October 2, 2013

Keeping My Pants Up: #IWSG

It's the first Wednesday of the month and time for my Insecure Writer's Support Group post. A huge thanks to Alex J. Cavanaugh for putting together this group. I appreciate the opportunity to share my insecurities on the #IWSG therapy couch and to read how others are doing. 

Oh, and a little bird told me that there's a big announcement tomorrow regarding #IWSG. Can't wait to find out what it's all about.

This month I want to share a recent discovery I've made.

Normally, the more I write, the less insecure I feel. When I'm in a writing groove, which I am fortunately in at the moment, it's all about the writing. Insecurities rear their ugly head when I'm editing and then again when I send a piece out for critique.

Or at least that's how I felt writing my last two books. Now working on book two I've discovered a new insecurity. Not screwing up the details.

Since I'm a pantser, I like to let the story unfold naturally. But with a book two (and knowing I want to write a book three), I have to pay attention to the details set forth in book one and set up details I want to unfold in book three.

But every time I sit down to write out details and try to outline the same thing happens--I start writing.

What's a pantser to do?

I'm looking forward to visiting as many blogs as possible this month. My goal is to visit at least twenty new #IWSG blogs in addition to old favorites.

5 comments:

Carrie-Anne said...

I also tend towards a more organic, natural writing style, though I like to have a general outline in mind so I know what I'm writing about and what the story timeline is. I've found that even if you know your characters well and have that general outline/notes to guide you, the characters and storylines often go where they will, places you never planned but which end up seeming so right.

Tia Bach said...

Great point, Carrie-Anne. I love a trust my characters. As a reader, I hate those head-scratching moments and I just want to make sure I avoid them. Sometimes my characters don't care as much about the details or what they said or did before. ;-)

J.H. Moncrieff said...

Go with it! You can fix the details in the rewrite.

Don't mess with the muse. Good luck! :)

krystal jane said...

Echoing Holli. Don't worry about the details at this stage. You can always tweak them in the revision stage. That's what it's for. :) Be free.

Jo Michaels said...

I'm with Holli and Krystal. We'll catch anything in the edit. Just WRITE ON! :)