I used to outline every chapter before writing a single word of fiction

For years I'd spend weeks mapping out plot points and character arcs in spreadsheets before starting, but last November I tried just writing a scene with no plan at all and finished a whole short story in two days. The story was rough but it had way more energy and surprise than my carefully planned stuff ever does. Has anyone else switched from heavy outlining to pantsing and found their writing actually got better?

2 comments

2 Comments

dixon.rose1d agoMost Upvoted

I tried that once and ended up writing a whole chapter from the perspective of my cat because I was too lazy to figure out where the main character was going next. The cat's internal monologue about knocking things off tables actually made it into the final draft and readers loved it more than anything I'd plotted out. Sometimes not knowing where you're going is the best way to find something interesting.

the_richard1d ago

Read somewhere that Stephen King calls it "the situation" and never plans endings either.