#pantser — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #pantser, aggregated by home.social.
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WordWeavers 28/8: What's one question you're still trying to answer about your story?
All my stories are trains full of questions. Another one appears once one is sort of answered.
The driver of said train
is the main question of all of them: "Where the hell is this thing going?" -
Did you see my outline when it blew up a little last week?
Were you disappointed my explanations in the comments weren't detailed?
Good news! I've got a more comprehensive walk-through of the process for you here! -
@IslaMorgan Klar, weiß ich doch.
Ich schreibe schon seit 25 Jahren und musste irgendwann einsehen, dass ich keine Plotterin sondern eine Pantserin bin, auch wenn ich Plottenkönnen lange Zeit als erstrebenswertes Ziel empfand. Hat mich jedes Mal in fette Schreibblockaden geführt.Ich finde den Begriff #Pantser übrigens saublöd 😅 wobei #Plotter auch nicht besser ist, zumal ich einen Plotter für meine Sticker zu Hause stehen habe.
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Yep, in reviewing the plot I have one chapter referring to an event in the past which actually happens in a subsequent chapter. Time to review the 90K of material and create a rough outline and rectify events. Gotta put my big person pantser suit on!
#Gender #Fiction #Writer #Author #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #pantser
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#WordWeavers March 2nd
"Do you write scenes out of order?"Usually I don't. That said, it helped me 2 or 3 times to write a future scene in which details became clear so I knew where to go from where I was.
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Book Review: Take Off Your Pants: Outline Your Books For Faster, Better Writing by Libbie Hawker
Hi everyone! I hope you’re all well. Today is Friday, and it’s time for another review. Today, I am reviewing Libbie Hawker’s Take Off Your Pants: Outline Your Books for Faster, Better Writing.
Take Off Your Pants: Outline Your Books For Faster, Better Writing was published in 2015 by Running Rabbit Press and is 162 pages long.
What It’s About
When it comes to the art (because it is an art) of plotting a story or a novel, authors often find themselves navigating a maze of endless possibilities. The task can be daunting, especially for those more inclined towards pantsing (writing by the seat of their pants without a detailed outline). However, Libbie Hawker’s ‘Take Off Your Pants: Outline Your Books for Faster, Better Writing’ offers an inviting and refreshing approach that helps to simplify this intricate process.Writing Style
One of the standouts of Hawker’s writing is her engaging and conversational tone. She presents complex concepts in an accessible manner, making the book feel less like a dry ‘how-to manual’ and more like a heartfelt conversation with a knowledgeable friend.‘Take Off Your Pants’ champions a particular outlining method that contrasts somewhat with the more freeform writing styles often romanticized in literary circles (the title itself is a playful jab at ‘pantsers’). However, rather than dismissing improvisation altogether, Hawker offers a structured framework that is a combination of ‘pantsing’ and ‘outlining’, allowing creativity to flourish within the boundaries you construct. She argues that having an outline speeds up the writing process and enhances the depth and cohesion of the story.
Central to Hawker’s methodology is what she terms ‘The Story Core’, a concept that encourages writers to focus on the fundamental aspects of a story, such as character transformation and thematic depth, before delving into plot details. By prioritizing these elements, Hawker posits that stories naturally unfold with greater authenticity and emotional resonance. Her breakdown of ‘The Story Core’ is detailed and accessible, making it easy for writers at any stage in their career or ability to grasp its significance.
Additionally, one of the book’s aspects I most appreciated is its brevity; Hawker keeps to the point without sacrificing substance — a rare feat in instructional books, which can sometimes veer into verbosity. At just over 160 pages, it provides concise yet comprehensive insights that respect your time and creative energy. Writers can apply her techniques directly to their current projects or use them as a foundation to build custom approaches tailored toward their individual needs.
Final Thoughts
Overall, ‘Take Off Your Pants!’ provides a roadmap for completing a first draft while instilling a sense of joy and adventure in the writing journey. This book is a gem in terms of what it offers in writing advice, and it will undoubtedly resonate with writers across all genres. I have already begun to use some of the advice from the book, such as ‘The Story Core’, and I can already see how it will help me create more fully rounded characters and more impactful plots.I am giving Take Off Your Pants a 9/10.
