's awesome you found a system that you swear by though!
Im curious to pantsing a novel cause I think it would so far past my comfort zone. But, I fear a dead end would be invitable part through the story. I'm tempted to try one anyway. I am assuming one would need to think of a really good beginning and unreveal what happens from there.
As a child I was mostly a pantser. Recently I have been much more of an outliner. But for this story I am working on, I am kinda in the same boat as you. I have a premise and I am working on my characters. After I get my characters all set up, my goal is to just jump into the story. I did completely outline this story once before but I did not like the direction it went in so I am reversing it back to my premise and rebuilding it as a pantser. But I think it is okay. I remember Shaelin (from RUclips) once mentioned in a video that she used to be a hardcore planer but had started pantsing and her story was turning out well. She theorized that it was because she had so much practice with planing that made pantsing it easier. She had felt she had practiced outlining so much that she just knew where the plot should go instinctively. And I agree! That's why I have been trying to pants a little more on my current story :p I can't wait to hear you update on your project blue story. I was curious, what is your live streaming schedule? I want to join in next time!
I have always been a pantser. Usually, the outlining process was something I did when I finished a chapter if I had an idea for the next one, or for scenes I really wanted to include, but... I never finished a story that way. Then I didn't write for 3 years, and decided, this summer, to do a little project: writing short stories that revolved around myths from around the world. It's a project that's supposed to help me achieve discipline and good writing habits (which also helped me find you, yay). The first one I didn't outline (and I'm not satisfied with the outcome). However, beginning short story n°2, outlining has become a big part of the process, and it has helped a lot in being able to write quite fast. If I don't outline a scene (like it's the case right now, the scene I'm writing isn't outlined), I'm lost and I don't know what to do and I'm becoming frustrated, haha! Maybe I'll try and outline more for my future big projects. It seems to help me write more and faster.
This is weirdly similar to where I'm at with a fantasy novel right now! I've been building this world/premise and LOVING it. I'm desperate to start writing but until now I haven't had character motivations or plot. HOWEVER, the character motivations started coming together yesterday and out of that alone I know I could probably get through the 1st half of the novel. I'm still in the quandary of whether to start writing (which will be the most pantsy thing I've done in a long time), or whether to hold off and wait for an outline.
WIP TWINS HECK YES. So glad to have someone else struggling through the same thing. It's so weird! Is there something in the water? Bahaha. That's definitely the quandary and I say YESSS do it! As good a time as any to try pantsing again haha.
🙋♀️ I'm a pantser! And honestly, I don't know how outliners do it...I feel like I'd get bored of the story once my characters sort out their arc? So saying that, I am putting much more time into developing my characters BEFORE writing a word - sounds like you are right on track 💕
I had never been an outliner until this last novel. I always tried to pants before this, but it only got me mediocre results. So for this last novel, I spent 2 solid weeks forcing myself to outline and I hated every minute of it. It was painful. But, as it turns out, it was exactly what I needed to do. I wrote a really solid draft that didn't need a lot of heavy reconstructing. I still really hate outlining, and I am dreading outlining my next novel, but for me, now it seems like it's a necessary step in my process. I do agree with you that some projects might require a different approach to what you are used to. I'm excited to see how panting works out for you.
