The Adventure of Not Knowing

I wanted to write a book in 30 days. In front of me: a map of Ledger’s Reach and the names of three characters. A beginning floated in my mind. I picked up a pen and began writing. Briefly, I wondered how much garbage I would have at the end of the project. Every sentence was rowing me further out to an unknown sea.

I’m a structured guy. Routines rock. But I pantsed this story. I wrote without an outline. I tracked characters. Maps covered my wall. I scribbled character names onto scrap paper. No plan. No predetermined outcome for anybody or anything. I wrote in a constant state of fear.

Dreth woke up with hay poking his face. He must have had a wild night and couldn’t remember. He sat with me as I wrote, shouting where he wanted to go, who he wished to rob. Dreth babbled on and on about his gaggle of oddball thieves. I saw him in a spin-off series. Despite all this, he disappeared from the rest of the novel.

The more the first draft developed, the deeper I fell into two different story arcs: one around a cult and the other around revolution. They never connected. As I raced past the 47,000 mark, the end was veiled by a fog. I concluded by offering the revolutionaries an ally. But that felt forced. Done, but forced.

Pantsing this story got me the pages and the outline of a plot– in 30 days too! But now, a cost presents itself. I re-read my story, finding myself confused and shocked by how many characters were left behind. I’ve already begun my second draft, eliminating one thread: the revolution. The story now focuses on the cult of Ledger’s Reach. One story arc for simplicity… It’s complex enough!

This decision does a few things. I’m closer to the characters from Ledger’s Reach, and I can share these characters in a deeper way so that the audience feels bonded. I have much more to explore. Every scene demands more details.

Pantsing offers benefits as a first draft choice. It forces you to start writing without the need to outline or plan too far. Pantsing doesn’t cost you the characters; it frees your true creative nature. If you choose pantsing the first go-round, I recommend restructuring after as you head towards revision. Restructuring is just rowing back to shore with a map in your hands.