Drawing from the Well
It’s been a long month with little completed writing. As of now, Book III is at 59,431 words, only 2,420 words more than a month ago. I’m not pleased. I’m out of the habit and practice and, frankly, making some excuses. There’s more to come, but I have so little to report right now that we just need to move on. The well, is almost dry.
Filling the Well
Well, it’s not as bad as I thought. I honestly didn’t think I had finished ANY books in the last month. At least I finished three: Gallant by V.E. Schwab (AMAZING!), Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire (great), and Whill of Agora by Michael James Ploof (just ok). That said, I’ve still eaten up my entire lead and am now one book behind. Mistborn is fascinating and enthralling but very long. A Thousand Pieces of You has my attention as a multiverse story but I’ve had a lot going on that has kept me from listening to the audiobook. Soon, things should stabilize and I’ll get back to it.
25/100 for #ProjectBookworm2022
Well Chat
I’ve described many times (like here and here) that I am a proud Plotter. The differences between Plotter and Pantser aren’t as polar as some people think; it’s a continuum. I am closer to one extreme than the other but I still have my pantsing moments. I discovered some fantastic world-building and interactions in a particular scene in Calm’s arc in Book III. Still, I plan a lot.
So what is a Plotter or Planner? The name should make it pretty obvious, but this is one point that will underpin the ultimate discussion in a few weeks about discovering who you are as a writer.
A Plotter, in a pure sense then, is someone who sets out to determine the entirety of the plot, including the minutiae, before setting down a single word in their draft. This involves determining characters, their arcs, locations, details, themes, and more. All of that is done in advance. Now, few people are Pure Plotters. I certainly am not one. I DO set out to determine characters, their arcs, locations, many details, and occasionally a theme or two in advance. I can’t write the story without knowing where it’s going.
This might sound great. A lot of the “writing” work is done in advance. This also means that planning is writing and if you disagree, I’m happy to discuss/argue about it with you. The downside, though, is that it can take an inordinate amount of time to get to drafting itself, to actually writing the book part of the book. One other typical downside stated by pantsers is that by the time you get to drafting, you’re bored because you know what’s going to happen. For me, knowing what’s coming gets me excited for it and determining the actual prose and dialogue can be incredibly satisfying for me. So it has its pros and its cons.
Next week, we’ll talk about the other end of the continuum: Pantsing. I hope you enjoyed this exploration of one of the major writing styles and that you write all the words. Be well.
May the tide carry you to safer shores.
BSG