the short story I recently started was for a fiction portfolio in my creative writing class, and I was never able to get it in completed because it kept completely refusing my attempts to line it up. I used it in our critique workshop by putting in what I had and adding the outline for the second half of it for them to at least know how it was supposed to go. just off my shitty rough and FIRST draft, the group said I should make it into a novel (which I never thought I’d hear and never considered although I love the story premise, but I’ve never written a novel) and I was the only one they said it to so I was in shock. anyway I was going to start attempting to do so after this term since I’m so stressed, and I tried finishing it as a short story first but the exact details of the story and the characters changed like 9 times in one weekend and I never completed it before the deadline, so I only turned in a half completed one again, and will probably have a D on my portfolio bc of that and my lack of completion on almost all the included stories, and it being late. but anyways, this was all because of how much the story was changing and how it just refuses to be outlined which if it weren’t for school I would have been okay with as I often pants (I do a bit of both, depending-I love outlining too but if I’m honest I’ve been so lazy the past year). so this whole video is a mood and from your videos after this one I think your story has come along quite well thus far and I wish you the best of luck with making it a beautiful completed work! (it seems I can only write fast AND well and ENJOY IT when it’s on my own time and decision; for college I’ve sucked and writing is my ONLY niche. thankfully we’re starting the creative nonfiction unit now which-even though I love poetry most and learned to realize I love writing fiction too-I am excited for as it is what I am objectively best at, so maybe I can end this term on a high note. grrr
THANK YOU! :) I'm proud too. I've since received more rejections and it really isn't as bad as I'd made it out to be in my head bahaha. I feel like I've unlocked an achievement somehow! :)
I have never actually plotted out a novel before writing it. I have made makeshift plots as I was writing, but never anything like a full outlined plot. Usually I end up just following my story where it takes me. I actually just started a new novel recently! It's a pretty weird WIP for me, because I've never written anything in this format before, but I'm sooo pumped for it! Your excitement is contagious, so I'm going to go write now! :D
Hi Kate, love your writing passion! One of the few writing channels I watch. Keep up the good attitude and work and you will certainly be published. I’m new to the channel so don’t know if you are all ready published. If yes were can I read your stuff?
league of assassins? god of death? oh no, it sounds so much like a story i had in my head since 2014. i feel it's not original anymore since there are many stories like it. i feel that's a big problem nowadays.
The current novel I'm writing, I started by pantsing. By the time I was only a few chapters in I decided to outline even a small portion of it. THAT MADE A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE!! I usually in between pantsing and outlining, but this story made me realise that I should start planning my stories. I know that won't be true off all my stories, but having an actual plot line at least made the writing process easier. Good luck on your new project!
YES YES! That's what I always feel like -- having even a small outline helps guide me and make sure I don't just jump off the deep end or follow the trail of a super minor plot line haha. I think I'll probably end up plotting more as I get closer and closer to certain points. Like maybe I need to write the 2/5 I know in order to find out what the next 1/5 will look like plot-wise.
@@KateCavanaugh Same...I've started this current story like that. I wrote the 2/5 I knew and then the details started coming so I wrote them down and started planning. The planning helped to me to move the story forward little by little.
Not really pantsing vs. plotting but I'm co-writing a novel for the first time and that's been really interesting. I'm still a pantser but my co-author is a plotter. It's definitely been interesting. Luckily it's going well but it's been fun to see how different this novel is from anything either of us have written before.
OMG! YES, okay, I feel you. I'm co-writing a novel with my friend and I'm constantly surprised by how different our writing styles/methods/preferences are but still able to create something together.
I self published The Wolfe's Lair totally without an outline lol...I just wanted to have my own book on Amazon lol...now I am working on a full length novel want some sort of an outline.
OOoh, how long was The Wolfe's Lair? With short stories, even now, I don't outline. So I could see why when you bump up the word count, you'd want to outline!
I used to be more of a plantser, I'd pants the beginning and plot only as needed for the more confusing scenes. Last March (omg it's been a year...) I joined a fandom event and I had to collab with an artist, and it was a big thing, so I needed to present proof of progress every now and then, and I needed an outline. It was the first time I planned the entire thing so thoroughly and mostly stuck to it, and I've enjoyed it for the most part! Still not a fully detailed outline like I've heard some authortubers do, but it's been an interesting project. I'm super close to finishing it now asldjfhasjdf On the other hand, I've just joined a new event of the same kind, and I am having the same problem of premise vs plot... I need to sit down and think about this new story in more detail, but I also have to finish the other first!! ^^;;
I am working on two stories right now! I am a Historical Fiction Writer and so it is hard to do two projects at once ! My first story is a short novel about Ohio During the Civil War, and the other is a 600-800 page epic about slavery! I have to plot, I don't know what I would do other wise *lol*. Good luck Pantsing! I love you Kate! You give me so much inspiration!
