All Dressed Up For NaNo And No Outline To Follow
For some reason, I’m a full-time pantser for NaNoWriMo this year. Yes, I don’t know what I’m going to write and most importantly I don’t think I’ll ever be thinking of it until I start writing. I don’t know any of my characters right now (I’m going to meet them there), I don’t know where they live (I’m going to knock on their door when I pay a visit), and I don’t even know their names (great!).
I’ve chosen this route not because I believe I have the capacity to do so. I think as part of the challenge, this would help keep me on my toes and start something being just as excited as I would seeing my first baby. The outline will make itself up as I engage and I’ll be able to make things organically, without following a fixed set of rules or lines.
Would I fall into a bad net and get stuck at some point? Why yes. Would I feel like quitting at some point because the plot gets stuck? Of course (well, I did get stuck at some point with an outline last year so there).
Perhaps I’d get the chance to surprise myself this time. Talk about a book that’s living inside of you that you never thought you had. I would like to read that. Anything that’s stuck inside this head will seep out even when it doesn’t want to. I’d be so proud if a J. R. R. Tolkien type-story crawled out of the page and started talking me. That’d be so much fun.
On a more serious note, yes I’ll be a full time pantser. I don’t envy planners quite as much, not that there’s anything wrong with them, or with planning. They’d still be good people, I know it, but imagine taking a ride and seeing where the road takes you and finding something in the end that’ll either impress you or terrify you. It’s a bit scary, yes, but it’d be also exhilarating and fun. On that note, I wish you all the best and see you on the other side.
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