The book has been coming along well all week. I’m now at 14,326 on the new first draft of Ohio Three. Hitting the daily word counts pretty well, and this time I’m sticking closely to my line-for-scene plot and not going “WHEEEEEE” and pantsing like there’s no tomorrow.
I know there are folks who pants as their process (work without an outline, or a net, or even a tightrope to carry them across the crevasse of novel).
I have my process — line-for-scene outline with a story Sentence (Protagonist VS Antagonist in Setting with Twist). And this time, (with four novels I hate obtained by pantsing) I’m sticking to the Sentence like the science that it is.
Pantsing is, for me, the equivalent of religion — you close your eyes and leap on faith. And as happened every time in my past when religion and I slammed into each other, when I pantsed, I got clobbered.
So… line-for-scene outline. It’s my Science. My process that does not require faith in the unprovable (writing into the dark). It lets me see where I want to go, and then get there. And this time, I’m getting there… and the places I’m getting are where I want to go.
