6 Reasons to Pants Your Book

In an earlier video, I noted the benefits of #outlining a book. But in full transparency, I’m prone to #pantsing, myself. And I want you to understand that even though outlining can be great, you’re not “wrong” if your way of writing is to wing it. So, to balance the earlier video, these are the biggest points I find glorious about pantsing.

I’ll throw out a potentially controversial concept here, though — there IS a potential middle ground, which I used for my last novel. You can create a rough outline, nothing super detailed, and then use that as a loose framework. As you write, you know your path, but the way each scene and the entire book ends up is still highly up in the air. You still discover allow the way.

I find that this middle ground approach has a lot to offer. It’s just structured enough that I don’t feel lost. I can plan with it. But I don’t feel stifled, either. I can mess around and try things without losing my path.

Yet, most of the time, I just sit down and trust my fingers to go to the right keys, especially with shorter pieces. This is why my business is called takingdictation. I listen. I observe in my own head. Then I just write down what’s going on up there. I don’t judge it. I just preserve it. I worry about editing it later.

Are you a pantser? Or does outlining help you the most? OR, do you sit in the middle ground between the two, like I did with my last book? Let me know your preference on LinkedIn.