Writing...Just because!

“First, find out what your hero wants, then just follow him!”  Ray Bradbury Over the past five years, which is actually when I started writing fiction, I have grappled with the question of whether I’m a plotter or a pantser. You know, the plotter being the writer who is keen to develop the entire plotline, laying points on a graph, identifying the ‘inciting incident’ and all the ‘energetic markers’ and where they appear, above or below the plot line; and the pantser being the writer who writes by the seat of his or her pants. I definitely pantsed my way through my first novel and then got stuck mid-way through my second and the only way I could get unstuck was to complete a chapter outline. Not necessarily a plotter move, but somewhere in the middle. My favourite - supposedly JK Rowling's outline for Order of the Phoenix So here I sit, happily in the middle, swaying from one side to the other, as needed. When preparing for my recent Paradise Writers’ Retreat , I de...

I've just finished leading a writing retreat in beautiful Phuket Thailand and am buzzing from the high that hanging out with fellow authors always leaves. On day one we talked about the start of the journey towards finding your author voice. As we opened with an exercise where participants interviewed and introduced each other, one writer introduced another by saying, "Her inner artist is very protective of her own blank canvass." It was the beginning of the shedding of egos, the recognition that to be a writer you have to say 'I'm a writer!' very loud and very clear and... then just get down to the business of writing, which is the only way to actually discover the author voice that is inside you. You hear so many literary critics, book reviewers and lecturers say that every author has a unique ‘voice’ but what exactly does that mean? The more you read, and start to pay attention to the different nuances of different writers, the clearer this become...

Are you a Plotter or a Pantser? Some people stand firmly in one camp or the other, with heels dug deeply into the ground, never straying to the ‘other side’. Plotters have their favorite plot planner and stroke it lovingly each time a new book idea is brewing. This sleek, well-groomed animal is probably a linear, left-brained writer, meticulously researching details and filling out a character chart before even typing ‘Chapter 1’. The Pantser paces distractedly, sort of hyena-like, bolting when an idea strikes or quietly basking Photo from freedigitalphotos.net by Anankkml in the sun, contemplating and daydreaming while complex scenes play out in her head. A pantser writes by the seat of her pants and scowls each time she walks by the blank plot planner hanging on the wall. She’s most likely a right-brained, character-driven writer. My name is Anne and I am a Pantser! At my recent novel writing retreat , I boldly announced that I am a ‘pantser’. Even though I shared ...