179 | TTT003 | Plotting vs. Pantsing

Transcend HumanThe Transcendent Trilogy

Mar 4

Written By Daryl McMullen

March 4, 2024

Welcome back!

Today's Topic: Plotting vs. Pantsing

Oh, to be a Pantser!
It all comes down to personality
Plotting the Trilogy

// CHAPTER 1: OH, TO BE A PANTSER!

We touched on this a bit in the last episode so I don't want to spend a lot of time on it here. But when it comes to writing there seems to be two high level variations that most writers fall into:

Pantsers - who are able to sit down and write from the seat of their pants with little preparation
Plotters - who require a high level of structure and organization in order to complete their project

According to Susan Boyd - "Pantsers enjoy the act of discovery as they allow their imaginations and characters free rein to craft the story. Rather than focus on a detailed plot, they look through the eyes of their characters to develop each scene."

Whereas Plotters, "...prefer the structure of outlining the plot before settling in to pen a novel. They use mind maps, notecards, written summaries of each chapter or scene, or even hand-scribbled charts. Resources abound with guides to plotting a novel."

According to Boyd - here are some famous Pantsers:

Stephen King
Margaret Atwood
Mark Twain
and Raymond Chandler

And a few famous Plotters:

J.K. Rowling
John Grisham
and E.L Stein

Now the title of this chapter was, "OH, TO BE A PANTSER!"

Which suggests what?

That I'm not one...
That I wish I was...

Which is true on a very surfacy level.

I look at the Pantser life and I'm jealous. I picture Stephen King getting an interesting idea in his head - sitting down and banging out 6 pages a day not even knowing the full plot or ending of the book. And because he is who he is - it just unfolds in him mind - and pieces come together over time until the book is done. In many cases in a few months time - at least to complete the first draft.

To me that's amazing - that's a true writer - a truly artistic and creative mind at work. And at first blush - I wish that was me.

For those of you listening - you won't be able to see this - but I put a picture of me with Stephen King in the show notes.

Now before you're like, "No way!!! When did you get to meet him?" I'll spoil it - it's a life-size, cardboard cutout I found in a book store in San Diego.

But I love the picture - because I'll probably never get to meet Mr. King in real life.

Interesting tangent - my family was on a Spring Break trip to Florida one year. We signed up for a paddle board excursion, and were out on the water for most of the day. Around noon - we pulled into a small cove, pulled our boards out of the water and ate our lunch - then did a short hike along the coast - taking in the amazing coastline and some of the large homes set just off the beach. And wouldn't you know it - one of those homes belonged to Stephen King.

If he was home at the time - I was less than a football field away from him. So there's that...

But back to our episode...

I found a really interesting YouTube video in my research this week - and linked to it in the show notes. It's a montage of clips from Interviews King did over the years and the creator called it 10 Writing Tips from Stephen King.

If you have any interest - you should check it out.

// CHAPTER 2: IT ALL COMES DOWN TO PERSONALITY

So here's when I say, BUT...

Oh, to be a Pantser, BUT...

BUT what? Well, for me it's BUT what about personality? Because that's just not 100% my personality type...

I find myself at times lost in a scene - and I almost feel like a Pantser for a moment or two. But then the inevitable - I've written myself into a cul-de-sac - a dead end. And I have to re-write myself out of that dead end in order to get back on track.

Now maybe this isn't all personality - there's a chance it's because I've never written a full novel before. Maybe it's just inexperience.

But let's start with personality - because I'm really feeling that part right now.

For those of you with an understanding of the Enneagram Personality Test - this will make a lot of sense.

The Enneagram has 9 Types - each plotted around a circle - each interacting with the other numbers - either because they're adjacent - or because they are across from the other numbers for very specific reasons.

I won't go into the details - but I did want to talk high level about a few of the numbers.

Specifically 4 and 1.

An Enneagram 4 is called "The Individualist" and they are described in the following way:

Fours maintain their identity by seeing themselves as fundamentally different from others. Fours feel that they are unlike other human beings, and consequently, that no one can understand them or love them adequately. They often see themselves as uniquely talented, possessing special, one-of-a-kind gifts, but also as uniquely disadvantaged or flawed. More than any other type, Fours are acutely aware of and focused on their personal differences and deficiencies. Fours are inspired and highly creative, they are able to renew themselves and transform their experiences.

An Enneagram 1 is called "The Reformer" and they are described in the following way:

Ones have a “sense of mission” that leads them to want to improve the world in various ways, using whatever degree of influence they have. They strive to overcome adversity—particularly moral adversity—so that the human spirit can shine through and make a difference. They strive after “higher values,” even at the cost of great personal sacrifice. Well-organized, orderly, and fastidious, they try to maintain high standards, but can slip into being critical and perfectionistic.

