by B.D. Lawrence @BDLawrence3 Some writers are plotters. They write a detailed outline of the entire story before writing a scene. Some writers are pantsers. They write with no outline and no idea where they are going. I started as a plotter. I wrote a wonderful ten-chapter outline for my first book. But when the book ended up being thirty …
Seven Components Required to Create a Compelling Character
by Rachel Hauck @RachelHauck This August I’ve been writing full time for twenty years. I quit my job—cutting our household income by two-thirds—with one little $2,500 contract and a big deposit of dreams. While other contracts followed, my books didn’t fly off the shelf, win awards, or create buzz at my publisher. In many ways, I had a wrong idea …
Do You Outline, or Do You Write into the Dark?
By Glynn Young @ gyoung9751 A problem developed while I was writing my fifth novel. The problem had to do with what I conceived as a minor character – a four-year-old boy who would grow to adulthood during the story. But he wasn’t the main character; far from it, in fact. He was supposed to have a bit role. Unfortunately, …
Plotter or “Pantser” – Is One Better than the Other?
By Lori Domingo @LoriDomingo22 If someone had asked me that question a year ago, I would have proudly declared, “I’m a pantser. I never write from a plot outline. It’s too confining.” I had managed to complete one manuscript without it, and was hard-pressed when I was required to write one for one of my MA classes. It was something …
Plotter or Pantster? Yes
By Suzanne Bratcher You’ve heard the debate: when you write, do you plan first or do you write from the seat of your pants? Until last week I was certain I was a plotter. Once I have the germ of an idea, I draw a story arc, divide the arc into three acts, divide each act into scenes, and list …