The Perennial Question…
Firstly, hello, Romantic Inksters! And thank you for asking me back to blog again. Last time I was here (way, way long ago), I talked about contests and we had a great day!
Speaking of contests, my second book UNTOUCHED comes out in a bit less than a week (on Tuesday, 27th November, not that I’m counting the days or anything). I’d love to select a commenter at random and give out a signed copy. There might even be a few consolation prizes of coverflats and Aussie chocolate treats just to brighten up the Holiday Season! How exotic is that? Caramello Koalas for Christmas!! Or perhaps for you to keep to urge you to finish a work in progress or a contest entry or a synopsis. I’m a great believer in chocolate as bribery for writing!
So what is the perennial question? I bet you can guess. It’s that hairy old one that appears whenever two or more writers gather together – are you a pantser or are you a plotter? Or are you some strange mixture of the two? I noticed someone the other day describing themselves as a ‘scener’. That means they write the scenes in the order they occur to them and don’t follow a linear story as they write the book. They then join together the scenes at the end and voila, you have a book! To each his own, I say.
This issue is looming large in my mind right now because I’ve just handed my third book into Avon (TEMPT THE DEVIL, October, 2008). I’ve now got to put together a synopsis for my fourth book to show my editor. Oh, horrors!
I’m definitely and irredeemably a pantser. I’ve tried plotting. It doesn’t work for me. Once I know the story in detail, I get bored with it. But I can see why Avon want some idea of what’s coming up next and I can’t just say, “Trust me.â€
I’ve had the two lead characters of the fourth book (I’ve even had to come up with a scratch title for it too which I’m sure will change!) in the back of my mind for a while. That’s how stories come to me. I get a lead character, or more usually two, they almost always have a big problem (these two definitely have!) and I have a setting. In this case, it’s a bit of a road movie with the setting moving from just outside London to Cornwall where I can do some romantic cliffside scenes with crashing waves and wild winds and lots of passion. Always like lots of passion with my seaside bits!
I get glimmers of events in the story. Ideas for secondary characters. Issues that will ratchet up the tension, make the stakes higher. But the real story comes as I write and get to know how the characters deal with their challenges.
So at this early stage, as far as a coherent plot that I can sit down and tell someone, nuh! Nada. But clearly I’ll have to come up with something. One thing I’ve learnt since I sold is that professional writers have to be flexible. Hey, maybe I can come back one day and talk about that!
Anyway, I’d love to know how you work. I’d love to know how a book comes together in your head and how you then put it onto the page. Other writers’ work processes are always utterly fascinating to me. Are you a pantser? Are you a plotter? What is the advantage of how you work? What are the disadvantages? How does a story first come to you? Story? Characters? Setting? Problem? Is it a mere glimmer at the back of your mind or does it come fully fledged and ready to take flight? Please share with us and let’s see how many weird and wonderful ways we all get to that final product – a book we’re ready to send off to an editor. And don’t forget there’s a free book and some chocolate up for grabs! Good luck!
Visit Anna’s site for the latest news and information about her upcoming release, Untouched.
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Also, as a Thanksgiving treat, RI will pick one lucky winner from this WEEK’S comments for a signed copy of The Rogue Report by Barbara Dawson Smith. If you post on any of the topics from Sunday (Nov. 18) to Thursday (Nov. 22) at Midnight, you’re entered. So check out the other topics below and comment away!
I lean toward the pantser method of writing but usually need to hammer out my core character conflicts before I start writing. Unfortunately, I’m having to plot more up front these days. I’m not sure editors realize how stressful plotting is to pantsers!
Oh, Shelley, ain’t that the truth? This synopsis has turned into a major bugbear for me. I’ll get something together but how much relation it bears to the final story is something else all together. I swear I really don’t know the exact events in a book until I write the silly thing!
Glad someone understands my pain! 
Hi Anna! Congratulations on the upcoming release of Untouched! People must be tired of me gloating by now but I never get tired of saying what a fantastic read Untouched is. An absolute treat for lovers of dark, passionate romance.
I’m a pantser, too. I’d much rather be a plotter, believe me! Especially when it comes to writing those pesky synopses. My characters never really come alive until they’re on the page and sometimes I don’t know what their real problems are until I’m a third of the way through. Sigh. Wish I could plot–it would make life so much easier!
Christine, I don’t know if people are sick of you telling them how wonderful Untouched is. I’m sure not!
Thank you for your support, my Bandita friend!
You’re right about the characters coming alive as you write them when you’re a pantser. I’m exactly the same. And the stuff that emerges organically is SOOO much better than the stuff I try to impose from outside. Having said that though, I think plotters do it the smart way. They work out ahead of time if they’ve got conflict problems or sagging middles or not enough emotion to sustain a plot. It takes me a long time to write a book – I liken it to digging coal out of a really deep, long dark coal mine! There’s a lot of sludge between me and that bit of black gold! And there’s a lot of tunnels I dig down that don’t give me much except a few smelly dinosaur bones!
