Let go of the reins of your story

I can't talk, I pants so hard I could open a clothes shop.

 

I never said all panters had the problem, only that I have only seen it in pantsers. Everyone is an individual.

 

That needs to be on a tee-shirt!

 

Huh, thought-provoking thread. Personally, I enjoy character-driven plots. I'm certainly a novice when it comes to serious creative writing; but before I ever begin, I build the characters' motivations, personalities, etc. then see how they would realistically interact and build the plot/story from there. Not sure if this is right, wrong or even matters. It's interesting seeing the methods/perspectives you more experienced writers use.

 

I think that this is the method that Mark Twain was referring to in the quote I cited above. The more you develop your characters in your head, and the more personality you vest those characters with, the easier it is for you to imagine situations where their personalities either mesh or clash with each other.

 

Lol, you make it sound like it's a mental deficiency! But honestly, if you plot and you force your characters to do things to reach those plot points, how can you make the characters feel real? I dunno who said this, but you don't write characters but real people. How can you discover their wants and needs without setting them free? The goal is find the true story, not what you want it to be.

 

Their wants and needs are what you make them.

It really isn't. The story might stem from your perception of your characters, your experience and your conscious and subconscious, but ultimately, the story is what you write, and what your brain composes. It's not an entity floating in the ether looking for a mind to jump into.

Experiment - don't write the story and see if your characters do anything on their own.

 

If a developing character feels awkward doing what your plot requires, it may mean the plot needs more work. Plots are created by the writer, same as the characters are. There is nothing to say that your original plot is always right, and your character has to fit into it—or else.

In real life, would this particular individual you've created—with that personality, that history, and those beliefs—actually do that, or say this? If not ...a bit of plot-tweaking may be in order. Your plot may be faulty, or stereotyped. Your character may be the better, more original, of the two creations.

Some writers are convinced their original plot plans are always the best. They may be right—for them, anyway. But speaking as somebody who does allow my characters to develop beyond my original conception of them—and they do, on occasion, surprise me, and require a bit of plot re-jigging—I feel my more organically-developed plot turns out better than my first bright idea for it. I strive for that sweet moment when both character AND plot points click together, and it feels right to me.

Characters develop as they interact with other characters, and as they cope with what your plot forces on them. To try to stifle that character's development—especially at the early stages—is a mistake, in my opinion. I imagine experienced writers can start with a fully-formed character and stick faithfully to their pre-planned plots. They'll be prolific authors, which, if they're interested in selling large numbers of books, is certainly an advantage. But I think it's a mistake for new writers to be unwilling to go where their instincts take them. Surprises often lead to better stories.

That certainly doesn't mean getting diverted by every new idea or possibility. Writers do need to keep both character and plot in mind as they go forward. But I'd say do be open to making changes that feel right. First ideas aren't always the best—for plots OR characters. In my opinion, anyway. At least mine aren't. First ideas are just a starting point, aren't they?

 

Unless you're Marvel.

But not DC. Because Batman would never do something like get in bed with Robin.

Oh wait...

 

Good thing authors generally aren't sane then.

 

I beg to differ

 

Round here, we call it "winding someone up"...

 

Aight, I'm sorry master, I'll behave!

 

Consider me someone who writes subconsciously always, then.

 

I see where you're both coming from on this. I've always been a pantser, and I believe I started with writing jumbled messes. One time I had to stay in bed for a while. I was depressed and didn't want to do anything, but read. So, that's all I did do. I read works that were so damn good you want to read them again. Sometimes I did. Although this reading opportunity was an awful time in my life, I sort of internalized story structures, different types and approaches which in the end create different results. When I finally did start to write again the structure was just there, and it got better and stronger over the next years. I know I am writing a story. It's always a story before anything else.

I guess I just sort of like that ride I feel like I'm on by having nothing planned. I get nervous that I won't be able to do it because I'm not sure I really know how I do it. I'm also not afraid to scrape everything in revision. Sometimes the best thing to do for a story is open a blank document. I believe stories evolve in revision quite a bit, at least for me.

