Plantsing

It’s less than two weeks till NaNoWriMo, and I’m working on motivating myself for another year. I don’t have any new ideas for books, but I’m writing a book I tried to write for NaNo in 2016. It’s light and fluffy — it’s a romantic mystery that involves Santas, and I’m going to have to find time to outline it before I start.

There are, according to NaNos, pantsers and planners. Pantsers are those who write freestyle, by the seat of their pants. Planners are those who come in with a complete outline and follow it carefully.

I’m a plantser. Plantsers have a bare sketch of topics and fill them in freeform, and later edit for sense. We have not so much an outline as a list of chapter headings and a bare idea of what those prompts mean.

It’s a fun way to write for someone who trusts their imagination and trusts they can pick up all the plot holes in the edit.

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For all my Maryville MO readers, NaNoWriMo starts November 1st. You can sign up — you know you want to write a novel! — at nanowrimo.org And if you decide to write a novel, please come drop in to the Board Game Cafe Thursday nights in November (November 1st, 8th, 15th, 29th) from 6-10 PM for a writing space with other writers! 

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