Introduction
Are you a plotter or pantser when it comes to writing a novel? This is a question that the writing community eternally debates on. Creative writing is inherently pantsy. My perspective on this debate is pretty clear cut to me because I’m a plotter, but not a plotter in the traditional sense. Pantsing has a lot going for it too and I won’t discount it because writing fiction or even non-fiction is a creative process where you write what the muse tells you. You wouldn’t think creative writing would lend itself to having a structured methodology to support it, but it does. I think most writers can use some help with their longer work, but shorter works or short stories can be done by pantsing without much planning.
There is all kinds of advice about writing better. Some writers are just talented artistically and can do with fewer tools to help them write. Sometimes this comes from experience and understanding all of the tropes, technique, and patterns they want to put into their writing. You cannot underestimate the value of this, but it makes for lousy advice as what works for them will not work for you. It is unique to them.
Not all writers are created equal. I come from a software development background and have seen that programmers and analysts have a range of abilities. I know there are programmers who are three times more productive than other programmers. I know analysts who are also far better than others they work with. The same obviously goes for writers or any other profession. I myself will never win a Nobel or Pulitzer prize for fantastic writing and I don’t have the most artistic prose. I’m a good writer, but realize my limitations. I will use a methodology to help me write novels because I know they work. Software development uses methodologies and best practices to standardize approaches, reduce risk, enhance productivity and repeatability, things that we can all use.
The Plotting Methodology
What I’m going to present is a methodology for plotting a novel, not a technique. A methodology has a number of techniques combined together in a structured manner to support the creation of a novel. You can use this methodology, while still pantsing the details (after all, it is supposed to be creative).
The Plotting Methodology Stages
- Story Concept
- Determine Initial Ending
- Create an Outline
- Create Plot Cards
- Writing Chapter & Outline Next Chapters (repeat until done)
The plotting methodology produces five main outputs.
- Know what your ending is.
- Know what you are going to write.
- Know how many chapters you are going to approximately write to get to the end.
- Know how long you are going to take to finish writing.
- Reduce risk so you don’t have to rewrite your novel halfway through.
Why Have a Methodology?
Software development is a field that has undergone many methodology and best practice changes, especially since the early 2000s. During this time, Agile software development began to take off, replacing or working along side the classic waterfall style methodologies. In the classic method you do a lot of up front planning and requirements gathering and definition so you know exactly what you want to build before you start. Obviously this is a time consuming process and it takes a long time before actual coding starts.
Agile development along with Design Thinking methods take a different approach from this. With these methodologies you understand what the big picture is first and you iterate towards the finished product by building smaller software modules that keep adding functionality until you are complete. This means that you gather enough requirements to build a module, not the whole product, and then deploy it quickly in sprints to provide some functionality and you keep iterating like this until you have completed the whole. This approach allows for incremental progress rather than the big bang and you are finished the complete product. The success rate is higher with the Agile approach as you can steer as you go, have a incrementally growing product that works, and even change the later requirements as needed. You get a better idea of what you want to achieve as you work on it.
Now, this sounds pretty good right? Well, Agile has drawbacks too as it doesn’t scale to large projects without additional methodological support. You cannot go back to integrate things you miss and build core framework / structures without breaking everything if it isn’t planned properly. The bigger a project is, the more support it needs for integration. Agile also isn’t budgeted or scheduled like a classic project, so businesses that do this must be flexible both procedurally and financially.
A business example of the above can be quantified by rocket development. SpaceX used an agile methodology to iteratively develop their now standard Falcon 9 rocket that runs rings around its competitors for reliability and lower cost as they pioneered re-usability of the first stage booster. They experimented, failed (as in BOOM), improved, and repeated this cycle rapidly until they finished. The company knew they were going to build a rocket from the beginning, but they didn’t know how long it would take. However, they succeeded where the more expensive traditional waterfall design of the big rocket companies failed. Being agile, having a fresh start with the latest engineering methods, and knowing what you want to build is good.
How Does The Plotting Methodology Help Me?
The methodology helps you figure out what you are going to write before you write it. In software development you need to know what you are going to build or aiming for. You don’t just wing it which is pantsing in the structural sense. The act of programming or writing is pretty much pantsing, which combines your writing skill, techniques and patterns you have learned, and your ability to put what you visualize in your head into programming code or sentences. So if million dollar projects need a methodology to succeed, a scaled down version of that should help you finish your novel with less problems.