I’m a big fan of Writer’s Digest magazine. It’s a great resource for those of us learning to improve our writing skills and to navigate the business of publishing. A while back, I cut out a piece from Writer’s Digest about *E.L. Doctorow because I loved his quote:
“[Writing is] like driving a car at night: You never see further than your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.”
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This is absolutely the way I felt about the writing process of my first book. I had an idea so I started writing, but I had no idea where it was going. It was almost like the characters told me their story and I just wrote it down. I began to worry about how I would end it, but it fell right into place.
People who write like this are called “pantsers,” meaning they write by the seat of their pants. There is no real plan. Other writers organize, pre-write, draw charts, and/or make outlines. They are rightfully called “planners.” Neither is right or wrong, just different.
As amazed as I was at how the ideas kept coming, the pantser experience led me to a lot of editing to do after. For this novel, I needed a timeline to keep my story and dates consistent, and I had to add additional plot lines to give the story more depth. So now I see some merit in planning. With my next book I am starting with some planning, but I don’t want my creativity to be stifled by sticking to an outline. I want that amazing feeling again as my characters take me into their lives.
Driving (writing) with the headlights on at night in an unfamiliar place can be scary, but when those beams reveal something wonderful, it’s a great surprise. I think my writing heart parallels E.L. Doctorow’s quote, but the realist in me knows I need some planning. So maybe 
I’m a pantser with a zipper and a button rather than an elastic waistband.Â
For those of you who are writers, which do you consider yourself – a pantser or a planner?
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*E.L. Doctorow (1931-2015) National Book Critics Circle Award-Winner, editor, professor and author of Ragtime, Billy Bathgate, and The March