Writing Without an Outline and Other Musings on the Writing Process

I’ve been writing! More importantly, I’ve been writing without planning ahead, often called “pantsing” (but I prefer the term “discovery writing”).

Let’s be clear. I have always defined myself as a plotter or planner, and the idea of writing anything before I knew at least the main points of the story seemed like a waste of time and energy. Well, I decided it was time to go off the rails, write by the seat of my pants, fly blind, loose canon my way through this story!

I’d love to hear your thoughts! What works best for you? Do you feel more successful when you write with an outline or without? Does an outline help you write faster? Are you able to do a cleaner first draft after outlining? Do you find it impossible to even use one method or the other?

I’m also experimenting with building a daily writing habit rather than making word count goals. Are you a turtle or a hare? I have been very slow but also steady in this week of writing. I know there are people who do 10,000 words in a day, then have to rest for a week. I have never achieved the 10k word day, but can commit to writing each day. Whatever gets it written, right?

Anyway, that’s what I’ve been up to. I hope your writing is going well!

Shout out to some of my current favorite authortubers for live sprints:

bytheBrooke
Carrow Brown
Dahlia DeWinters
KaShay Warren
Mandi Lynn
The Naked FireFly
Natalia Leigh

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