The most outlining I’ve ever done is writing, “Character 1 and character 2 have their first bonding experience in chapter 3.” From then, I might write, “They bond through talking about what their favorite constellations are.” But after that, I just write the chapter and put that idea in wherever it seems to fall. For me, I can have a broad outline before I start writing but, most of the time, I just start writing and ideas come to me along the way. Either that or I get stressed out from trying to follow an outline and feel more limited in creativity. Then again, everyone has a different preference. I’m a pantser who uses a vague outline whereas my best friend is a hardcore plotter. She has great ideas but she can’t write nearly anything until she’s detailed everything that goes on in the chapter.
I've recently watched a ton of your writing vlogs, and I was wondering if you have tips for how to juggle multiple writing projects. Do you ever work on multiple first/zero drafts at the same time? How do you keep projects separate enough?
My first novel was so pantsed it didn't make any sense . My second was pantsed about 90%. I'd write myself into a corner, then go to work (factory jobs then) and think it out while I worked. Then I'd come home and write myself into another corner. The last two novels have had more outlining, with occasional feral pantsing to add spice. All of it gets it done! Congrats on the rejection! It really isn't as bad as I feared when I first submitted mine. Speaking of which, I need to get another batch going out!
The only time I've ever plotted a story was in Sophomore year of high school in Creative Writing class because it was required as part of the grade to turn in an outline of a short story for the semester "exam". Everything else, I pants it. Which might be my problem: I keep rewriting and changing things. But right now I'm stuck with condensing my book to get it at a descent debut-novel word count. It was at 140k, then down to 129k, and now I'm trying so hard to get it to 100k, but I don't think it's possible. It's just that long of a story, I guess.
I just can’t bring myself to fully outline my stories. I’m writing fanfics at the moment, but I do hope to one day be published. I feel like outlining takes away so much when writing a book. To me, it already feels like the book is partially completed, and I don’t see that fun. I mainly write to discover. Hence the term “discovery writer”, which is another name for pantsers. I like to sit down and just start writing. The words seem to flow by themselves most of the time and I end up writing a bit more than I intend to, but that all part of the fun. Writing can be hard work, but it’s also so much fun and rewarding when you finally finish that first book. Whether it’s fanfiction, nonfiction, or anything else.
I'm going to outline a princess fantasy wip for April's Camp Nanowrimo. As a career pantser I'm really intrigued to see how this will work out. Plus I have my reread for 2018 Nano novel to do.
EEEEE! You're checking off so many things, that's exciting! New method? CHECK. NaNo reread? CHECK. I'll be interested to hear how outlining goes for you! :) Any tips on pantsing?? hahah.
Not a past project but a current project: I haven't started writing, I'm still in the planning phase, but I've had this story in mind for a long while, and I just realized I don't have a plot! Lol. I have the structure/premise and the characters, but no plot. I'm going to have to think about this 🤔
Maybe that's what I'll be turning to this time! Half pants half plot. Because I feel like I'm not ~truly pantsing~ since I know 2/5 or so, but then that last 3/5 is so clearly up in the air.
I relate to this so much lol. I still haven't outlined that new idea yet. Very weird for me. I like some kind of structure, but for some reason every time I sit down to outline...nothing. Unfortunately, it made me stop working on it these last few days. But I think that's a good thing because it got me to go back to the fantasy I was working on during NaNoWriMo. This is a new method for me too since I'm writing each girls' perspective separately, then I'm going to combine it all together. Definitely have never done that before hahaha! But then again, I might release each girls' story as its own book... Gah! Obviously, my brain is all over the place lately lol! I just need to make a decision and go with it. If it were only that easy hahaha!
YAY for it getting you back to your NaNo project! I'm really excited to hear how the combo goes later and what your tips/experience will be with writing this way. But yeah, what is it with this problem? It's hard because I can't tell if it's a great thing to try something new or if there's a clear problem I'm just ignoring/not seeing and THAT'S why I can't plot like usual.
I used to do pantsing on a novel for 2 years and this year i started outlining it and it has become much more easy to understand my own fatasy world. I do it on excel and it really helped me i maybe gonna do both forever. Pantsing the draft until i cannot go further and making the logical conections and fix with outlining
No, I don't! I just use a timer and the file I'm working in. But I've heard of mywriteclub and I think I even made an account ages ago, and just never used it. So it sounds like I need to give it another try!! I know lots of people like writeordie too, but that's more for just getting the words out (and is also terrifying bahaha).