I’m not a writer but I think I’m a scener. When I was writing papers in school, my thoughts and ideas were jumbled and I would piece them together and weave them into a coherent paper. I think it’s easier to write in a linear pattern.
Anna,
I wish you hadn’t raised this topic. I’m beginning to think about my next story – which I adore, but I have no idea what happens after a certain climactic scene and I have a sneaking suspicion that my editor will want to know how the story is going to pan out!
Like you and Christine and Shelley I’m a panster. I try to get a rough idea of where I’m heading but as for following a detailed roadmap – I find that’s a great way to pull me up short.
When someone finds a way for a pantster to convince their editor that synopses are simply cruel and unusual torture, please let me know!
Had to chime in too on the subject of ‘Untouched’. Definitely one of my favorite romances, Anna, as you know. Looking forward to seeing it in the shops to I can point it out to people.
Annie
I used to be a planner, and would write long and quite detailed outlines before I got started, but now, I’m a totally chaotic pantser. I’m very much character focused, and to be honest, I can’t plot for toffee so I try and get away with as little of it as possible!
I start out with my hero and heroine, an opening scenario, a sort of list of a few things that might happen, and how I want the book to end up. The rest of it sort of builds up gradually as I write.
Told you it was chaotic!
ps. am just about to start reading ‘Claiming the Courtesan’!
Morning to all the Aussies from the States! Lovely post, Anna. Thought I’d give you a big Bandit hello!!
I’m pretty much a pantser, usually starting with a “what if?” scenario, a hero and a heroine, and a beginning scene. But I’ve been working on multi-book proposals to send out lately and find that I have mini-plots already established for future works. The plots are lose, but more than I usually start with. I think of them more like writing GPS trackers…something to sort of point me in the right direction!
Can’t wait to read UNTOUCHED!
Im definately a plotter but a bit of a panster. I get bored with stories easily once I know them inside and out, but I love the plotting the most. Not that I ever wrote a book, but I am friends with aspiring writers and help out every now and then. But even in real life I love to plot and plan. I definately need a plot before I do anything.
I’m not a writer but I find it fascinating how you all manage to bring great characters and cities to life. I love hearing the “making of” a book like where a writer gets thier inspiration and the research they do. Congrats to all of you!
Anna and Ladies,
I am not a writer, but if I were, I would definitely be a planner. My mind just works that way, mostly because my horoscope sign is virago. I just can´t help it, I have to have EVERYTHING in order…
Even when it annoys me a lot…
I just admire all you writers; how you get your ideas to these books we all love so.
Anna, thanks for the tidbits about your third and fourth books.
Hi Anna,
Occasionally I’ll have a moment where I plot very loosely a specific detail, but for the most part the story evolves on the page. 
I’m definitely a pantser.
I tried doing it straight one way or the other but neither one met all my needs, so I came up with my own term – I’m a plantster. I do a little pantsing and a little plotting. My stories come to me as questions: What if someone found a way to control a volcanic eruption? What if no one believed it would work? Answer the questions, add in the MC, throw in some additional conflict and a romantic interest, and Voila! Usually my books are glimmers I had to build, but the book I just finished the first draft of was fully-fledged. I went with the flow. =o)
Hi Anna!!
I need to know a few thing before I start the story: the beginning and specifically, how the h/h meet, I need at least one big turning point in the story and I must have the black moment. Beyond that, I don’t know much so I guess I’m a pantser.
I’m always glad to see others are like this too. I hate knowing or telling other people too much about the story because then I feel like it’s been told so why bother putting it on paper.
Christie
Hi Anna! Lovely “seeing” you again. I would have to say I’m a pantser at heart, but I’m finding that if I have to, I can write things out to help me get details of the story. Syno’s mostly. I knew I was a pantser from the beginning, but I’ve learned to make myself flexible when I need to be. But I really prefer to let the characters tell me what to do with them.
I’ve tried doing full scene by scene outlines and hvae nothing but trouble with them. So I guess I’m a pantser with plotting tendencies. LOL
Best of luck on your newest release!
Hi, Anna! Interesting post. I used to be a pantser. Then I discovered that including important things like turning points went more smoothly if I planned ahead. So I do an outline now but feel free to modify it if I get an idea I like better.
I guess you could say I’m a pantser pretending to be a plotter. *g*
Congratulations on the release of Untouched. What a cool cover!
I’m traditionally a pantser, though lately I’ve started thinking of myself as a backplotter: come up with a character (sometimes two) who has a problem, and then write and write and write til I hit a roadblock or start to think it’s a one-dimensional story. Then I go back to comb through all the snap decisions my muse made as I was typing away, looking for an event or a sentence or an image that could branch off into another layer, another twist. And then I write some more. Repeat as needed.
The cove for your new book reminds me of the end scene in the movie production of WUTHERING HEIGHTS, by the way!
Anna dear, welcome to the Romantic Inks. I’ve been waiting fort his opportunity to chat a little more about UNTOUCHED with you, and hoping you let through some sneak peeks and secrets. And you know, dear, if you were to use those Caramellos and TimsTams, I’d do anything, even stand on my head and wave a foot.