Now - if I were to stereotype 4s and 1s I would say this:

4s are highly creative, give birth to their ideas and are just a little different than everyone else
1s are highly ordered, they need proof something will work in order to do it - and they tend toward perfectionism

Again - complete stereotype - and never true 100% of the time. But it should be obvious - based on personality - which group would tend toward being Pantsers and which would tend toward Plotting.

And since I'm an Enneagram 1 - it just makes sense that Plotting is right up my alley.

Again - my assumption is that there could be Enneagram 1s out there who are Pantsers - maybe they're just highly perfectionistic about the ideas as they come to them.

And I assume there may be Enneagram 4s out there that like to have an outline in place before they engage in their creative process.

But the takeaway here is that we're all different.

Based on personality - we most likely gravitate toward the writing style that matches our inner machinery. How we're wired.

And that's ok.

For me - this means I can be fascinated by Pantsers. But aside from short bursts or it in and amongst my plotted out writing - I probably won't be a Pantser.

Because my mind works much better with a foreshadowed road ahead. Plot points outlined - though simple they may be - providing a dimly lit path for me to follow. Just enough guidance so I don't wind up in a cul-de-sac.

And just enough direction so I can map out things like The Hero's Journey, obligatory moments, and genre conventions - all things I'm assuming an Editor would hound you about after reading your manuscript.

// CHAPTER 3: PLOTTING THE TRILOGY

So if I'm a plotter - I need to plot.

And in recent years I've come to understand that this may have been the thing holding me up.

The more and more I read about the Hero's Journey, and the Story Grid methodology - the more nervous I became about the writing I had already completed.

But instead of going back and adjusting it to match - I just stopped - feeling dejected and nervous about the task ahead.

But that's where things are different this time.

Because I'm at the point where I've owned the Plotter title. And if that's truly who I am - I need to plot out my work. Something I never did formally in the past.

Easier said than done though - right?

Because there is no set way to plot or outline your work. There are hundreds of ideas. Many different frameworks from which to draw. But no clear path forward on which to use and/or which is the most successful.

Ultimately - it's up to you. You have to do what works for you.

This is a mantra I hear repeated over and over on the Sobriety Uncensored Podcast I follow. The hosts, Daniel and Jenna, are quick to say there is no right way to stay sober. The 12 Steps of AA work for some people - but not everyone. You have to create the plan that will work for you - and work that plan every day for the rest of your life.

And that's what I'm feeling about the next steps for me as a writer. I need to pick a plan - and stick to it - at least for now.

And that plan is this:

I'm choosing to take elements from the Story Grid methodology - and use those to plot out my trilogy.

Then - I'm taking the Hero's Journey story arc and overlaying it - in order to get a two for one.

Here are 6 other writing structures I could have chosen, according to Kathy Edens:

The Snowflake Method
The 30-Day Method
The 5-Step Method
Write from the Middle Method
The 5-Draft Method
The Novel Factory Method
You can read up on each of those using the link in the show notes...

But I chose not to use any of those.

Because I'm feeling pretty good about my current plan.

Before we end today I just want to read through one Story Grid element that is helping me get started.

It's called the 20 Skeletal Scenes - and we touched on it briefly in the last episode when we walked through the Arithmetic of Writing. Or the Math of Storytelling.

To review - Shawn Coyne suggests you must abide by the 5 Commandments of Storytelling. Which are:

Inciting Incident
Turning Point Progressive Complication
Crisis
Climax
Resolution

And we discussed that these 5 commandments must be in every book, every quadrant and every scene in order for your book to work.

So taking this and applying it to the structure of a novel - you have to have these 5 commandments in each of the following sections:

The Beginning Hook
The Middle Build 1
The Middle Build 2
The Ending Payoff

So if you do the math - you will have the five commandments in each of the four quadrants - 5x4 - landing you with 20 Skeletal Scenes.

So let's walk through the 20 Skeletal Scenes for a novel in the action genre:

Beginning Hook

Inciting Incident: An attack or threat from the villain.
Turning Point Progressive Complication: The protagonist senses disorder and realizes the nature of the threat.
Crisis: The protagonist faces a choice to run away to reluctantly engage.
Climax: The protagonist agrees to engage.
Resolution: Fix it and forget it mission.

Middle Build One

Inciting Incident: The protagonist sees a whole new world.
Turning Point Progressive Complication: The protagonist becomes the target of the antagonist.
Crisis: The protagonist faces a choice to comply or defy.
Climax: The protagonist chooses, after which the antagonist asserts their dominant power.
Resolution: The protagonist reaches the point of no return.

Middle Build Two

Inciting Incident: The protagonist is dropped into chaos when encountering an unexplained event.
Turning Point Progressive Complication: The all is lost moment.
Crisis: How can the protagonist’s death be meaningful? The protagonist faces a choice to go in the face of uncertainty or give up.
Climax: The absolute commitment of the protagonist.
Resolution: The protagonist prepares to enter the ultimate arena.

