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From Pantser to Planner

May 17, 2023 | By Women Writers Women Books | Reply More

A writerly evolution by Gillian Harvey

Like many writers, I have always been in a hurry to get words to paper. An idea will come to me and I’ll need to rush to the nearest post-it post-haste.

Until recently, when writing novels, if the muse took over, I had no time to make plans, create spreadsheets or scatter colourful paper squares across a whiteboard, but would churn out chapter after chapter, not always entirely sure of my destination.

So whenever I was asked, which happens more often than you’d think, whether I was a ‘planner or a pantser’ I’d always firmly have a foot in the ad-hoc pantser camp. ‘I’ll never be a planner!’ I’d cry. You see, I thought you were either one or the other – end of story. I didn’t realise how much I would evolve.

Pantsing has its drawbacks, as I soon discovered. The more I edited and rejigged and worked on each manuscript with beta readers and publishers the more I realised that when pantsing I missed crucial elements. I plunged in with little thought, just focusing on the bit I liked – a bit like a kid with a cupcake biting off the icing and leaving the rest for the dog.

That’s fine! I hear you cry. Everyone likes icing, right? And the dog’s got to eat something!

The problem was, I’d have to build my books backwards – knitting a timeline into a meandering plot, adding a sense of place to a description that waxed lyrical on finer details but didn’t plunge beneath the surface. I was making the process harder by creating plot holes in my wake.

I don’t know if you’ve ever made cupcakes. But chances are you started with the cake, rather than the icing. And there’s a reason for that.

It was time for me to evolve – to start at the real beginning. With notes and plans and a sense of structure on which to build my prose.

One of the things I’d avoided planning in the past was the worry it would stifle my creative flow, that desire to see where my sub-conscious wanted to take me. But now I’ve adopted a more logical approach, I’ve found new joy in shaping the perfect story arc, or editing words until they leap from the page.

Instead of curbing my enthusiasm, I’ve tripled it. I’ve added another layer of sponge and icing to the mix. And these days, the dog’s not getting a crumb.

One of the reasons for this shift is, I think, simply experience. Previously, I was always rushing to the end – hoping I could write enough words. Now I know that I can write to length, I’ve been able to slow down and engage with the process more, not simply float on a cloud of creativity and hope for the best.

So I’m a planner now, you ask? Well, yes and no. I’ll never go back to being a pantser (although I’m not averse to the odd meander off-topic when the mood strikes). But neither will I sit still and static in my method.

Right now, my novel process is developing an overall concept, then outlining the different stages, before breaking these into prospective chapters. Voila!

But I fully expect that in a couple of novel’s time, my process will have evolved again.

And it’s the evolution that’s the thing. It keeps writing fresh, it keeps me going and more than anything, it keeps things interesting. Both for myself and my readers.

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Freelance writer and author Gillian Harvey lives in France with husband, Ray and their five children.

She writes contemporary, escapist fiction, set in France. Her most recent release: ‘One French Summer’ was published by Boldwood Books in February 2023, and her next ‘A Month in Provence’ is due for publication in July.

Find out more about her on her website https://www.gillianharvey.com/

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Life isn’t quite going as planned for Katy. With her only daughter living in Australia and a husband who has asked for a break, she is suddenly at a loss.

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