I began my writing career as a devoted outliner, but I always felt like there was a better way. Despite developing a deep knowledge of the major outlining methods, something about fleshing out my story before I wrote it didn’t jibe with my personality.
My 10th book exhausted my patience with outlining for good. I spent 40 hours on an outline, only to discover that I was deviating from it with almost every chapter. My characters ignored everything I planned. The outline felt like wasted time.
After writing an outline that failed, I thought, Why am I spending all this time on an outline, only not to use it?
Suddenly, I found myself trying the pantsing method (also known as discovery writing, or, more simply, writing without an outline). It terrified me, but I knew that outlining wasn’t the answer.
I wish I had done it sooner. Twenty novels later, I can say that mastering how to write a novel without an outline was the best thing that ever happened to my writing. I am a serial pantser now, and I can’t imagine going back.
To help writers unlock their inner pantser, I wrote a book called . I also