Ending Payoff

Inciting Incident: The protagonist enters the sanctum of the antagonist.
Turning Point Progressive Complication: Someone the reader cares about dies.
Crisis: Do the ends justify the means?
Climax: The protagonist is at the mercy of the antagonist.
Resolution: The protagonist is rewarded.

So there you go - 20 short, story prompts to get you started. Rework each of these with elements from your own story and you're on your way.

Now you have an outline that can help keep you on track as you plot out and begin writing your story.

But wait - aren't you writing a trilogy?

Yes - insert major wrinkle here...

After hours of research - I came to the conclusion that there is a path forward on that front.

You just have to add a layer - a very important layer:

Go back to the 20 Skeletal Scenes and fill these out for the entire trilogy
These 20 Scenes will actually exist - sprinkled out over three complete novels
Next, complete the 20 Skeletal Scenes for each book
Book 1, 2 and 3 will each have a set of 20 Skeletal Scenes within them

This ensures that each book works separately - with a Beginning Hook, Middle Build and Ending Payoff that is satisfying for the reader
At the same time this is why the second book in a trilogy is so boring at times - and so hard to write
Because even though it has it's own Beginning, Middle and End - its main job is to be the Middle Build for the entire Trilogy

Next, once this is in place - it's time to overlay The Hero's Journey.

I'm not 100% clear if it works the same way:

If you need a Hero's Journey for the entire Trilogy
And one for each of the three books?
Or if it can just be for the higher level story told over the three books

But at this point - my plan is to start with it as related to the entire Trilogy. Then, if needed - work it into each book as a last resort...

So here is The Hero's Journey in a nutshell:

The call to adventure: This is the moment when the hero receives a call to adventure, which could come in the form of a message, a dream, or an encounter with a mentor or guide.
The refusal of the call: At this stage, the hero may initially refuse the call to adventure, often due to fear, doubt, or a sense of inadequacy.
Meeting the mentor: The hero encounters a mentor or guide who provides support, advice, and guidance on the journey ahead.
Crossing the threshold: The hero leaves behind the known world (ordinary world - the world of present day) and crosses the threshold into the unknown (often referred to as the magical world) often encountering tests, trials, and challenges along the way.
Tests, allies, and enemies: The hero must navigate a series of tests, trials, and challenges, often with the help of allies and the opposition of enemies.
The approach to the inmost cave: The hero approaches the innermost cave or the heart of darkness, often facing their greatest fears and challenges.
The ordeal: This is the moment of the hero’s greatest challenge, where they face a major obstacle or enemy and must overcome it to continue their journey.
The reward: The hero achieves a reward—often in the form of knowledge, insight, or a powerful object—that helps them on their journey.
The road back: The hero begins the journey back, often encountering new challenges and obstacles along the way.
The resurrection: The hero experiences a moment of death and rebirth, often symbolized by a physical or metaphorical transformation.
The return: The hero returns home, transformed and changed by their experiences, armed with new knowledge and insights that they can use to benefit their community.
The freedom to live: The hero achieves a state of freedom and enlightenment, often living happily ever after or in a state of balance and harmony.

Now, one thing you'll notice right off the bat is that there is a lot of synergy between the 20 Skeletal Scenes and The Hero's Journey.

Story Grid uses standard literary concepts like protagonist, and antagonist. The Hero's Journey introduces us to terms like Heros and Enemies.

But both have similar through lines. And when you make sure the elements of both are combined - the story takes on that much more depth.

So here's where I'm at in the process:

I've completed the 20 Skeletal Scenes for the entire Trilogy
I've completed the 20 Skeletal Scenes for Book 1
Still to do:

The 20 Skeletal Scenes for Books 2 and 3
Just to clarify - this isn't writing the actual scenes - just coming up with the idea, and a few sentences for each of the 20 so they can serve as guideposts for the overall story
And finally - I need to sprinkle in The Hero's Journey elements - or at least identify where in my story these elements are going to live

Let's Land the Plane:

Wow...

That was a lot - but it's what is keeping me moving forward at this point in the game.

As a plotter - this is exactly what I need to keep moving the ball down the field.

Over the next few weeks I hope to get all of my plotting on paper.

And hopefully - after that I can hit the ground running. At this point I have my original 5 chapters sitting there - but they all need to be repositioned based on this new direction.

And aside from those 5 - I haven't written a single sentence to date.

So I can't wait for that day to come - when I get back to the actual writing part.

I'll let you know when it happens - for sure. As it will be a historic moment in time.

Okay - that was a little dramatic. It will be a historic moment for me...

Thanks for hanging out with me this week:

I hope you're doing well and that you have a project of your own that keeps you up at night - or gets you up early in the morning
Whatever it is!
Something you're passionate about
Something you feel only you can do

Until next time friends - have a great week - and keep Transcending Human!

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