On my first medieval, I tried a scener approach. On the second, I tried the pantsee approach. Both were unmitigated disasters. On this third WIP, I’m trying a plotter approach, and find that fits my personality well. Not that I have the entire detailed outline written, but I do have a bare-bones synopsis written and I plot every 3-5 scenes ahead in detail.
Hi Anna! I’m so excited to read Untouched – the cover is gorgeous and I just know the story is going to be wonderful
I’m a planner I guess. I always start with the characters, then I just need to know their conflict, the first meet, first love scene (which is usually a huge turning point) and the black moment. Then I fill in from there *g* I don’t get tired of a story after writing an outline – I get excited to get to the actual writing
Well since I am more of an amateur fanfic writer…
It is usually a scene in a book or movie or TV show that speaks to me, then I start thinking, “What if…” and dream of alternate pathways from the “crossroad”, so to speak. Sometimes I know where I want to go, so I write the ending first. Sometimes I just start from the beginning and see where it goes. (*sigh* if I ever become a full-time writer, I’m gonna be broke within the week)
Yay Anna! I have been looking forward to Untouched, and I just preordered my copy (I thought the release date was December, so I am super glad I stopped by.)
I wish wish wish I were a plotter.
I even planned on plotting my next book–and low and behold, I opened up Word and spit out six pages of story instead. There are worse things, I suppose, than having it all come out–but I wish I knew where we were going sometimes. LOL.
I plot in the shower, does that count?
Jo, here, shouting HELLO from the Bandit Lair and northern California!
Ah, Anna, this is one topic I think we writers never get tired of discussing and it’s infinitely interesting to me also.
My background is in analytical writing, which is very different from narrative writing. As an AW, planning is very important — thesis, topic sentences, support, blah, blah. Actually I did it quite well and easily, so imagine my surprise when I realized that narrative writing for ME wasn’t the same. Yikes!
In fact, NW is quite the opposite. For me, it has to evolve organically, and although I feel incredibly guilty not outlining and organizing, is just doesn’t work that way. Must have something to do with brain function LOL.
I, too, get bored if I know the story from the get-go, almost as if for me, the writer, there’s no surprise.
Anna, I love your latest cover!
I would kill to have a fully formed story or character show up in my head. It happens to my CP all the time (lucky b…road).
Me, I catch tiny glimpses, like shadows at the corner of my eye that move when I try to look right at them. It usually takes a while of wondering and chasing before what I’ve seen moves into the light and nothing ever shows itself completely on its first visit.
I’ve learned that I need to plot to some extent, but that thing that first caught my eye is never fully exposed until the end of the story.
Oh, and my word to prove I’m a person is ‘hoyden’. snork.
Hi, Jane! Thanks for your comment. When I work with new writers, I try and get across the idea that there’s no ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ way to do this. What matters is that you get something into a fit state to submit and it doesn’t matter if you do that standing on your head and singing ‘Greensleeves’.
Ah, Annie, someone else who understands my pain! And thank you so much for those kind words about Untouched! Only a couple of days now and it’s on the shelves which seems slightly surreal!
Portia, lovely to \’see\’ you! Hope you\’re enjoying Claiming the Courtesan! Actually your way of working sounds very like mine. When I start writing, I\’ve got glimmers of a few things that might happen. If I come up with something better as I write, the better thing wins. And often that means a complete change of where I think the story is going. But as I say, that stuff on the run is the good stuff usually!
Hello, Suz, my Bandita Buddy! Thank you for coming over to support me here today! Isn\’t it funny how many pantsers are coming out of the woodwork? I want to hear from some plotters! Pantsers can\’t be taking over the world, surely! Hope you enjoy Untouched!
Hi Michele! Lovely to see you over from the Avon Board. Sounds like you combine the best of both worlds. Actually I think even my plotter friends have that element of flexibility in how they write.
Thanks, Sharmi. I agree with you – how writers get a book out of their head really fascinates me!
Hi Serenissima, actually what you know about the fourth book is about what I know about the fourth book! Perhaps I should get you to write my synopsis for me
Hey, I\’m a Virgo too! And I think that\’s why I can only do things in order even when I\’m pantsing (and isn\’t that an awful word? Not glam at all!). Thanks for coming by to comment!
Bonnie, thanks for sharing how you write. AND WHERE ARE ALL THE PLOTTERS? Come on, guys, speak up for your method!
