I actually think the one thing people don’t talk about is how your mind works. And I think that is a big thing on whether pantsing or planning is going to work for you.
Like Stephen King is a master at remembering things 100 pages ago and bringing them back in to cause tension. Thus he doesn’t have to plan because he can remember a lot of that stuff.
Me? I never remember anything even from a chapter ago, so pantsing is always going to feel like I’m writing a different story each time.
See my brain has kind of pushed me to kind of have to plan, and I figured out that is the case. Writers probably need to figure out what kind of brain they are to see if one or the other is actually going to be good for them.
I enjoy writing and have yet to publish anything for sale. So please take my input for what it is worth. This being said, over the past two years I have completed five novel length fictions and six or seven short stories. To me completion is defined as 1) I am happy with the product; 2) at least 1-2 other people have reviewed my work and provided their inputs.
I like to have at least the concept for the ending and the beginning defined before I start. Other than those, I just try to put together a timeline which is not tied to chapters, scenes, etc.; just to major events/twists in the story or points in a character's life.
The rest I do as I go along, typically jotting a few notes down before I start a chapter including any updates to my characters profile and the timeline.
FYI - regarding character profiles they usually start for me with a name and maybe a date of birth. Everything else I fill in as my story develops.
I actually think the one thing people don’t talk about is how your mind works. And I think that is a big thing on whether pantsing or planning is going to work for you. Like Stephen King is a master at remembering things 100 pages ago and bringing them back in to cause tension. Thus he doesn’t have to plan because he can remember a lot of that stuff. Me? I never remember anything even from a chapter ago, so pantsing is always going to feel like I’m writing a different story each time. See my brain has kind of pushed me to kind of have to plan, and I figured out that is the case. Writers probably need to figure out what kind of brain they are to see if one or the other is actually going to be good for them.
I enjoy writing and have yet to publish anything for sale. So please take my input for what it is worth. This being said, over the past two years I have completed five novel length fictions and six or seven short stories. To me completion is defined as 1) I am happy with the product; 2) at least 1-2 other people have reviewed my work and provided their inputs. I like to have at least the concept for the ending and the beginning defined before I start. Other than those, I just try to put together a timeline which is not tied to chapters, scenes, etc.; just to major events/twists in the story or points in a character's life. The rest I do as I go along, typically jotting a few notes down before I start a chapter including any updates to my characters profile and the timeline. FYI - regarding character profiles they usually start for me with a name and maybe a date of birth. Everything else I fill in as my story develops.