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Blog post:

Writers usually fall into one of two categories. Those who write by the seats of their pants are called Pantsers. Those who plot ahead are called Plotters. Frankly, I don't think either word sounds good, but maybe that's just me.

Speaking of "me"...I guess I'd be considered a Plotter. I like to have a handle on how the story unfolds, twists and turns, and the characters (everything from their childhoods, vulnerabilities, to what's in their fridge). My synopses tend to run about 4-5 pages, so there is not a lot of detail, nor is anything set in stone.

Not only is the synopsis a good planning tool for my writing, ensuring that I don’t write myself into a corner, it’s also something my editor wants to see before I proceed. Synopsis writing can be hair-pulling, yes, with some of the biggest decisions centering on how much to include and how much to leave out while being clear.

But at the beginning of this year, I had the fun and yet hair-pulling task of figuring out where the Offspring series was going in the next three books and working on connected novellas in a whole new world/series. It’s hard enough to figure out one book, much less connected books. I knew the characters somewhat, knew the overall plots somewhat, and yet I could not get farther than that. I spent days with my notepad looking at the lake, scribbling a word here or there, looking at the birds, another word � you get the idea. At the end of the day, I was no further than I’d been at the beginning. Frustrating to say the least, because I loved what I knew, and I’m stoked about the new world. But there are a lot (and I mean a LOT) of details to figure out.

Plotting wasn’t working for me. So I decided to become a Pantser. Pantsing is in me. For instance, there were aspects of my Offspring series that remained a mystery to me for several books. Specifically, though I knew my Offsprings� parents had been given a mysterious substance that enhanced their psychic abilities in a top-secret government program, I had no idea what the substance was or where it came from. A character named Pope played into the series from the first book, making a brief appearance here and there, and I had no idea who he was. It was a lot of fun to let it flow as the series evolved, and the answers were a scream.

I had no answers with the new projects, so I looked at the questions. What was going on in the plot? How would the romance start and progress and what would keep it from going smoothly?

What helped in these two new projects was having a sense of how they started. So I sat down and started writing the opening scene of both.

This is what I got from the novella I was to write in my new world:

Kirin lifted his head and looked at the clock. Who the hell was calling at six on a Sunday morning? Snarl in place, he yanked up his cell phone and squinted at the number. His twin sister. She didn’t usually call at ungodly hours, which meant something was up.
The word “Yeah?� scratched out of his throat.
“You have to come home,� Lyra said without preamble.
The order prickled across his skin. “Like hell.�
“Pop’s missing.�
He sat up. “Oh, is there a celebration then?�
“Kirin, please. He’s been missing for two days. You know that’s not like him, whatever his faults.� Taking his silence as more resistance, she added, “Ellie’s back in town, too.�

Hmm. Pop’s missing, and Kirin’s really pissed at him. Why? What’s happened to Pop? And what happened with Ellie? It was fun finding out those answers, but what I needed to begin with were the right questions, the ones that tantalized me.

I got about forty pages into the next Offspring story and then things started to click. More like CLICK. It’s a feeling, like stepping through the portal into the world, feeling it and the characters. That’s when I start getting spacey and forget that I’ve put broccoli in the steamer until I see the light on the contraption the next morning. I love the spacey feeling.

What I learned is that it’s okay to change the process, even if you’ve been using it for several books successfully. I'll probably go back to it, but maybe I'll be a � Plotser? That’s what writing is all about, the flow, and going with it. Heck, that’s what life is about.

Go with the flow, my friends and see where it takes you.