Saturday, July 7, 2012

Plotter? Seat of the Pants'er?


Plotters and SOTP’s (seat of the pants) writers!  To what group do you belong as a writer?

Ask anyone that knows me and they’ll tell you I am not an organizer. I envy women that have their cupboards, closets, shelves and drawers organized. Kudos to them! Unfortunately, I’m not sufficiently impressed to implement it into my own lifestyle. I could, and have, organized but it’s not long until everything’s back to unorganized. (I refuse to use the term cluttered)

So a SOTP’er I am! The neat thing in being a non-plotting writer is that every time I sit at my computer to write, it’s like a new adventure.  My characters take on a life of their own. Just when I think I’ll take them down a certain path, they change directions.

My current WIP Like a Cedar in Lebanon started off being the young girl’s story. But now 112,000 words later, it is more the man’s story.  Lebanon (Lebby) is the young girl who gets taken advantage of by the older, more experienced Jack.  It was supposed to be her story, Lebby’s story, and it is to some extent.

But my SOTP writing took me on a journey to tell Jack’s story in this novel. The angry, violent, abuser Jack and the circumstances in life that drove him to be the way he was became one of the main focal points in the novel.

The good news is that in the end Jack finds God.  As a Christian writer, I always want to show that we can be a victorious overcomer through Jesus Christ.  That is a truth that you can take to the bank.

So regardless if you are a plotter or SOTP’er, write on, dear friends! Write on!

2 comments:

  1. Write on! I love that. I'm a SOTP kinda gal, myself. Have tried plotting, but it just zaps the story right out of me. By the time I get done plotting, doing character sketches and setting sheets, I feel like I've already written the story. No surprises, so I guess I'll just keep flying by the seat of my pants!

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  2. Love this! I am a plotter for sure. Any and Most products or crafts are planned out and formatted. I do sometimes pants-ersize things but I feel out of my element, so I revert back to what I know best. Lol. Great post.

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