From Pantser to Planner: Embracing Structure in My Writing Journey

"As an artist, I focus on the moment, the scene, the color. As a novelist, I'm learning that the foundation has to be solid before the beautiful details can be layered on."

There’s this feeling, a kind of low, buzzing hum that starts deep in your chest, right? It’s the feeling of a new creative project taking hold. For years, decades even, that feeling has meant setting up the easel, mixing the oil paints, and just letting my hand go. My canvas, my beautiful, waiting canvas, has always been approached the same way: I just begin. I start telling the story with color, with texture, with an energy that doesn't need a map or a pre-drawn sketch.

That’s me, the artist. It's my creative process for my paintings—fluid, intuitive, and immediate.

So, when I finally took the leap into writing my novel, I naturally brought that exact same energy to the keyboard. I didn't know the lingo, didn’t know the difference between a plotter and a pantser. All I knew was that I had a story bubbling up, and just like with the canvas, I had to let it spill out. I started telling the story right away because that’s how I approach the canvas. If you're a fellow artist or a new writer, you probably get it. You chase the spark, painting or writing your way to the end.

And that, my friends, is how I began my journey to write as a pantser.

The Siren Call of Knowing Better

The sheer momentum of that initial sprint carried me all the way to "The End." I had a first draft! As a woman and a new writer, that felt like a monumental win. I was an artist with a new, exciting medium, a whole new venture.

But then came the revision. Oh, the revision.

I had done five or six revision passes already, but as I went, I found myself increasingly unsure of the process, or even if there was a process I should be following. I knew, deep down, I had skipped many steps in my previous revision.

This is why I had decided to take the course I meant to follow months ago. You know the one—the comprehensive guide that promises to hold your hand through the chaos. But, let's be honest, I got a little overconfident. I completed 27% of the course and went on my merry way, thinking I could get by doing the revision with the knowledge I had acquired.

Big mistake!

Halfway through my revision, I found myself completely lost in what I thought was a solid process I had put together. It was a mess. A beautiful, messy, first-time-novelist disaster. Well, I should have known better, but wait, maybe not. Since this is my first novel and my first time revising, what did I really know, right?

The Art of the Pause

That moment of complete "lost-ness" was the wakeup call. I had to stop and be honest with myself. I went back and started the revision course from scratch. And this time, I meant it.

This process required me to do the thing that felt the most unnatural to my intuitive, "pantser" artist brain: the pause. It included the step where I had to put all my notes and work away and pause. I mean, really pause and "forget the story," in the words of Jessica Brody, my teacher.

So I did. I closed the file and walked away, letting the creative impulse—the one that always pulls me toward the next stroke of paint or the next line of dialogue—be still for a while.

The second step was a simple read-through (no revision, just notes of ideas). I did that too. Now I am committed to following all the steps:

1. Simple read-through.

2. Taking notes of ideas.

3. Structuring my story in Trello.

Honestly, it feels harder than it probably is, but I know it's because, as I was beginning to write my story, I did not pay much attention to the structure. Again, a rookie mistake. As an artist, I focus on the moment, the scene, the color. As a novelist, I'm learning that the foundation has to be solid before the beautiful details can be layered on.

The Lesson Learned

Fast-forward one year later, and I have learned so much! I can tell you now, with total confidence, that my next project will be handled differently. I will definitely be more of a planner (or plotter), and create a detailed outline before beginning to write, and less of a pantser!

That initial freedom, that natural approach that works so well on the canvas, got me to the finish line, but it’s making this revision journey a much steeper climb than it needed to be. The structure I avoided is now the one thing I must build.

The big lesson? Don't skip the lessons. Don't let your self-taught wisdom override the wisdom of those who have paved the road. It’s okay to start as a pantser, but if you want to revise without losing your mind, you’ll need to put on your plotter hat eventually.

Thankfully, I continue to be motivated and excited about my writing journey. I’m back in the course, following the steps, and slowly, surely, my structure is taking shape. It’s a completely different kind of creative work, but it’s mine.

What steps did you try to skip (in writing or in life) that you eventually had to go back and master?