Hey! I like your planning process, thanks for breaking it down for us. Did you ever feel, coming out of pure pantsing, that making such a detailed outline somehow destroyed "the spark"? Or has it actually facilitated more creativity for you?
To answer your question, this is what I was afraid of because when I've tried to outline in the past that is exactly what I've done. It's totally killed my desire to write the book.
But I don't really see this as an outline. I am hitting main plot beats and pantsing everything in between. So while I might know what the midpoint turn is, I have no clue what that scene is going to look like beyond the main thing that is accomplished, for example. I'm still surprised by ideas that come to me, and I have zero issue with making changes to the synopsis as I get new ideas. This allows for it to feel fresh and feel like I am still discovery writing (because I am!).
For me this became more of an issue once I was published. I no longer had as much time to revise. And after a few books of huge rewrites, I realized I needed a different method. This works really well for me! I always recommend trying new things, but ultimately I do think you have to do what works best for you and your writing style. Let me know if you have more questions, and good luck with your writing!
I have the exact same problem with planning! In my head, once it's planned, my brain says it's "done"; the creative instincts dub it boring and want to do something - anything! - else. I couldn't get on with the Story Genius method because writing the most exciting scenes first killed all motivation to continue. But I love the idea of pantsing an outline as you go along and imagining out a lot of the character backstory in detail before starting. Those are usually processes that stay in my head, but might be best committed to paper!
I also fear what will happen if/when I end up with deadlines to write towards. Taking three years to write and revise a MS is fine when it's just me and the writing buddies waiting. A publisher, on the other hand...
Ah, yes, the brain thinking the story is done--I feel this! I think you'll learn to adjust when you have deadlines. This is a fear of every author I know, and everyone of them has risen to the occasion. I think you will, too. <3
Kiran, if you email me at hello@madelynpostman.com, I’ll send you a few things I’ve found and put together from Story Genius. Jessica, you too if you’d like!
I love how you’ve broken this down! I’m currently working my way through story genius and I like all the different pieces you’ve pulled together to create you “pre writing” story work! I’m going to create something like this for my newest story.
Great advice for everyone, whether we’re indie or traditionally published. Lots of food for thought, thanks 😊 I’m a great fan of Save the Cat but hadn’t heard of the other one so I’ll order that.
+1 for Story Genius. When I was teachjg undergrad, I assigned it to my students and had them do all the exercises. Really saw some great improvement.
I literally just published my own "pantser" to "in-between" journey this afternoon, so it was super neat to read yours and compare notes!
Oh I'll have to check it out! And I totally agree, story genius is such a game changer. I tell every author I know about it!
Hey! I like your planning process, thanks for breaking it down for us. Did you ever feel, coming out of pure pantsing, that making such a detailed outline somehow destroyed "the spark"? Or has it actually facilitated more creativity for you?
Hi Nicola! Thanks so much for reading.
To answer your question, this is what I was afraid of because when I've tried to outline in the past that is exactly what I've done. It's totally killed my desire to write the book.
But I don't really see this as an outline. I am hitting main plot beats and pantsing everything in between. So while I might know what the midpoint turn is, I have no clue what that scene is going to look like beyond the main thing that is accomplished, for example. I'm still surprised by ideas that come to me, and I have zero issue with making changes to the synopsis as I get new ideas. This allows for it to feel fresh and feel like I am still discovery writing (because I am!).
For me this became more of an issue once I was published. I no longer had as much time to revise. And after a few books of huge rewrites, I realized I needed a different method. This works really well for me! I always recommend trying new things, but ultimately I do think you have to do what works best for you and your writing style. Let me know if you have more questions, and good luck with your writing!
Hey, thanks for the long reply!
I have the exact same problem with planning! In my head, once it's planned, my brain says it's "done"; the creative instincts dub it boring and want to do something - anything! - else. I couldn't get on with the Story Genius method because writing the most exciting scenes first killed all motivation to continue. But I love the idea of pantsing an outline as you go along and imagining out a lot of the character backstory in detail before starting. Those are usually processes that stay in my head, but might be best committed to paper!
I also fear what will happen if/when I end up with deadlines to write towards. Taking three years to write and revise a MS is fine when it's just me and the writing buddies waiting. A publisher, on the other hand...
Ah, yes, the brain thinking the story is done--I feel this! I think you'll learn to adjust when you have deadlines. This is a fear of every author I know, and everyone of them has risen to the occasion. I think you will, too. <3
This is so helpful, Jessica, thank you. I’m a fan of Story Genius too. I’ve been using the scene cards for my short stories.
Oh thanks for reading!! The scene cards are great!
I wonder if there’s a place where someone has pulled out the most useful exercises from Story Genius, I’d love to have them all in one spot
I went on the digital version and bookmarked all of them!
Kiran, if you email me at hello@madelynpostman.com, I’ll send you a few things I’ve found and put together from Story Genius. Jessica, you too if you’d like!
I love Story Genius too!
It's so good!!
I love how you’ve broken this down! I’m currently working my way through story genius and I like all the different pieces you’ve pulled together to create you “pre writing” story work! I’m going to create something like this for my newest story.
Thank you! It's taking several books to really figure out the right process for me. I'm sure you will find the right combination for your own writing!
Great advice for everyone, whether we’re indie or traditionally published. Lots of food for thought, thanks 😊 I’m a great fan of Save the Cat but hadn’t heard of the other one so I’ll order that.
Oh, I hope you love it. It was such a game changer for me!