My current WIP is very different than anything I've ever done before. The MC is a guy, I'm not outlining yet (I might further in though), it's has a sci-fi/dystopian vibe and honestly... it's really hard to write, but I love it. Also, I have premise and characters, but no plot yet, so I understand where you're coming from with that. 😅
YESSSSS WIP TWINS bahaha. I'm excited to hear more about this dystopian vibe! That's a genre that trends sometimes and fluctuates in publishing but I NEVER get tired of. I looooove dystopian-esque stories. You made me think though, in the past few years, I haven't written a male main character unless there were multiple main characters in the story!
I think there might be a game within those 3: making use of character (or the plot embryo); global plot of the story & the premise. When I get myself established we might need to do some collaborations on this [PLEASE]. Obviously after the "Big Magic" collaboration. I have found the Writers Idea Thesaurus a good book for playing with the alchemy of taking ideas to find a premise. One example is Chapter 2. The clash or competition between X & Y Category 9: Science vs. Superstition. The book talks about scenarios dealing with instances where the two exist in conflict or out of balance. Kinda like the whole Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe not living as a cosmic [science] entity who is seen as someone who's abilities are not yet fully grasped. So we assume they are supernatural by mystical origins. There are more than a few clashes that can be observed through the lens of science vs. superstition. We could also consider the conflict discovery vs dogma. One example I have filed away is the real world conflict between the blockchain vs established currency exchanges. One could also consider the conflict that resulted in the choice to abandon artificial intelligence in the dune universe. 🤯 There is a lot I have to think about after watching tonight's video Kate... 🤔🤔🤔BUT THAT IS CLEARLY ON BRAND! To Be Honest. 🤷♂️🤷♀️
This video is a bit old, but I seriously can't tell you how relatable it is. I'm in the process of planning my first novel ever, and it's absolutely killing me. I seem to have created a world, and multiple characters, and yet somehow still don't have a plot. I started actively working on this about a week ago (though the original premise came to me around 4 months ago) and all I wanna do is actually write, but the plot just refuses to come to me. It's just bits and pieces with nothing solid to work with. I don't think I've ever experienced frustration quite like this. And it's beginning to actually stress me out. 😂😂😂
The current novel I'm working on right now is an epic dark fantasy/psychological horror and I'm plotting it!! I've NEVER plotted before... I'm a hardcore pantser. However, I'm trying to reach 600-800 pages so I figure I need to not get lost. Good luck pantsing!
*dramatic low whistle* 600-800 PAGES?! That's incredible and totally makes sense why you'd feel the need to plot! I'm super excited to hear how that goes for you. Psychological horror or any kind of thriller really lends itself to being plotted, I feel like?? I'm always so fascinated by how others writer and tell their stories!
@@KateCavanaugh Thank you 😄 I'm super excited for it and my agent has a gut feeling about it too. Thankfully, I'm typing it 3 chapters at a time for her since I hand write every first draft. This will keep me from having to transcribe such a massive book all at once.
@@KathrynFaye007 good luck with your project. Best in 2020!
Girl, this novel sounds so awesome!! I hope you publish is one day!
I cannot imagine completely pantsing a novel. I have characters and a premise for a book but the thought of just figuring out the plot as I go seems daunting!
That the whole fun of writing a book for me. Not knowing where the plot will go is so exciting! I can’t stand to outline anything.
Oh man, I don’t know why, but for some reason watching this vlog just gave me an explosion of new ideas for a series I’ve had stewing in the back of my head.
AHHH YAY! I'm so glad! :) I can't wait to hear about it!!
Boy do I have a tale for you!! I am a linear panster at heart- but after reading the save the cat books I realized that the novel O had already self published was missing the first twi beats!! So I pulled my two books down and now O am using the beat sheet to outline my novel- adding in the missing pieces! Its a hot mess girl!!!
