Trying to Reform – A Former Pantster – NaNoWriMo

The countdown clock on NaNoWriMo.org is still ticking away. Nov. 1 is getting closer by the second.

October is winding down, and I am about mid-way through my mountain of planning worksheets – character arcs and biographies, outlining, scene setting – all of this writing to actually get to the WRITING. This is such a strange approach for me.

I am a Pantster. No shame in admitting it. I am a fly by the seat of my pants writer = a pantster.

I’m reading through StoryFix.com tip #26 – The Pantster’s Solution to Story Planning – and I’m feeling a lot of self-recognition.

But, I’m seeking to reform, at least for now.

Here’s how I usually work – an idea comes to me, usually two unrelated things pop into my head and make a connection – that part has not changed.

Then, in my pantster days, I would sit down and start writing, no planning, just writing, and I would write my way through the story, write it all out, just write, write, write.

Now, that is certainly creative, I feel at one with my muse when I use that approach, but have I mentioned that there’s only 30 days in November and that I would like to have a completed manuscript of at least 50k words by midnight on Nov. 30?

So, while the pantster approach is certainly comfortable for me, I don’t think it would give me the best shot at succeeding. Hence, the change.

Now, depending on how my experience as a NaNoWriMo Newbie goes, I may be a reformed panster forever.

Or, I may only break out the worksheets for the next NaNoWriMo…

A little NaNoWriMo humor for your day 🙂