It seems likely that everyone who writes fiction, when they first start out, begin by pantsing, that is, writing by the seat of your pants. Making it up as you go along. Plotting is the alternative, having a plan to one degree of detail or another. Over the years, I’ve gone back and forth between the two.
When I was a kid, I didn’t have the patience or foresight to plot a story out in advance. It wouldn’t have mattered if I did; it took years of reading and exposure to fiction in various media before I could have instinctually fumbled my way through a coherent story structure.
Now, though, I firmly believe that plotting is the way to go, and the more detailed, the better. Of course, every writer works differently, but during the year of Our Lord 2016, I managed to hit a word count that put the previous twenty years to shame. The reason is because I knew in advance what I was going to write.
I can go into more detail on specific writing projects at another time, on how they came about, how I wrote them, and whether or not I even finished them. Many languish half done or barely started. For now, though, I’m going to close by publicizing a personal goal.
I have a writing project coming up. When, in a week or two, I’m ready to actually sit down and start accumulating the word count, my goal is ten thousand words every week, until I’m done. What with the day job and all, this won’t be easy. But I’m going for it.