That's so interesting!! I need to go look up what the first beats are (honestly, I just need to buy Save the Cat, period bahaha). I think it's awesome you found a system that you swear by though!
loving these vlogs! And your premise sounds BOMB!
THANKS LINDSAY! :)
Im curious to pantsing a novel cause I think it would so far past my comfort zone. But, I fear a dead end would be invitable part through the story. I'm tempted to try one anyway. I am assuming one would need to think of a really good beginning and unreveal what happens from there.
As a child I was mostly a pantser. Recently I have been much more of an outliner. But for this story I am working on, I am kinda in the same boat as you. I have a premise and I am working on my characters. After I get my characters all set up, my goal is to just jump into the story. I did completely outline this story once before but I did not like the direction it went in so I am reversing it back to my premise and rebuilding it as a pantser. But I think it is okay. I remember Shaelin (from RUclips) once mentioned in a video that she used to be a hardcore planer but had started pantsing and her story was turning out well. She theorized that it was because she had so much practice with planing that made pantsing it easier. She had felt she had practiced outlining so much that she just knew where the plot should go instinctively. And I agree! That's why I have been trying to pants a little more on my current story :p I can't wait to hear you update on your project blue story. I was curious, what is your live streaming schedule? I want to join in next time!
I always pants but I am finding that pantsing is becoming problematic in my writing life. I am beginning to see the merits of plotting and outlining
I have always been a pantser. Usually, the outlining process was something I did when I finished a chapter if I had an idea for the next one, or for scenes I really wanted to include, but... I never finished a story that way.
Then I didn't write for 3 years, and decided, this summer, to do a little project: writing short stories that revolved around myths from around the world. It's a project that's supposed to help me achieve discipline and good writing habits (which also helped me find you, yay). The first one I didn't outline (and I'm not satisfied with the outcome). However, beginning short story n°2, outlining has become a big part of the process, and it has helped a lot in being able to write quite fast. If I don't outline a scene (like it's the case right now, the scene I'm writing isn't outlined), I'm lost and I don't know what to do and I'm becoming frustrated, haha!
Maybe I'll try and outline more for my future big projects. It seems to help me write more and faster.
This is weirdly similar to where I'm at with a fantasy novel right now! I've been building this world/premise and LOVING it. I'm desperate to start writing but until now I haven't had character motivations or plot. HOWEVER, the character motivations started coming together yesterday and out of that alone I know I could probably get through the 1st half of the novel. I'm still in the quandary of whether to start writing (which will be the most pantsy thing I've done in a long time), or whether to hold off and wait for an outline.
WIP TWINS HECK YES. So glad to have someone else struggling through the same thing. It's so weird! Is there something in the water? Bahaha. That's definitely the quandary and I say YESSS do it! As good a time as any to try pantsing again haha.
@@KateCavanaugh Ahhh I'm so tempted. Okay. I think I'm gonna dive in!
🙋♀️ I'm a pantser! And honestly, I don't know how outliners do it...I feel like I'd get bored of the story once my characters sort out their arc? So saying that, I am putting much more time into developing my characters BEFORE writing a word - sounds like you are right on track 💕
That story sounds super cool. I'd buy it.
Would you rather write Harry potter or have Harry potter in real life??
Kate you are so impressive because you can maintain your passion for this over a long time.
Aww thanks Scott! I just really love it!
I had never been an outliner until this last novel. I always tried to pants before this, but it only got me mediocre results. So for this last novel, I spent 2 solid weeks forcing myself to outline and I hated every minute of it. It was painful. But, as it turns out, it was exactly what I needed to do. I wrote a really solid draft that didn't need a lot of heavy reconstructing. I still really hate outlining, and I am dreading outlining my next novel, but for me, now it seems like it's a necessary step in my process. I do agree with you that some projects might require a different approach to what you are used to. I'm excited to see how panting works out for you.