B.E., love the idea of a plantser! What I like about my method is that it’s organic, one thing grows out of another thing, grows out of another thing. So when it works, it all seems very natural, like an oak growing. So the idea of being a plantser appeals
) and they asked about my next book. So I launched into what I’ve got and thought, no, I’m not doing this again. I’m getting to the point where it all seems just a little bit too pat and I’m losing the juice out of it. Does that make sense? Thanks for coming by to comment, my Bandita friend! Romanticinksters, as you see, with one Romance Bandit, you get LOTS of Romance Bandits. I guess because we’re bandits, we’re used to roaming the countryside in gangs 
Oh, Christie, I hear you on not killing my interest in the story before I write it. I had some friends for lunch yesterday (they were very yummy if I put ketchup on them
Goodness, don’t know what happened to that last post! It’s very early in the morning here and I haven’t woken up properly yet. Let me rephrase:
B.E., love the idea of a plantser! What I like about my method is that it’s organic, one thing grows out of another thing, grows out of another thing. So when it works, it all seems very natural, like an oak growing. So the idea of being a plantser appeals
)
Oh, Christie, I hear you on not killing my interest in the story before I write it. I had some friends for lunch yesterday (they were very yummy if I put ketchup on them
)and they asked about my next book. So I launched into what I’ve got and thought, no, I’m not doing this again. I’m getting to the point where it all seems just a little bit too pat and I’m losing the juice out of it. Does that make sense? Thanks for coming by to comment, my Bandita friend!
Romanticinksters, as you see, with one Romance Bandit, you get LOTS of Romance Bandits. I guess because we’re bandits, we’re used to roaming the countryside in gangs
Hi Diana! Lovely to ’see’ you again too. Thanks for popping by! I always have a great time at RI.
Aha, someone who’s a bit of both. Actually I think a lot of people are although they probably lean more towards one side than the other. I had to do a synopsis for my third book before I’d finished it but I’d done three or four chapters and even that much gave me a lead-in to the characters and how they’d behave. This fourth book really is still a glimmer in my mind. I’m hoping some inspiration strikes once I start writing the synopsis. Thanks for the good luck. I’m getting excited (squeal! squeal!).
Hi Nancy, my Bandita friend! That’s why I wish I was a plotter – you can build in those structural things. Mind you, I have a theory that most pantsers have read so many books over so many years (certainly true for me and no, I’m not telling you HOW many years
)develop an instinctive feel for structure. The pattern of how a story works is imprinted on your subconscious so you use it anyway.
Hey, Keira!!! Fantastic to see you here! Goodness, I thought I’d done nothing but talk about Untouched for weeks but if you’re going to torture me (chocolate always scares the life out of me – give me chocolate!), I’m sure I can talk a bit more. And you don’t even have to stand on your head. Well, maybe you do! I’d like to see that…
Nice to see someone standing up for the plotters. Honestly, I wish I WAS a plotter. Because I just start out writing to see what happens, I end up with the most awful mess of a first draft and then it takes me forever to tame it into something half-civilized. Well, perhaps considering some of my heroes, ‘civilized’ isn’t the exact word I should choose!
What do you want to know about Untouched?
Hey, the plotters are coming out of the closet! Good for you, girls! Beth, as I said, that seems to me a much better way of working than my chaotic method. But chaos seems to be my natural element, even if I am a Virgo!
Hi Ai Yin! Nice to ’see’ you again. Hope London’s not too cold and miserable. I remember November – could be pretty dank and dour! Sounds like you’re a little bit of this and a little bit of that too. As I said in the blog, I think a lot of this stuff is a spectrum with people at different points rather than an either/or scenario.
Hi Gwen! Lovely to see you here too. Thanks for stopping by. So glad you ordered Untouched! Hope you like it. It’s a very different story to CTC although I think it has a similar atmosphere. Will be interested to hear what you think. Oh, and both feature a kidnap!
Actually interesting what you say about the shower. I get my best ideas either in the bath or swimming. I think it’s because the water really relaxes me and my subconscious can throw up suggestions that get heard through the usual chaos in my head. I too have tried plotting (it was a while ago, though!). I found when I wrote the story, it emerged as flat as a pancake. I wonder, though, if I could try it again now as I’ve learnt a lot about writing in the years since. It’s once bitten, twice shy, though, isn’t it?
Hey, Jo, I’m constantly amazed by how much we have in common (apart from Northern California – Oz is a LONG way away from you!). Actually for me, writing is such a subconscious process that I have to let it come out how it wills, no matter what a mess emerges. I’ve also learnt over many years of trial and error that I can fix ANYTHING! Nothing I write is set in stone. If it’s wrong, I get ruthless and I do it again. I think the beauty of plotting is that you probably don’t have those horrible wrong turns. And as you say, other people’s process is always interesting to a writer. I think because process has so much to do with essential ways of thinking and as a writer, that’s something I always find fascinating.
Seeley, aren’t the code words hilarious? I keep getting ‘rake’! Perhaps I should introduce my rake to your hoyden and I think we’d have the plot for a Regency! Thanks for the compliments on the cover (although I had nothing to do with it! That was purely the cover gods smiling). The green is gorgeous, isn’t it? Love your description of your process. I think you work out of your subconscious too, by the sound of it. One thing I’ve learnt is to trust those strongly instinctual things. My subconscious knows a lot more than I do! With Untouched, I wanted to do a hero like the Duke of Kylemore out of CTC. You know, ultra alpha, tortured, bitter, angry. But what I got was this darling knight in shining armor and every time I tried to change him, he just dug his heels in and wouldn’t move. He might have been a darling but he had a lot of strength
As it’s turned out, I think he was exactly the hero I needed for this story. The surrounding events are so dark, having a really dark hero would have just made the whole thing TOOOO dark to be borne.
