I think free writing while granted is not something I ever really try(think I have by mistake actually) still involves thought. I mean define how you free write? You write about a character right? Isn't that character in your mind before you write word one? Otherwise with really no direction how could you string two sentences together? My example of what I think of when I think of free writing. I posted this in the novel section too if curious(shameless advertisement!) One scene is Kerrin in a jail. When I wrote it, I had this idea of her lamenting in a cell. One of the things I wrote was that in realm she was in there was no sun. Light comes from glowing materials around her. I didn't think deeply about this. It wasn't a before thought. What it was is she is in a jail cell, ok, what would it look like? I thought while writing. That was my immediate idea. It came from writing. There was still some thought though.
I no longer know what we're talking about, and it's probably not worth the effort to try to figure it out. Right?
No one "needs" to do anything. Speaking for myself, though, the only thing that gets me interested in writing fiction is that I have been deeply affected by the themes in some of the works of fiction I have observed, and when I find myself thinking about a theme that I have never seen developed in quite the way I want it to be developed, I figure if I want something done right, then I need to do it myself. That is why I like Shadowfax's suggestion: In my case, it is not that I decided I wanted to write a book, then I thought "but what would I write it about?", and then after trying and failing to think of something on my own, I decided to crib a plot. To be honest, I cannot really imagine what (other than money) could motivate someone to write a book, other than already having an exciting idea in mind and wanting to share that idea by telling people a story. Rather, it was the process of reading for my own pleasure that introduced me to some themes and some basic plot concepts (like "what if, when I was still alive, everyone suddenly forgot I ever existed"), and got me so excited about those ideas that I discovered I had my own story to tell about them. Which is why I resonate well with the advice, given to people who want to write but do not know where to begin, to begin by reading books and watching movies and TV shows. And if you are a pantser, and the lack of a theme in your story leads you to feel the need to ask if an author must begin with a theme, then that is probably good advice for you as well.
This might be a little OT, but could someone please explain the difference between a Plotter and a Pantser. I understand a plotter lays things out while pantsers don't like to plan at all (I think??), but do both methods undergo the same amount of editing? There's been a lot of discussion about pantsers vs. plotters and people who only do one draft (that's a pantser too, I guess?). However, I find these terms confusing since an edit in any method would have to occur at some point, and even the most random writer has to ask, "Where is this going?" eventually. If they didn't, wouldn't it just be freewriting I might be missing something here so maybe someone could explain it better, but I'm having a lot of trouble correlating a pantsing method with cohesive storytelling. Thanks!
Eh? Can you give your definition of a theme? Because by my definition of a theme, you can absolutely write without one.
My understanding is that a plotter creates a detailed plan for the book before starting. A pantser writes "by the seat of his pants", i.e. without overthinking it beforehand - just sits down and starts writing. There's probably something in mind that he wants to get written, but relies on making it up as he goes along.
Yes, I think even pantsers think about their plot. They just do it as they go, rather than figuring it all out before hand. There's a spectrum, I'd say, from people who have every scene meticulously planned before they start fleshing things out (ultimate pantser) to those who apparently don't even know what genre they're writing in until they're well into the story. I assume those people start with a vivid character or scene, and see where things go from there. In terms of editing - I used to be a one-draft pantser. It was a bit easier b/c I was writing romance, where the end is more-or-less known before hand (the MCs will be together and happy) and I just had to sort out the details in order to get there, and because I was writing character-driven stories rather than really plotty ones (like ones with a crime to solve or a villain to defeat). I'd start writing, get as far as I got in one day, and quit. The next day I'd read over the previous day's work, editing as I went, and then write a fresh day's worth. Any serious edits didn't come until the book was with its publisher and their editors got involved, and even then it was mostly copyediting and proofreading rather than anything substantive. I've moved away from that approach lately as I write plottier stories for a more demanding market, but it worked pretty well for a while!
