Pantsing as Experimentation

I saw a meme on Facebook recently saying that pantsers (writers who don't outline their stories) use the first draft as an outline. While that may be true to some extent, writing the first draft provides me with more than an outline. The first draft allows me to get to know my characters better, beyond what a character sheet can tell me. As I write, I can feel out my characters' quirks, reactions, and more. It also helps me establish settings and help me figure out how the characters solve problems. Of course, it's possible to develop all of this separately prior to writing the book, and even I will agree that it feels like a lot more work to write a draft, then try to extract an outline, transfer information to a writing bible, and of course take the story through one or more additional drafts before finishing it. Why then does pantsing seem to work for me when outlining ahead of time doesn't?

I think for me, part of what drives me to write is the experimentation aspect of fiction. As a writer, I get to create characters and worlds, put them in tough situations, and see how they work. I need the details provided by actually writing the story to determine how successful it will be. Sometimes it doesn't work; like all writers, I have trunk stories that will never be published. Sometimes I start a character down one path and decide it's not working, so I have to scrap what I wrote and start over. While it can be frustrating, it's part of the process. As I go along, it gets easier. It took me about two years to write the first draft of Dryads to Discover but only five months to finish the first draft of Dryad in Doubt. Part of that was because I was working on more short stories during Dryads to Discover, but part of that was that I didn't know the characters very well with the first story. I felt more confident with them in the second book, and it was easier to draft a middle section.

Now it's time to start the final book in the series, Dryads and Dragons. I'm torn between starting where I left off and trying to create a rough outline first. Given what I've said above, I should start writing it. I don't want to do a scene-by-scene outline, but I do feel the need to establish the major acts of the book before getting started. Hopefully by the time this post goes live, I'll know what approach I want to take and be on my way.

Do you feel your stories are experiments, or do you like to outline them first? How much do your stories change as you draft? Feel free to share in the comments.

IWSG: Weird Google

First of all, good luck to anyone participating in National Novel Writing Month! I've already written over 55,000 words in my current work in progress, Dryad in Doubt, so my goal for this month is to finish it instead of starting something new. And if I don't finish this draft in November, I'll do it in December (or whenever I figure out the third act of this book.)

Anyway, it's time for another Insecure Writer's Support Group post. You can learn more about this group on their website, Facebook page, or Twitter account. You can sign up for their newsletter here.

Our hosts for November are Sadira Stone, Patricia Josephine, Lisa Buie-Collard, Erika Beebe, and C. Lee McKenzie.

Our question this month is, "What's the strangest thing you've ever googled in researching a story?"


I don't remember everything I've looked up over the course of my writing career. Since my current project is about dryads, I've been researching trees, and I blogged recently about some of the extreme trees that will play a part in this book. I've also had to research the main setting: Madison, Wisconsin. Probably one of the strangest things I've looked up for this project are hospices in Madison for a scene location. While I've drawn inspiration from maps and pictures, I changed some details about the location (which I try to keep unspecified) to better fit the story. I've also looked up layouts of local hospitals.

What weird terms are in your Google history? Feel free to share them with us, since Google will probably find a way to profit off them anyway.

The To-Do List

As always, I have so many projects yet make so little progress on any of them. Here are some of the things I'd like to work on or have in progress:

1. Crochet: I recently completed a pair of fingerless gloves, but I might make some more pairs for other people. I'm also learning how to make Harry Potter characters.

2. Knitting: As if crocheting isn't enough, I want to learn how to make socks and sweaters. First, I need to start with a scarf kit.

3. Writing: In addition to Dryad in Doubt, I started a
new short story for an anthology.

4. Marketing: I recently discovered a site called Book Brush that allows you to make marketing images. Below is one I made for the Catalyst Chronicles series. I need to make more graphics for my other books.

5. Mailing List: I set up an account on MailerLite, but I have to finish importing my list from MailChimp. (MailChimp's prices have gone up, which is why I want to switch.)

So, yes, I have reasons for not blogging as much as I used to. In fact, I should end this post and start writing.

