Hello. I’m Bob Pastorella, co-host of the This Is Horror podcast, website manager for This Is Horror, and writer. I’m the author of Mojo Rising, They’re Watching (with Michael David Wilson), and have numerous short-stories and non-fiction online and in print in various publications.
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It’s come to my attention that there are some writers out there who plot and/or outline their stories. These highly organized people spend time examining their story ideas from multiple angles, pondering the motivations of their characters, designing elaborate schemes to direct the story from the sidelines, building tightly-wound plots to thrilling and satisfying conclusions that are logical yet unpredictable.
There are other writers who start with a simple notion or springboard directly from a compelling character and a general concept, building momentum from escalating conflicts. They put aside careful examination of plot so their characters take on a life of their own, constantly shifting the general idea to write themselves into a corner, forcing their characters to use wit and grit, building tightly-wound plots to thrilling and satisfying conclusions that are logical yet unpredictable.
Both methods yield similar results.
Both methods are valid and effective.
Still some writers use a little of both methods. Hybrid plotter/pantser … plantsers?
Bottom line … it doesn’t matter. The key takeaways are: compelling characters, tightly-wound plot, satisfying conclusion, logical, unpredictable. How you get there is your choice.
Matt Bell (an excellent writer of such books as Scrapper and Appleseed) wrote a book a while back called Refuse to Be Done: How to Write and Rewriter a Novel in Three Drafts, which is a how-to book about writing and rewriting. Matt is a firm believer in the discovery part of the creative process. This is what I like to call the Zen-mode of writing. You know what I mean … when the words are flowing, the characters are clicking, and there’s nothing standing between you and page. Those writing moments, when you are lost in the story, can be the most freeing and liberating parts of writing. It’s when you’re IN THE ZONE, and it’s a powerful thing, a high that cannot be replicated, and it’s the feeling I strive for with every writing session. This way of writing is crucial to pantsers … it’s how we get the work done.
The reality is that every story must be rewritten. Truth be told, I hate rewriting. I do it because I have to. It’s necessary. I put words to the page in a mad rush, so it makes sense to look that those words later. Not just for typos or missing words … or just plain wrong words, but for clarity and also … just to see if I can make it better. That turn of phrase that sounded so fucking cool when you first wrote it? How’s it holding up now? Is it flat? Incoherent? Silly?
Is it still fucking cool?
How can I improve it?
Personally, I use the edit as you go method, which is going over what was written before you tackle new words. But this doesn’t address the problem of not having a road map, or outline, for the entire story. It only works to fix the words.
How do you fix the story?
Mr. Bell suggests outlining your story AFTER you’ve written it.
You don’t know what you’ve got until you’re done. You’ll be in a better place to set the story down in a way that makes sense once you’ve written the first draft. This would be the second draft he refers to in the title. I’ve been doing something similar with my screenplays. The Small Hours was written originally as a novel without an outline. Before writing the screenplay, I riffed off the novel with a quick outline, basically a list of the scenes I wanted to write in chronological order. And I say riffed because tackling every scene in the book would make a 300 page screenplay and nobody’s got time for a five hour movie. My goal was 88 pages (88 minutes) and to do that I had to condense and delete scenes. But I did write an outline and was surprised to find that I had a structurally sound story for my characters to play in to begin with.
I got lucky.
But let’s say I didn’t have a structurally sound story. Writing the outline AFTER writing the first draft is one way to test the foundation. You know you’re going to have to rewrite it anyway, and I think part of the reason I don’t like rewriting is because I’m just polishing the same old words. But if there are changes, then the creative juices kick in again. Now I’ve got something different to work with, and I get to write new things with specific goals in place to make the story better.
Every writer approaches their projects differently. This method of outlining after the first draft may not work for everyone, but I think it’s worth a shot, especially if you found yourself meandering during the initial writing sprints. Not that meandering is a bad thing … it may the thing you need that gives your story a serious jolt. But if you found yourself getting way off track, pound out the first draft anyway. You’ll have something to work with that an outline might turn into a really good story.
Folks, my TBR list is daunting. It stares at me with menacing eyes. I’m reading severals books at once, most of them prep for future podcasts, and they are really, really good. I’ve been reading so much I don’t have time for movies, or video games, but I’m hoping I can report on some of these books soon.
And I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t watching any films. Lately, I’ve been catching up on Fulci films. Those old horror films are bonkers, and I love them.
I did write a short-story though. I’m letting it sit now before I go back over it with fresh eyes. And I’m still working on the script, and still thinking about my next prose project.
Listening to a lot of jazz. Check out Connie Han if you want a recommendation, you won’t be sorry.
peace&love