Redefining Writing

James Gartner

        I had finished two drafts of novels before I took my first creative writing class.  People still argue about teaching writing, and some believe that writing is something that can't be taught.  They should try and read those ancient drafts and see what they think then.  Of course, I'm sure that more things than merely education have contributed to my writing.  I did write far more regularly back in those days, but then, everything was more regular then.

This book is very helpful whether you're
a pantser or a plotter.

     Needless to say, I had never heard of "pantsers" and "plotters" when first I started writing.  I just did what I felt like doing, usually starting off just writing and making stuff up as I went, and maybe outlining a few things later on.  I used to picture my story as a kind of movie then, and I still do sometimes.  I'm a very visual person and I'm studying film as well as writing.  As I write more, I tend to see things a little differently.  Pantsing seemed to work out all right, but then I'd go back and look at my work and find all kinds of problems.  But what trouble is that?  It was just a draft, after all.  Yet every time I plugged one hole, something else opened up.
       So, ninety pages into a new draft of a new novel, one I'm considering working on for this class, I decided to start fresh and try and build a solid foundation before I begin to write.  I'm trying to be more organized.  But I'm young, and I've always found trial and error to be effective if time consuming, so I'm trying something and seeing how it goes.
       I think that's also some of where I get blocked up when I'm trying to write.  As I'm looking ahead, I'm thinking I'll probably do lots of different outlines.  Just let things go and see where they end up, then shuffle some things around and start again.  Eventually my outlines will look like one of those choose your own story books probably, but it's an experiment.
       In my last blog post I talked about being a binge writer.  That typically goes with being a pantser.  And honestly even if I have outlined something, the details of the scenes come as I write, at least so far.  Sometimes that takes me in different directions from where I had plotted, but I'm pretty flexible.  The problem with writing a novel is that sometimes it takes a long time to figure out that you're wrong.

Redefined implies that there is nothing more to do.
Perhaps a better slogan would be "Redefining Education,"
but maybe that was already taken.

       So I'm still searching to improve the way I go about writing long projects.  Who knows if I'll ever be satisfied.  I don't always stick to a certain path, even if it works.  Most of the excitement is in the experiment, in the search.  There always might be something better (which, by the way, is particularly frustrating when writing because I'm never really satisfied).  I don't think anyone is too old to keep learning.  Then again, I'm young, so that's easy for me to say.
       Perhaps I should have put this disclaimer toward the top, but if you came here looking for advice, you'll find that I'm still figuring things out myself.  Check out the other posts on #amnoveling and you may find what you're looking for.  In addition to Plot & Structure, James Scott Bell also has a blog.