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With Another “The End” In Sight, What Do I Do Next?
This is always an interesting position to be in.
Writing is, on the one hand, simple. Sit at the keyboard, let the ideas flow, and get the words on the screen. On the other hand, there’s often quite the process involved.
This essay, for example, is being written by the seat of my pants. This means I’m writing as a pantser. If you’re not familiar with the term “pantser”, it means you write in flow by the seat of your pants. Little to no overall plan, no outline, what comes to mind and works for the final product is what you are reading.
This essay, as well as most of the blog posts I write, is an extension of the title. That’s where I’m going, exploring what I do next. Before I get to that, however, sharing my process feels like it’s worthwhile.
Not so long ago I did all my writing as a pantser. Whole novels were written without an outline, a definitive plan, and with one series, not a fully formed plot. This worked for me over most of my writing career.
However, at the start of the pandemic, I gave planning a try. Writing as a planner means you create an outline with greater or lesser detail. Then, you flesh out the overall story before you actually begin writing it.