Hey, Keira, are you reading this?
Yeah Anna it is good but hard too because its hard to make decisions sometimes based on what I plan and on what I recieve.
Actually, Michele, talking to people I know who plot, they have the same problem. Sometimes a really good idea will hit them out of the blue and change everything. The more I hear about this, I really don’t think many people are 100% one thing. Even I’ve got an idea of endings and a few events, especially major turning points, along the way.
I am not a writer but I do read lots and I love the characters, plots and the scenes in books I am so looking forward to reading Untouched. The scenes from the next book you are going to write sound wonderful already clifftops and passion Anna how long do I have to wait for that one I love your work Anna I love your style CTC kept me riveted from start to finish and I know Untouched is going to be the same roll on Nov 27th.
Have Fun
Helen
Hey, Helen! Thanks for that, that was lovely! So glad you enjoyed CTC. Not long to wait now for Untouched. I’ve got a tentative release date for Tempt the Devil (not the Cornish book!). It’s October 2008. I suspect the Cornish book will be into 2009 then. Wish I was a faster writer. Plotters are faster writers, I’m sure! Can you tell I’ve got a severe case of plotter envy going on here?
Hi, Anna! I’m sorry I’m late to the party, but I love this question because I qualify as all three: Pantser, plotter & scenester. Before I sit down to write, I do a timeline of events so my external plot (things that happen) is in place. That’s the plotter in me. As I write, though, I let the internal plot (character development) happen more organically in response to the action. That’s the pantser in me. And sometimes, yes, I just write what must be written & move it all around later. It’s messy, but it seems to work for me somehow.
Anyway, can’t wait to get my hands on a copy of Untouched! I just gave away my copy of Claiming the Courtesan because, much as I loved it, I was ready to convert somebody else to an Anna Fan.
Ah, Susan, if you’re out there converting the world to Regency noir, my work with you is done
I laughed at you being so mixed up, you poor thing! You sound like a woman who sometimes eats her dessert before her main course! I’m just sayin’… Thank you for popping by!
HI Anna – I heard Jo Beverly once describe the process of letting your imagination soar and be surprised by what unfolds as “Flying into the Mist” or flimmer, for short. That’s what I do. I think hard about two characters and try to make them real people in my mind, then I devise a way for them to meet and sit back and watch them have at it. Extremely entertaining, but fraught with paranoia about whether the story will be interesting by deadline.
Actually, Donna, that’s very close to my process. And as I say, when I come up with the characters, they already have a problem so I’ve got a certain amount of conflict built in, thank goodness. But I’m never sure it’s going to make a good story either! It’s scary being a flimmer! Thanks for popping by to comment, my Bandita Buddy!
Hey, I love the Regency-style security words on this site! So genteel compared with those gobbledygook words elsewhere.
Donna, that’s a great way to approach writing a romance. I tend to think of a hook first, then fit the characters that would be appropriate for the hook, keeping in mind they have to be perfect for one another. I don’t know a character until I write, so it’s hard to plan for them ahead. I sort of muddle through as I go along.
Anna I will force myself to be patient because your books are so good.
Have Fun
Helen
Knights…yum! Big, strong knights…double yum! I’m reading all the comments, Anna, yet, I’m only getting teased. Would you knight time-travel if I waved enough chocolate from here?
Kidding aside… Do tell us what got you into Regency Noir in the first place. Angst is so not in your personality map, so why is it that you do it so well in fiction?
Eeek, just read that your third book’s going to be out ELEVEN months later. Grrr. Is it also a Regency-set story? Noirish?
Hi Anna!!!!
Pantser, plotter, scener, eh? If I ever get to actually work on a book more than a scene or two at a time, then I’m not sure. Right now, I’m a “scener” I suppose. I’ve got a quartet of books that are being written only as I have scenes that pop into my head and can’t leave me alone. I have the major arcs of books 2 and 4 worked out, but that’s about it. Provided I survive law school, actually plotting is on the docket.
I hope you’re having a wonderful week. I’m very excited to read Untouched
Kimberly
Christine, you muddle through to something wonderful! Scandal’s Daughter was fantastic!
Helen, thank you for you patience!
Keira, no paranormal elements at all in my knight. I mean he’s a knight in terms of his personality – he’s a man of honor to the bone and would do anything keep the heroine safe. Personally I really like him! Definitely marriage material! I described this hero the other day to someone as a noble nobleman!
Do you know what’s really weird? I don’t know where all the darkness comes from either although I always loved reading gothic and dramatic stuff. You know, Wuthering Heights and Victoria Holt and Jane Eyre. I actually thought I’d found my home writing Regency-set comedies before I got the idea for CTC. I love writing comedy. It certainly fits a lot better with my personality! Well, even if the jokes aren’t funny
But one day these two characters popped into my mind – a duke who on the outside had everything and yet in reality had nothing and his mistress, a reluctant courtesan who finally had the chance to return to the life she wanted to lead. And they wouldn’t leave me alone. I told them I didn’t do dark. I told them I didn’t do emotional. And believe me, I sure didn’t do sexy! Just goes to show you never know what’s lurking in your subconscious. With Untouched, I thought about a man who had basically had his life stolen from him and a woman who thought she’d reached rock bottom and she had no idea what horrors were waiting for her. And out of the meeting of these two people and the courage they show facing their challenges, a story was born.
