Confessions of a Former Pantser

2 minutes ago
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I am here today, friends and fellow pantsers, to confess something to you. I have got to be honest, as I cherish our friendship...

I use outlines.

Them's fightin' words in these parts, partner...

I know, I know. BETRAYAL. Caesar was the last to know that he wasn't going to a regular picnic.

Don't fence me in!

Like you, fellow pantsers, I like wide-open spaces, the discovery, making room for the unexpected. The romance of it all! When I performed improv--hell, I was such a pantser that I didn't even want to take a suggestion from the audience! I'd go in stone cold.

Creating something from nothing--ex nihilo--is exciting...and a little dangerous.

You've gone and changed...

But while I love a good scenic route, what I really want most of all is to finish drafts. I have a full-time job that's intense, so I need to make the most of the time I have.

And that means I had to get...organized.

Git along little dogies

I learned some great tips and tricks from Amanda Eyre Ward when I took her novel-in-a-year workshop. That workshop changed my process and, frankly, my life, which is why Amanda is getting a shout-out in every novel I write.

She freed me when she said we didn't have to have lofty word count goals. You just have to write a page a day. A page a day, 365 days? Friends, that's a novel.

The second tip: scene cards.

Cause a scene, not a ruckus

What the heck is a scene card? Friends, it's a 3" x 5" index card on which you write a scene number (if you want), the location, the goal of the scene or what happens, and who's involved.

Here's an example of the first scene card from my next novel, E PLURIBUS.

A yellow lined 3x5 inch notecard from my second novel E PLURIBUS. On the card: Scene 1, introduction to Joe, premise, love triangle, Joe's personality

Now, Amanda's rule of thumb was 30 scenes or cards more or less can make a basic novel. That number will change depending on what you're writing, number of characters, etc., of course, but it's a good way to at least get started. And if you're writing a three act structure, you can start thinking about it as 10 cards per act.

Here's another example from my second novel E PLURIBUS, which is about to hit the query trenches. In this scene, I had three specific scene beats:

A yellow lined 3x5 inch notecard from my second novel E PLURIBUS. On the card: Scene 3A, B, C. Joe travels to DC. Car breakdown, personal breakdown, intro to Steve.

Like any process, you'll adapt it to each book a little differently. Each and every book is it's own unique thing.

Other benefits

You're documenting your process. In the current A.I. hellscape we find ourselves in because tech bros lack imagination, morals and sense, having a documented process is important. Next time out, I'm dating my scene cards. I have timestamps for E PLURIBUS because I took photos of each and every one of them as a digital backup.
You're building yourself a trail through your story. You're going to see and/or feel the gaps.
Scene cards are flexible outlines. Need to move a scene around? Reshuffle the deck, dealer. Need to add a new one in? Easy!
You can use the scene cards to make a synopsis a little less annoying to write.
You have something to frame or treasure as well as a tangible sense of progression.

If I had used this process for my first novel TOO MUCH HEAVEN from the get-go, I could have saved myself 6 months to a year of work in revisions. More on TOO MUCH HEAVEN, reverse outlining, and how that novel came to be shortly!