Anything interesting on your to-do list? Feel free to share in the comments.

Fantastic Trees and Where to Find Them

Since my work-in-progress is about dryads, naturally I have to research trees. In particular, I've been looking up extreme trees, such as very old or very big ones. Here are some of the most interesting ones I've found, though I won't tell you how they affect the story:

Thimmamma Marrimanu is a banyan tree over five hundred years old and spread out over almost five acres. It's found in India.










The redwood trees along the coast of California and Oregon can reach nearly 380 feet in height. They can live over a thousand years.

Baobab trees in Africa can also live a long time, up to fifteen hundred years. They bloom for a single night, and their root systems are taller than the part of the tree above ground.






I plan to introduce trees from other continents as well, but I'm still researching them. 

Have you seen any of these trees in person? Do you have a favorite type of tree? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

IWSG: A Coffeehouse of One's Own

If September hath thirty days, then save the first Wednesday for the Insecure Writer's Support Group. Check out their website or Facebook page for more information.

Thanks to Gwen Gardner, Doreen McGettigan, Tyrean Martison, Chemist Ken, and Cathrina Constantine for co-hosting this month. The question we're supposed to discuss is If you could pick one place in the world to sit and write your next story, where would it be and why?

Since I'm focused on my current project (working title is Dryad in Doubt, the second book in an urban fantasy trilogy, about 27,500 words long as I write this post), I'm going to use this story for my answer. The heroine of this series is a dryad who lives at the top of Bascom Hill on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus (see picture below for Victoria's tree):

My first thought was to write either on the steps of Bascom Hall (the building in the picture) for inspiration or to write in Memorial Union on campus to be on location. The first floor of the union can be noisy, however, and the steps would be uncomfortable. So I'm going to go with  my favorite coffee house in Madison: Michelangelo's Coffee House.  Although the address is on State Street, they have a back room and back entrance very close to the Concourse Hotel, where WisCon is held. (Yes, I miss not having gone the last couple of years. Maybe next year or 2021.) I've attended readings at Michelangelo's. They not only carry a good selection of tea but also have good vegetarian meals and desserts. I could find a quiet corner to write in and keep myself fortified during the process. When I need a break, I can wander around Madison and scout out scene locations. A shame I don't live in Madison. Anyone want to contribute to a GoFundMe so I can live in Madison until I finish this series? That might make school drop-off and pickup a little inconvenient, so I guess I'll have to write at home and at work (on my lunch hour) instead.

Where do you like to write? Do you have an ideal writing location? Feel free to share it in the comments.

Reading/Writing Update

I don't have a whole lot to blog about this week, so I'll keep this entry short.

On the reading front, I'm up to 91 books read so far this year. Yes, that's a big jump from my last report, but during my vacation a couple of weeks ago, I discovered a fantasy series with eight short (less than 200 pages on average) books. (The series page on Goodreads is a little behind.) I'm also finally getting around to the Murderbot series, and those books are also short, more like novella-length than full books. I probably won't be able to maintain this pace, but hopefully I won't be scrambling to meet my reading goal at the end of the year.

At the end of June, I finally finished the rough draft of Dryads to Discover. (I announced the news on Facebook but didn't have a good opportunity to post it here.) The book is currently a little under 75,000 words. Currently I'm taking a break from it until my son goes back to school in late August, when I'll read it and start revisions. In the meantime, I've started the second book of the trilogy. The working title is Dryad in Doubt. I've written about 8,000 words so far. The writing pace is a bit slow, but hopefully I've got a better sense of the characters and plot this time and won't need two years to finish it. (Having posted that, I've probably jinxed myself to hit a writer's block.) Progress on this book will also depend on how many other projects I work on in parallel. I have started the next book set in the same world as the Season Avatars, though I don't have a book or series title yet. I've also toyed around with a short story, but the idea hasn't jelled yet and needs more time to incubate.

So, how's your summer going? Are you working on any special projects or taking some time off? Feel free to share in the comments.