Activity

Welcome to our first topic about story theory that isn’t talking solely about theme!!! *throws confetti* Okay, celebration over, let’s get back to business. 😛

Today we’re going to look at the mythical two types of writers: the plotter, and the pantster. It’s going to be a very theoretical lesson, unfortunately, but it will apply more solidly in connection to next weeks’ lesson which is some more details and thoughts about plotting.

 

If you’ve never heard of these two ‘types’ before, let me give you a quick rundown.

A plotter: outlines his novel before starting the first draft. Worldbuilding, plot lines, character development: it’s all taken care of before he’s even started.

A pantster: writes by the seat of his pants. No planning is done before the first draft, it’s all just write, write, writing.

 

These two writers look very obviously different when described like this, and that’s how most people see them. The people that plot, and the people that don’t.

BUT. I’m going to toss some dynamite into that bubble.

 

Everyone plots (or should plot) their novel at some point.
A book cannot live without plot. If the author doesn’t plot, the novel is a mess no matter how much editing happens. It simply doesn’t work.

I, as a lowkey plotter, always plot my novels before I start them. I don’t do hardcore outlining where every single detail is written out beforehand, but I like to have a loose structure.

Fred, as a pantster (and a fictional dude I invented right then), writes his first draft…and then guess what he does?

He outlines. He plots. He works out the structure of the story. Then he edits the mess of a first draft into a second draft.

 

Is it better to plot before the first draft, like me? Or is it better to plot after the first draft, like Fred? It doesn’t matter. There are pros and cons to both methods (I have been in both situations in the past), but the important thing is that you are plotting at some point.

Pros of plotting before:

• Writers block is less of a problem.
• You can more easily guess a realistic finishing deadline if you know how many chapters there are.

Cons of plotting before:

• You don’t have as much freedom of imagination when writing.
• Preparing your novel can take a lot of time.

(The pros and cons of plotting afterward are the opposite of the above.)

 

It’s a fairly well known point among writers: books need to have a plot. But why does a book need a plot?

Plot is one main thing that separates fiction from non-fiction. Biographies don’t (usually) have a plot, they’re about someone’s life. While biographies can be incredibly interesting, it’s not the same as reading a fiction novel.

Why? Because the plot of a novel is what gives it direction, and purpose. It’s the adventure you’re taking your readers on.

Plot and theme go hand in hand to make your novel stronger and deeper. Theme gives it meaning, plot gives direction and external examples to the internal struggles.

 

If I don’t outline my novels, my first draft has no direction, and it probably doesn’t even have good story structure. It would be confusing for someone to read, and it would actually lose a lot of meaning and have no real depth.

I would have to then outline for my second draft and rewrite every single word and scene and the story would almost be unrecognisable because the first draft was so trashy.

Because of that, I simply skip that first stage by starting with a loose outline . That makes my first draft at least a tiny bit presentable, and means that I don’t have to put as much work into my edits.

I nail down the basic plot and what the main goal of each chapter is (this eliminates useless chapters that don’t advance the character and/or plot), then let my creative side loose.

 

The main point is that everyone plots, and every book needs to have a good, strong plot to hold up and support the theme. The theme should work into the plot, and the plot should work into the theme. We’re going to look at that more over the next few weeks, which should be a good topic to dig into.

Since it’s NaNoWriMo month, and a lot/most of you are busy with writing novels (woohoo!), I don’t have a big important activity this week, but tell me: do you plot your novels before you write the first draft? Do you plot as you go? Or do you plot afterward?

 

@esther-sears
@parker
@caleb-e-king
@jessi-rae
@theswordinthebook
@selah-chelyah
@thewirelessblade
@fctait
@professorsjb
@katthewriter
@lightning-spider
@skye
@mairin-atha
@e-b-raulands
@jillifish
@dakota
@brooka3
@scarletimmortalized
@joseph_darkgrate
@NicoleG
@theinconceivable1
@elizabeth