the short story I recently started was for a fiction portfolio in my creative writing class, and I was never able to get it in completed because it kept completely refusing my attempts to line it up. I used it in our critique workshop by putting in what I had and adding the outline for the second half of it for them to at least know how it was supposed to go. just off my shitty rough and FIRST draft, the group said I should make it into a novel (which I never thought I’d hear and never considered although I love the story premise, but I’ve never written a novel) and I was the only one they said it to so I was in shock. anyway I was going to start attempting to do so after this term since I’m so stressed, and I tried finishing it as a short story first but the exact details of the story and the characters changed like 9 times in one weekend and I never completed it before the deadline, so I only turned in a half completed one again, and will probably have a D on my portfolio bc of that and my lack of completion on almost all the included stories, and it being late. but anyways, this was all because of how much the story was changing and how it just refuses to be outlined which if it weren’t for school I would have been okay with as I often pants (I do a bit of both, depending-I love outlining too but if I’m honest I’ve been so lazy the past year). so this whole video is a mood and from your videos after this one I think your story has come along quite well thus far and I wish you the best of luck with making it a beautiful completed work! (it seems I can only write fast AND well and ENJOY IT when it’s on my own time and decision; for college I’ve sucked and writing is my ONLY niche. thankfully we’re starting the creative nonfiction unit now which-even though I love poetry most and learned to realize I love writing fiction too-I am excited for as it is what I am objectively best at, so maybe I can end this term on a high note. grrr
Great video 💖💖 too bad about the letter but I'm proud at you for sending it out!
THANK YOU! :) I'm proud too. I've since received more rejections and it really isn't as bad as I'd made it out to be in my head bahaha. I feel like I've unlocked an achievement somehow! :)
@@KateCavanaugh Im sure youll find an agent :)
I have never actually plotted out a novel before writing it. I have made makeshift plots as I was writing, but never anything like a full outlined plot. Usually I end up just following my story where it takes me.
I actually just started a new novel recently! It's a pretty weird WIP for me, because I've never written anything in this format before, but I'm sooo pumped for it! Your excitement is contagious, so I'm going to go write now! :D
Hi Kate, love your writing passion! One of the few writing channels I watch. Keep up the good attitude and work and you will certainly be published. I’m new to the channel so don’t know if you are all ready published. If yes were can I read your stuff?
league of assassins? god of death? oh no, it sounds so much like a story i had in my head since 2014. i feel it's not original anymore since there are many stories like it. i feel that's a big problem nowadays.
Who cares about originality if you love the idea yk
The current novel I'm writing, I started by pantsing. By the time I was only a few chapters in I decided to outline even a small portion of it. THAT MADE A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE!! I usually in between pantsing and outlining, but this story made me realise that I should start planning my stories. I know that won't be true off all my stories, but having an actual plot line at least made the writing process easier. Good luck on your new project!
YES YES! That's what I always feel like -- having even a small outline helps guide me and make sure I don't just jump off the deep end or follow the trail of a super minor plot line haha. I think I'll probably end up plotting more as I get closer and closer to certain points. Like maybe I need to write the 2/5 I know in order to find out what the next 1/5 will look like plot-wise.
@@KateCavanaugh Same...I've started this current story like that. I wrote the 2/5 I knew and then the details started coming so I wrote them down and started planning. The planning helped to me to move the story forward little by little.
Not really pantsing vs. plotting but I'm co-writing a novel for the first time and that's been really interesting. I'm still a pantser but my co-author is a plotter. It's definitely been interesting. Luckily it's going well but it's been fun to see how different this novel is from anything either of us have written before.
OMG! YES, okay, I feel you. I'm co-writing a novel with my friend and I'm constantly surprised by how different our writing styles/methods/preferences are but still able to create something together.
Welp it’s march, here’s to planarch as I like to call it. April’s almost here so I’m excited to get writing again!
Bahaha I called it Preparch last year, so I feel you! I heard the Camp NaNo stuff won't be up and running until Monday, but I'm super excited too! :)
I self published The Wolfe's Lair totally without an outline lol...I just wanted to have my own book on Amazon lol...now I am working on a full length novel want some sort of an outline.
OOoh, how long was The Wolfe's Lair? With short stories, even now, I don't outline. So I could see why when you bump up the word count, you'd want to outline!
@@KateCavanaugh It was 40 pages about...my mind meanders so I need an outline to keep my muses in check.