Yes, 11 months is a LONG time! Because Avon bring me out as a Treasure and there’s only one spot a month, publishing slots are as rare as hen’s teeth. Maybe it’s a good thing I’m such a SLOW writer.
Hey, I know it’s 11 months to book three but did I tell you book two is out in a couple of days? 
Hi Kimberly! Hope you’re not studying too hard! Actually I can see the advantage of being a scener. You strike while that excitement is white hot and you get it into the writing. The one time I’ve done that, though, by the time I actually hit that scene (I’d written the first kiss ahead of where I was in a story for a competition), the characters had changed quite a lot from what I thought they’d be when I started so I had an awful time fitting the kiss into the flow of the story. I guess it’s all horses for courses! Thanks for commenting! Hope you enjoy Untouched!
I completely understand that. I hate making decisions.LOL..Because I see in my mind all the sides of the things not just one.
You know, I think I’m a bit of everything. This may be why I never manage to get my mss finished!
I start out as a plotter, but as the story progresses, the characters take over and run the show (this is a good thing, it helps me get to know my characters and they take me in a direction I may not have thought of before). Usually I start with a conflict, what is it that these two characters can’t agree on, then it flows from there!
BTW, Anna, I went back and bought Claiming the Courtesan like you suggested. I’m so excited to read it!
And not that I’m trying to sway you or anything (OK, maybe a little), but Caramello Koalas are one of my favourites!!!!
Kirralee
The Land of Oz
It’s great to have you back, Anna! A great post of course
I look forward to Untouched !
I try to write a synopsis before I write, but I usually only make it a few chapters in – I don’t like spoiling the story for myself or something I guess *lol* And certain things only come to me towards the end of the book – and then I can go back and make it appear at the beginning, but I definitely don’t have the story all done when I start writing.
Even when I do plot parts and write a synopsis, I find that it changes a lot between the synopsis and the finished product
Nearly all the times the characters are first for me. There’s a couple of ideas I have where the plot came first – only because they’re based on fairy tales – but those are stories I haven’t got plans to work on for a while. But my “regular” stuff is definitely characters.
I was talking about it with a friend the other day, and we agreed that I’m a character-person. When it comes to everything really. I don’t watch tv-series for their plots as much as I do for the interesting characters
(like House – he’s an awesome character.. my latest addiction to tv-characters are the two main protagonists in Bones *lol*)
Oh no…I’m a scener. Right now I’m in the process of weaving together all of my scenes for my second book. It’s horrible, but I can’t imagine writing any other way. I started writing like this because I work full time and go to school part time, so I can’t sit down and write for any long period of time. I usually dream of a scene while I’m working, and then write it down as soon as I have a break/moment to myself. It’s made my scenes really intense, but weaving them together is a nightmare! (especially when I lose one of my scenes–they’re all on seperate scraps of paper,lol). I’m really close to being done, but looking back I have no idea how I was able to do it. Still, the first draft has gone faster, and is actually A LOT better, than the first draft of my first novel which I wrote linearly by the seat of my pants.
Thanks for making this topic, Anna. I love hearing about how other people write! Can’t wait for UNTOUCHED!
Hi Anna!
OMG. I can’t WAIT for Untouched. I’ll use it as bribery to get myself to finish something. Those are my favorite bribes these days–books–and the time to READ them.
Gosh, this is a hard question. I’m a pantser for a few scenes–and the scenes never come in order, so I guess I’m a “scenester” in that way. But I’ve learned the hard way–my plots are so fat and twisted and multi-layered, that I have to plot or I’ll end up with 100,000 words and a monster hole in the plot that just won’t work without a major rewrite. Plotting saves the day–getting the motivations for the “why they did that” worked out–and that requires figuring out WHAT they did….
So, I guess, I’m both, but becoming more of a plotter all the time.
What a neat site you all have here! And it’s a good question because I always love hearing how other people work.
Hi Anna,
Wooohooooo! Untouched is coming soon. I’m in Borders every other day looking for it!
I’m also a pantser. But now that I’m sending in more and more proposals, I’m finding that I like the “guidance” of the synopses I’ve been bullied into writing.
Hi Anna! I’m crawling out from my deadline cave just to say hello! (Don’t tell anyone you’ve seen me or I’ll never make it back to finish this #$%* book!)
I first must add to the clamor — I can’t wait to pick up Untouched next week!! It’s going to be my special treat for sticking to my writing schedule all this time!
Unlike so many of you, I’m a serious plotter. It’s one of the few areas in my life that I’m actually obsessive and compulsive and anal about. I need a master plan and character arcs and pages and pages of extensive plot outline–and I still don’t know what I’m doing. LOL.
