Confessions of a Wannabe Pantser - by Matthew Greene

What writing lessons do you have to keep learning over and over?

I'm not sure what it is about "pantsing" that is so appealing to me. 

Maybe it's the romantic image of writers touched by the muse, letting the words flow through them, creating works of genius unencumbered by any prior planning. Maybe it's a frustration with the drudgery of outlining, the mess of notecards spread across my office, the thoroughly un-sexy work of breaking story. Maybe I believe I'd be a better writer if I were more spontaneous, less methodical. Maybe that's why pantsing holds such allure.

Or maybe it's because I can't do it.

More accurately, I can't sustain it. When I have the magical spark of an idea, the first thing I want to do is dive into the writing process. Let's get these characters talking! Let's see what the opening scene looks like on the page! Let's let this momentum carry us through the entire manuscript!

The problem is, the momentum doesn't last. And before I know it, I've wasted thousands of words trying to find the story. I've let characters indulge in long stretches of dialogue as they explain themselves to me. I've let the narrative stall because there is no muse guiding the process. At least not for me.

Perhaps the truth is, outlines are my muse. Amorphous ideas turn to scribbles on a legal pad. Those scribbles turn to index cards shuffled into the order that feels right. And those index cards turn (if I'm doing things the proper way) in a detailed outline that can guide my process. Sure, I'd much prefer a toga-clad goddess whispering in my ear. But a Word document full of bullet points gets the job done all the same.

Still, every time I start a new project I question whether I need to go through all that. Sometimes a character is so clearly defined in my imagination, a story idea is so salient, it fools me into thinking I can skip the hard stuff. But over and over again, I learn that I'm not that kind of writer.

Over the past few weeks, I "pantsed" my way through 20,000 words of a new manuscript...only to learn once again that I was building without a foundation. Of course, I maintain that no time spent with your characters is ever wasted, but having to throw out all that work still hurts. Maybe someday I'll learn.

One tip I heard recently (in a TikTok from screenwriter Colby Day) may be the key to breaking this bad habit of mine. He acknowledged that sometimes when he's fired up about a new idea and wants to jump straight into writing, he'll give himself "a little treat" and write the scene(s) or sequence(s) that he can already see clearly. After that, he'll do the work of writing a full outline for everything else, guided by everything he learned from writing those initial pieces. No wasted time. No squandered momentum. I may just try it.

In the meantime, if you hear me say "I'm gonna try writing this one without an outline," please slap me in the face. Friends don't let friends write 20,000 words in vain.