I used to be more of a plantser, I'd pants the beginning and plot only as needed for the more confusing scenes. Last March (omg it's been a year...) I joined a fandom event and I had to collab with an artist, and it was a big thing, so I needed to present proof of progress every now and then, and I needed an outline. It was the first time I planned the entire thing so thoroughly and mostly stuck to it, and I've enjoyed it for the most part! Still not a fully detailed outline like I've heard some authortubers do, but it's been an interesting project. I'm super close to finishing it now asldjfhasjdf
On the other hand, I've just joined a new event of the same kind, and I am having the same problem of premise vs plot... I need to sit down and think about this new story in more detail, but I also have to finish the other first!! ^^;;
I am working on two stories right now! I am a Historical Fiction Writer and so it is hard to do two projects at once ! My first story is a short novel about Ohio During the Civil War, and the other is a 600-800 page epic about slavery! I have to plot, I don't know what I would do other wise *lol*. Good luck Pantsing! I love you Kate! You give me so much inspiration!
The most outlining I’ve ever done is writing, “Character 1 and character 2 have their first bonding experience in chapter 3.” From then, I might write, “They bond through talking about what their favorite constellations are.” But after that, I just write the chapter and put that idea in wherever it seems to fall. For me, I can have a broad outline before I start writing but, most of the time, I just start writing and ideas come to me along the way. Either that or I get stressed out from trying to follow an outline and feel more limited in creativity. Then again, everyone has a different preference. I’m a pantser who uses a vague outline whereas my best friend is a hardcore plotter. She has great ideas but she can’t write nearly anything until she’s detailed everything that goes on in the chapter.
Your videos are so fun!! Your energy is wonderful and I am finding it contagious. Your videos put me in better moods. 😄 I love your vlogs!
I've recently watched a ton of your writing vlogs, and I was wondering if you have tips for how to juggle multiple writing projects. Do you ever work on multiple first/zero drafts at the same time? How do you keep projects separate enough?
My first novel was so pantsed it didn't make any sense . My second was pantsed about 90%. I'd write myself into a corner, then go to work (factory jobs then) and think it out while I worked. Then I'd come home and write myself into another corner. The last two novels have had more outlining, with occasional feral pantsing to add spice. All of it gets it done! Congrats on the rejection! It really isn't as bad as I feared when I first submitted mine. Speaking of which, I need to get another batch going out!
The only time I've ever plotted a story was in Sophomore year of high school in Creative Writing class because it was required as part of the grade to turn in an outline of a short story for the semester "exam". Everything else, I pants it. Which might be my problem: I keep rewriting and changing things. But right now I'm stuck with condensing my book to get it at a descent debut-novel word count. It was at 140k, then down to 129k, and now I'm trying so hard to get it to 100k, but I don't think it's possible. It's just that long of a story, I guess.
I just can’t bring myself to fully outline my stories. I’m writing fanfics at the moment, but I do hope to one day be published.
I feel like outlining takes away so much when writing a book. To me, it already feels like the book is partially completed, and I don’t see that fun. I mainly write to discover. Hence the term “discovery writer”, which is another name for pantsers.
I like to sit down and just start writing. The words seem to flow by themselves most of the time and I end up writing a bit more than I intend to, but that all part of the fun.
Writing can be hard work, but it’s also so much fun and rewarding when you finally finish that first book. Whether it’s fanfiction, nonfiction, or anything else.
I'm going to outline a princess fantasy wip for April's Camp Nanowrimo. As a career pantser I'm really intrigued to see how this will work out. Plus I have my reread for 2018 Nano novel to do.
EEEEE! You're checking off so many things, that's exciting! New method? CHECK. NaNo reread? CHECK. I'll be interested to hear how outlining goes for you! :) Any tips on pantsing?? hahah.
Not a past project but a current project: I haven't started writing, I'm still in the planning phase, but I've had this story in mind for a long while, and I just realized I don't have a plot! Lol. I have the structure/premise and the characters, but no plot. I'm going to have to think about this 🤔
I used to pants novels all the time now I half pants and half plot. The first novel I ever wrote was in sixth and I pants all of it.