Newer writers with a similar approach might like pantsing for the same reasons I do. It takes time to learn the before (interning story structure) and the after (learning how to revise and the wonderful things that can come out of revision as well). But I really don't like to write any other way. I like having a schedule. I want to feel as though I can control my inspiration, but I want to believe my characters are wild.

 

There's more to story than structure though, and while I'm sure you didn't mean it that way, it sort of sounded like it. I think all voracious readers pick up the basics of story structure through reading. It becomes ingrained in us. We know HOW stories are put together. That doesn't automatically make us capable of telling good stories. There are tons of really horrible stories that manage to hit all of the proper story beats. Good writing is more than slavishly following three-act structure. You have to be a be able to get from point A to point B to point C credibly and believably and in a way that entertains the reader. A lot of people, especially at the amateur level, don't understand how to do that.

Now I'm not insulting pantsers because some really good writers out there do it that way. It can be done and if you can make it to the finish line and produce a readable and enjoyable tale, more power to you. It's the people who can't that have problems. It's the people who endlessly post "what should I do next?" because they have no clue what they're doing or where they're going and certainly not how to get there that have issues. As I said, *IN MY EXPERIENCE*, it's mostly pantsers that are doing that. They run out of steam in the middle because they have no clue where they're going and they just expect it to magically appear out of thin air. When it doesn't, they flush the book and go on to something else, only to have it happen again and again.

As Moose said of characters, "You write them to feel real." That doesn't mean they are real. They're just figments of your imagination. You imbue them with the characteristics of reality as much as you can, but they just aren't real. It's the people who are convinced that the characters in their heads have any actual reality, those are the people who have serious problems. The ones who think that the characters are actually writing the book and they're just along for the ride. Those people probably need some help. It you're just saying it as a joke and know it's all in your head, great. If not... there are listings for psychiatrists in your area.

 

I'm not tied to any one structure, not at all. I was just saying my progression from a jumbled mess to a published writer. But my method hasn't changed when it comes to how I write.

 

I personally believe a structure is important. While I will by no means suggest adhering to an original outline as if it were the rule of law, it's good to at least have certain landmarks to guide your story, otherwise there's no telling if it will actually end in a satisfying way.

That said, I recommend keeping characters true to themselves. Whatever established personalities and mindsets they have, stick to it, but don't let them control the narrative. Write in such a way as to prod them into making the decision you want them to. If they need to go left instead of right, put a sign up telling them to go left (not literally, but maybe your character is afraid of spiders and they see a bunch of spiders to the right). By doing so, you stay true to the characters you wrote but still write the story

 

In my experience, people who keep asking 'what do I do next?' are not necessarily pantsers—or rather, they're not asking for help BECAUSE they are pantsers. It's because as soon as they hit a snag, they want somebody else to untangle it for them.

We see that happening all the time, with people who haven't written a single word yet—never mind pantsing a story. These are often people who are simply working on an outline for their story, and hit a major snag during the planning process. Or they're worldbuilding. Seriously. How common is this, right here on the forum?

I reckon new writers sometimes assume that good writers never hit snags. The new writer's impulse is to panic, when they hit one themselves, and immediately start begging others for help. (They often call it 'brainstorming.') But good writers hit plot/character snags all the time. If you read books written by famous authors about their working methods, you'll discover how common this is. What these 'good' writers do is untangle the snags on their own.

I'd say don't get into the habit of running to somebody else to provide solutions. You'll end up always depending on somebody else's ideas—and giving up control of your own story.

If a writer hits a point where they don't know what to do next, I reckon they should get in the habit of working on the problem till the solution presents itself. Maybe even take some time away from the writing to let ideas cook. Or play 'what if,' until that eureka moment comes. It will.

Plotting or pantsing isn't really the crux of this issue. Problem-solving is.

 

I personally had problems finishing stories, not because I didn't know where it was heading, but because they got boring. It was so easy before so I just thought that I'm not good enough yet or that the story itself is flawed so I tried another, but now I've learned that when it gets boring, I just have to make it interesting. *What if that 'other' character would suddenly appear, what would happen then??

 

Same in the US. I still have horrendous issues with first drafts that make it difficult to get them efficiently out on paper because I'm hung up on perfecting sentences before the whole is placed on the page.