Today's post will be a little out of the normal. Mainly because this national novel writing month, I returned to my roots as a writer and did something I haven't indulged in for a long time: I pantsered this book.
I am usually a fan of my plotting and my careful details. However, this time I said screw it, threw away my plot (which I had spent an entire month working on) and decided that I would dive in with nothing but my poet-possessed laptop and my brain.
Really, it was a great idea.
This novel does not use a unique concept. It uses a plot mechanism used before, but done in a way unique to me. This is also outside of my usual method of operation. While I won't quite say it has a cliche plot, I focused more on telling a good story than trying to tell a unique story. There is a little irony in that I think I managed to come away with one of my better stories just by focusing on having fun.
This got me thinking a little. When I stepped back and viewed my book on the level of telling a good story, there are often similar plot mechanisms I like in a story. 'Snicker's' bars versus fillet mignon, but.... I think this month I went for a book that would be a fun read.
And somehow, I think I have succeeded.
By throwing off the usual controlled style of writing, I think I touched back on why I love to write. I think this let me relax and do what I love the most. This reflects in the quality of my writing, as well. This book will need edits, but I am not so certain that it will need a rewrite. I know scenes that I want to tune, but so far there are none I want to scrape.
It is a pleasant, uplifting feeling. While I am usually able to write a good quantity of words when I apply myself, I do not usually feel so eager to get up in the morning and get to work on a book.
Thank you, November. Thanks for letting me get back in touch with my roots and remember what it is like to write a book off the seat of my pants!
This is the book that I will send to a publisher and agents. It will need work, it will need polish, but this is the one that I will take all of the way.
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From a personal perspective I much prefer the 'seat of the pants approach' if I had to sit down and plan my plots I feel that I would go insane, I have a rough idea of where I want to take the characters and the story writing process is like a journey of discovery, sometimes, of course, this can come unstuck, but the perseverance and reaching 'The End' makes it all worth it.
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