Maybe that's what I'll be turning to this time! Half pants half plot. Because I feel like I'm not ~truly pantsing~ since I know 2/5 or so, but then that last 3/5 is so clearly up in the air.
Being a plantser I do both of them, depending on my mood :D Great vlog. Have a blessed day, Kate!
I relate to this so much lol. I still haven't outlined that new idea yet. Very weird for me. I like some kind of structure, but for some reason every time I sit down to outline...nothing. Unfortunately, it made me stop working on it these last few days. But I think that's a good thing because it got me to go back to the fantasy I was working on during NaNoWriMo. This is a new method for me too since I'm writing each girls' perspective separately, then I'm going to combine it all together. Definitely have never done that before hahaha! But then again, I might release each girls' story as its own book... Gah! Obviously, my brain is all over the place lately lol! I just need to make a decision and go with it. If it were only that easy hahaha!
YAY for it getting you back to your NaNo project! I'm really excited to hear how the combo goes later and what your tips/experience will be with writing this way.
But yeah, what is it with this problem? It's hard because I can't tell if it's a great thing to try something new or if there's a clear problem I'm just ignoring/not seeing and THAT'S why I can't plot like usual.
I used to do pantsing on a novel for 2 years and this year i started outlining it and it has become much more easy to understand my own fatasy world.
I do it on excel and it really helped me i maybe gonna do both forever.
Pantsing the draft until i cannot go further and making the logical conections and fix with outlining
I almost never outline but I reread and edit a lot
Do you use a certain program for your writing sprints? I've been using mywriteclub. I saw it on someone elses channel and gave it a go. I like it :)
No, I don't! I just use a timer and the file I'm working in. But I've heard of mywriteclub and I think I even made an account ages ago, and just never used it. So it sounds like I need to give it another try!! I know lots of people like writeordie too, but that's more for just getting the words out (and is also terrifying bahaha).
My current WIP is very different than anything I've ever done before. The MC is a guy, I'm not outlining yet (I might further in though), it's has a sci-fi/dystopian vibe and honestly... it's really hard to write, but I love it. Also, I have premise and characters, but no plot yet, so I understand where you're coming from with that. 😅
YESSSSS WIP TWINS bahaha. I'm excited to hear more about this dystopian vibe! That's a genre that trends sometimes and fluctuates in publishing but I NEVER get tired of. I looooove dystopian-esque stories.
You made me think though, in the past few years, I haven't written a male main character unless there were multiple main characters in the story!
I think there might be a game within those 3: making use of character (or the plot embryo); global plot of the story & the premise. When I get myself established we might need to do some collaborations on this [PLEASE]. Obviously after the "Big Magic" collaboration. I have found the Writers Idea Thesaurus a good book for playing with the alchemy of taking ideas to find a premise. One example is
Chapter 2. The clash or competition between X & Y
Category 9: Science vs. Superstition.
The book talks about scenarios dealing with instances where the two exist in conflict or out of balance. Kinda like the whole Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe not living as a cosmic [science] entity who is seen as someone who's abilities are not yet fully grasped. So we assume they are supernatural by mystical origins. There are more than a few clashes that can be observed through the lens of science vs. superstition. We could also consider the conflict discovery vs dogma. One example I have filed away is the real world conflict between the blockchain vs established currency exchanges. One could also consider the conflict that resulted in the choice to abandon artificial intelligence in the dune universe. 🤯
There is a lot I have to think about after watching tonight's video Kate... 🤔🤔🤔BUT THAT IS CLEARLY ON BRAND! To Be Honest. 🤷♂️🤷♀️
I need coffee to follow along lol
Bahaha probably because I consumed lots of coffee while making the video! 😂
This video is a bit old, but I seriously can't tell you how relatable it is.
I'm in the process of planning my first novel ever, and it's absolutely killing me. I seem to have created a world, and multiple characters, and yet somehow still don't have a plot. I started actively working on this about a week ago (though the original premise came to me around 4 months ago) and all I wanna do is actually write, but the plot just refuses to come to me. It's just bits and pieces with nothing solid to work with.
I don't think I've ever experienced frustration quite like this. And it's beginning to actually stress me out. 😂😂😂