Cheers!
I wonder if many writers aren’t a hybrid, a blending of plotters and pantsers that tips one way or the other? Are there any writers who have complex world-building to do that are pantsers? I’d think that would be very difficult.
Hullo, Anna! Another visitor from Romance Bandits here. I am a pantser in a big way. This can be problematic. I often reach a point where I feel like there is not enough action. It is hard to resist the urge to throw something else in there to liven things up! Of course, I must resist the urge, because doing that just mucks things up and it ends up a mish-mash of goofiness.
So, I try to be true to my pantser roots. See you back in the Bandits Lair!
Jo, I’ve even had some authors say that their process differs from story to story and depends much upon how the story “comes” to them.
Anna said, “And believe me, I sure didn’t do sexy!”
And I’m the Queen Bess.
Comedies would seem to suit you so well. Perhaps just not historical ones?! Contemps?! Anyway, just thinking aloud. You do Regency Noir so very well, it’d be a shame for you (and for me) to do something else.
Anna said, “…publishing slots are as rare as hen’s teeth….”
You sure have been looking in the wrong bird’s mouth, no wonder he keeps slipping through your grasp.
Hi Anna
LOL. I should be studying harder.
The fun part of writing as scenes as they pop into my head is that the characters take me in ways that are different than where I thought I’d go. It’s fun to be along for the ride. However, when I try to put it all together, I can only hope it works
Untouched is definitely my prize after finals. First thing I’m reading when I get home.
Have a great evening!!!!
Kimberly
Hello, from another Kentucky Bandita to our wonderful Anna!
I’ve waited so long for “Untouched” to come out I went ahead and pre-ordered from BN. I’m betting I’ll get in 1 hour earlier than a trip to the bookstore. Cannot. Wait. (And yeah, now that you mention Madane Wells, it is getting a bit grating that you get to READ all of Anna’s stuff first!!! I mean just ‘cuz you live on the same CONTINENT! Sheesh!)
My CP’s would ROTFLTAO if I dared to say I’m a plotter. Heck, they can’t even get me to write anything down when we talk things out! My stories are so visceral to me I just have to write them as they come.
And synopsis? I just wish I could write “stuff happens” and let it suffice.
Yeah, but Kirralee, you can wander down to your local supermarket and buy six packs of KCs! So glad you’ve got CTC.
Emily, thank you for asking me back. I always have a great time when I visit the RIs! Actually I’m character too. I love those classic mystery stories like the Agatha Christies and the Dorothy L. Sayers stories. Don’t ask me about the crime. But I can talk for hours about a character like Lord Peter Wimsey. It’s the characters that get me every time. House is the same! He’s interesting, therefore I’m interested. Just something in my make-up.
Michele, thanks for popping back to comment again! You star!
Hi Steph! Oh, I can see why you’re a scener. It’s striking while the iron is hot, really. Because you don’t know when you’ll get back to that particular iron!
Glad the process is working better for you on the second book!
Cassondra, my Bandita Buddy! Thank you for calling by. Actually writing romantic suspense, I think you’d need to be more of a plotter, wouldn’t you? I’ve actually tried to write mystery/suspense, although only in short format, and it’s just something I find so tough. Obviously because I’m a pantser! And hope you enjoy Untouched!
RIs, want to tell you, everyone who’s visited your site for the first time today has said what a great thing you’ve got going here! Good on you, cobbers (as we say down here – and yes, that is praise!).
Anna,
The perennial question never goes out of style! I also start all my books with characters that buzz around in my brain, and I create stories around them. My only ms (thus far) that didn’t start that way was my YA, which started with a story question of a more theoretical sort.
The problem with my method is that my characters don’t always have big PROBLEMs, like yours do.
So I get into trouble with my goal and conflicts not being big enough.
That’s why I got into the idea of working on the pitch before I got too far into the story–to make sure I had the big problem/conflict worked out and BIG enough to sustain the novel.
I always love thinking about the process of writing! Thanks for the awesome discussion and thanks for bringing us such wonderful stories! Counting the days till I can get my hands on UNTOUCHED!!!
hugs,
Kirsten
Hi Dawn! Lovely to ’see’ you here. Thanks so much for popping over! Actually I wonder just what I’m going to come up with when I start this synopsis. When I had to do the synopsis for Tempt the Devil(Keira, I’ve worked out it’s only 10 months!), I came up with a couple of things that turned into major issues in the book when I actually wrote it. Fingers crossed the same thing happens this time.
Kate, thank you for crawling out of the deadline cave to say hello. I hope you’ve got lots of comfy men in there keeping you warm
Yet again, I think because you write mysteries, you need to keep a handle on your plot. Laughed at you saying you still don’t know what you’re doing! I bet you do!
Jo, I agree with you about complex world building being a problem if you’re a 100% pantser. I’m lucky in that working in the Regency era, I hold a lot of it in my head and can look it up if I don’t know it. That’s not the case for complicated fantasy/paranormal series.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!