Have you read Take Off Your Pants? What did you think?
Thank you, as ever, for reading my review.
Until next time,
George
© 2025 GLT
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I was a pantser when I wrote Stupid Machine (and My Favorite Mother In Law, and Hot Meal, and Do-Ye0n Performs a Cost-Benefit Analysis on a Career Based on Questionable Activities ). I started off with a rough, unwritten outline, then hammered out words. I let the characters lead the story, amping up the action whenever things became dull.
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#Plotter vs #pantser We’re getting ready for the blowhard, pushy board Helene to show up uninvited at our house tomorrow, and I’ve been feeling a little agitated about it. So today, I wrote an unexpected tornado (yeah, because hurricanes give warning and tornadoes don’t always) into my book. #Plotters, can you do that? No, I didn’t think so…
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I've passed the 12,000-word mark on my modern gothic story "The Development." Is it a novelette? A novella? Maybe even a novel? I don't know. All I know is the story is still pulling me along, so I have to keep writing. #AmWriting #Gothic #Horror #Pantser
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#WritersCoffeeClub Sep 4. Do you have specific goals when creating a scene?
One, yes. Keep following the characters and make sure to get all the details down. That's it.
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My task, over the next week, is to outline a brand new novella. I’ve never written fiction from an outline before. I’m not entirely sure how to start with the outline, but as soon as I’m through eating my breakfast, I’m about to begin figuring it out. #AmWriting #outline #pantser #plantser #planner
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"Then he noticed something peculiar."
That's a good point to stop writing. I need to figure out the particular now.
#Writing #WritingCommunity #Pantser -
Are you a #plotter or a #pantser? Does it matter? Is it limiting your writing? In today's #thursday #blog, I weigh in on the "debate" about which side is better and why identifying as one or the other might be restricting how you tell stories. This one could be a bit polarizing, I guess, but I figured I *should* have one plotter/pantser #blogpost before I talk about my own writing methods.
https://michaelthomet.com/2024/04/11/plotters-vs-pantsers/
#writer #writers #WritingCommunity #writing #WritersOfMastodon
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@JRFitzGerald
Yeah I've got so much on at the moment already, but seriously considering throwing my #Nanowrimo hat in the ring this year.I'd like to be a #plotter but I guess I'll know in eight days' time if that's the case or if I'm one of the 2023 #pantser crew instead... 😉
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#WritersCoffeeClub 8/10. Rough, complete or not at all. How do you plan your writing?
I don't plan. Funny thing, I've done a lot of detailed outlining in non-fiction but it just doesn't work for me in fiction. Happy to be a #pantser and I know I'm in excellent company.
#writingCommunity #ThreeKindsofNorth #TheSunderingWall #writing #amwriting #mastobooks #books -
#WritingWonders 30/8. Have you ever planned to kill a character and then not done it?
No. I'm not in the habit of killing characters anyway. And I don’t usually plan either. #pantser
#writingCommunity #ThreeKindsofNorth #TheSunderingWall #writing #amwriting #mastobooks #books -
#WritingWonders Day 9: What are you good at writing?
My characters like to talk. Dialogue between them just seems to flow easily. Most of it is probably unnecessary and it often goes way off topic, to the point I have a hard time reeling things back in.
I can write it, but that doesn't mean it's any good, or that I have much control.
Where I want a scene to end up and the finished article rarely match. Occasionally it's better than I hoped, other times not so much. -
@benetnasch I avoid this entirely by never outlining. #pantser
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Haven’t done a #writingquote for a while but just came across this. Ursula K Le Guin, The Books of Earthsea, Introduction, wrt the first three Earthsea books. “None of them was closely plotted or planned before writing; in each of them much of the story came to me as I followed what I wrote where it inevitably led.”
If it’s good enough for her, it’s good enough for me.
#pantser #writingcommunity #writersofMastodon #Earthsea #LeGuinUrsulaK -
#WritingWonders 7/7 Favourite stage of writing a story? Why?
As an unrepentant #pantser, I love those moments when I sit down with little or no idea what’s going to happen next and then it starts to come together.
Second to that are the times when I read over something I drafted a while back and think, ‘okay, needs a bit of tweaking, but it’s on the right lines’.
#writingCommunity #ThreeKindsofNorth
