Yesterday one of my favorite bloggers, Cindy of A Writer’s Diary, had this to say about Eckhart Tolle and writing:
“She [Oprah] wanted to know if he [Tolle] sat down to write aware of what he would say, if it was all planned out in his head, or what. He said he didn’t usually know, he made time in the mornings for writing and showed up in his writing space with the intention that he would write, and then he tapped into a still, clear space inside and the writing just came to him. Not automatic writing, he said, there was thought involved, but mostly he just showed up and waited for the words to come. This is what the romance novelists call writing by the seat of your pants. You’ve got your pantsers and your planners. I’m a pantser. So is Tolle.”
Love that term, pantser.
I think I’m a pantser too. Or at least, my creative heart is. But I’ve got a well-armed planner in there too! While she’s very useful at some points in the process, she’s a heck of a nuisance the rest of the time. For example: when I think too hard about what “has to happen” in a manuscript as I’m still inventing it, I get tense, cranky and slow. Writing is like slogging through molasses. Take the last few days as a case in point. Today even!
I worked well this morning. I write with a loose four-act structure with each an even 25% of the whole. This means my first act should be about 17,500 words, give or take. This is a nice loose guide to keep me on track. The pantser loves it, actually. So this morning, I completely lost myself in the scene. Didn’t overthink things. Discovered a new character and some new subtextual tensions. All good. Except it added more words. Not so good. My MS is already too long (the publisher likes it between 50,000 and 80, 000). The first act is about 24,000 words right now, with the first dead body showing up on page 80. Dang it!!
See what happened there? I had a great day writing, but then thought too specifically about end goals and wound up feeling bad about the inventive stuff. I’m a pantser and my planner brain is a bitch!
My planner brain tells me that a good writer could write decent prose, hit the desired MS length and plot a story all at once. Or at least on a major revision for God’s sake! My pantser self says, well, no. I always draft 100,000 word novels. It’s my natural rhythm and my natural wordiness (take heart all you writers who write with too many passive sentences, too much filtering, and a whole lot of repetition–my drafts are just horrible!). Cutting is for later revisions–I’m still working on plot and I can’t edit prose and work out plot intricacies at the same time. Planner brain says: lame excuses.
Also, planner remembers that she heard somewhere that readers want dead bodies faster, as early in the novel as possible. At least by MS page 50. Page 1 is better. And pantser just can not do it. Pantser wants to invent worlds and introduce characters first. Still, pantser and planner both agree this whole thing is about creating a great experience for readers. What to do?
All of this has had me quite tense. But today, thank heavens, I stepped outside the panic. I took a quick look at what I’ve written for anything that at this point obviously needs cut or moved, and then decided to let it go. For now. I will move forward, and instead of looking for a 75,000 word total, I’m going to look for 17,500 word acts, so my too long first part won’t mess up my overall count. I’m going to finish this revision with an eye to plot and subplot fun, then and only then go back and look for reshaping–after all the twists and turns are out of my head and on paper to be manipulated.
This will work. I’ve done it before. But keeping that planner at bay is hard. She needs to be lunged like a jumpy horse, so I’m going to my office and doing paperwork to give her some space. I need her healthy and fit for when the time comes.
But I confess, I love the creative stage so much more. I love the playing, the waiting, the sacredness of it coming through me. I’m a pantser.