Well, I have achieved what I thought impossible. I started a novel without a preconcieved notion as to where it will go... or end up. I dreamt (as most my stories start) about a story, and it just wouldn't leave my brain. One night, quite late actually, I decided to get a little on paper, so I wouldn't forget it. I popped in a Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode for background noise, and as a sort of timer to keep me from going to bed too late. When the episode was finished, I had written a 12 page chapter of a new story.
Now, I am not much of a 'pantser': someone who writes by the seat of her pants. I love plotting stories out, and figuring out where the story should go before I write it. I think it may have something to do with my strong background in science and my need to control... pretty much everything. But I read over this story, and I really liked it. It is a werewolf story, but so far I don't know much more about it. Except to say that in it, 'werewolf' is a derogatory term.
I showed it to Brant, who really liked it also. We had one small arguement over the actions of one of the main characters, so I did a small rewrite, which ended up adding about 6 pages. Then I decided to turn it over to the writer's group. And I am more than anxious to see if they liked it too.
I believe that because this story is fresh in my head, and not one that has been roaming those empty halls for decades, that it comes out much easier. So I am going to experiment with it. I am going to try my best not to plot it out, but to write at least the first five chapters 'by the seat of my pants.' And we can see how it goes from there. Now, on to chapter two...
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
Good post. I look forward to hearing more about your 'pantsing' experiment.
ReplyDeleteWell, I definitely enjoyed reading your 'pantsing' experiment. (What is the origin of that word, by the way? Is it a "fly by the seat of your pants" kind of thing?)
ReplyDeleteI think your relative lack of knowledge about the world works in your favor on this one. That way, you can focus on just telling the story, rather than worrying about where to put all the details that you've accumulated in years of examination of your other story.
I'm looking forward to reading more from this one!
Yes it comes from "Fly by the seat of your pants." Not sure who first used the term. It seems to be such a natural term I think it has no specific origin.
ReplyDelete