Caren, another Bandita! I think this constitutes a raid! Thanks, girls, for all the support. You are the best. Actually I tend to go with my instincts when I think the story needs livening up (so far, it’s worked – touch wood!). Again, I think pantsers are using the same skills plotters are but perhaps in a more subconscious way. There’s a map there, but our inner selves aren’t sharing it!
Oh, Keira, gloat about the golden rooster (small Bandita joke here – oh, the larks we have over in the fourth form common room when we have a midnight feast!). He is yours only on loan, madam! Actually I’m not sure I could write contemps. I think I’m too daggy. Do you have that expression in the US? It means hopelessly old-fashioned. Groan-worthy old-fashioned in fact. It’s lovely to have a job where my understanding of how people would react 200 years ago rather than today is of use rather than hindrance!
i LOVE the cover!!!!! im not a writer, but would love to be in contest!
Hi Kimberly! You have a great evening too! Although I think it’s the early hours of the morning for you right now. But if you’re studying as hard you SAY you are, you might be still awake! Actually all jokes aside, I find when the characters are telling me what happens next, that’s when the writing really comes to life. I hope it’s the same for you!
Hey, Joan, my fellow Bandita, I’m seriously thinking of putting “stuff happens” in this and seeing if I can get away with it. I’ve got the emotional arcs set – as I say, they come to me pretty well straight away although as I write the story, they’re refined as the characters emerge in the round. Hmm, perhaps I won’t just write stuff happens… I’m such a wimp!
Hi Kirsten! And congratulations on that fabulous deal for your YA through Hyperion (check the Romance Bandits for further information!). Actually strangely, getting BIG problems for my characters so far hasn’t been the problem! The big problems in Tempt the Devil were as big as an elephant. And the problems in the synopsis book (hmm, think I need to work on that title) are as big as TWO elephants!
Hey, Tami, great to see you! Thanks for coming over. That cover really is pretty, isn’t it? Sighs with joy…
AND HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL MY AMERICAN FRIENDS!!!
Anna,
Woops, didn’t think about the fact that I could just go to my local supermarket for my CK. Now I’ll have to think of something else to give me an edge.
Is Untouched being released in Australia at the same time as the US?
Kirralee
When my mother used to call me old-fashioned in my late teens, I thought she was being offensive. Now, I think she was being prescient.
Keira, there’s something to be said for being old-fashioned. For a start, everybody remarks on your excellent manners! EXCEPT when you steal that golden rooster.
Kirralee, the US edition hits the shelves next Tuesday and will be available in Australia at the specialist stores. There’s a list of them (they all do mail order) on my website at http://www.annacampbell.info/links.html I’m not sure if Borders is getting Untouched in. I never saw CTC there but they have a pretty good range of US releases. There’s a beautiful trade paperback edition of Untouched coming out in Australia at the end of December that will be available at places like Big W, KMart and Target as well as the larger bookstores. And nice try with the CKs but no banana, my friend!
WHEW! I just finished reading all these comments and must say WOW! This is a huge look into how writers tick. I’d like to thank everyone who dropped by and I’m so glad everyone is enjoying the verification words. I actually saw one person (on another site) complain about them. Yikes.
Anyhow, to answer the question…I’m a pantster if there ever was one. I get the little “movie clip” in my head of one tiny hint of a story’s plot and that’s typically it.
With my first WIP, the clip was of the heroine mulling by the window waiting news of something life-changing and she is really about the ears. that’s all I had to go on. And my other WIP, I had a hero who was really drunk in a dark, dank alley. No reason why he was drunk or in an alley, but there you have it. That was my clue.
The wonderful thing about these clips, it leaves so much open. Truly, the possibilities are endless.
I do have a small, *sort of*, solution for pantsters and their editor’s needs for a synopsis. Before you start submitting to editors have three (or more) full books ready to go. Let them have one, the synopsis for the other and slightly withhold the last. Then when you’re set to submit your proposal for the third, you have it ready…all the while you’re refilling your queue.
I know, very unlikely it’d work that way or that it’d even work at all, but hey, a pantser gets to dream right?
Again, thank you to everyone for coming by today (yesterday). Huge thanks you Anna for bringing us such a wonderful and fun topic!
Happy Thanksgiving to all (even those not celebrating it)!!
Haven, thank you so much for inviting me to blog. I’ve had a blast. Thank you to everyone who commented. As Haven said, it was a great insight into how a whole stack of different writers work. Which was what I was hoping it would be.
And thank you also for everyone who said they were looking forward to Untouched (um, did I tell you it’s out on Tuesday?). That gave me such a big smile! Hope you all really enjoy it. Um, did I mention it’s out on Tuesday?
Don’t forget to check back tomorrow (that’s Friday) to see who won the book and chocolates. Good luck, everybody.
Thank you, RIs, for letting me take over your blog for the day! And happy writing, everyone!
Anna x
Please ad me to the drawing. This sounds interesting.
blogged ya: http://laurawilliamsmusings.blogspot.com/2007/11/thursday-edition-of-contests-galore_22.html
I missed all the fun… but it seemed very nice