Have you ever heard of pantsing? How about outlining? I know you've heard of that one. These are the writers who outline their novels from beginning to end. They have their scenes thought out and placed in the proper position to maintain the desired flow and the pace. Characters are mapped out on separate sheets of paper put attached to the overall outline so no detail is forgotten. One writer comes to mind; she used the wall in her hall and some post-it notes to outline her novel. It was a great read and I would have loved to get a look at that wall during the writing process. Pantsing, on the other hand, sits at their computer and starts writing. They don't plan anything, they have very few notes to go by; they just let the story flow and their imaginations run wild. Many of us would fit into this category for a number of reasons.

It doesn't matter which one you are, both have pros and cons associated with them. For example, when you outline you have a much better grasp of your story, plot and characters whereas if you are pantsing you have more freedom and flexibility to let your characters run wild and your story go where it may. With outlining, on average, your edits and revisions are drastically reduced whereas pantsing will demand that you really focus on your revisions and edits. There are many more pros and cons to both outlining and pantsing but I think you see my point here.

Here's my question. Why do we have to be one or the other? Is there a rule that states we can't be both? I decided to be a hybrid and I have a new word for it. Trust me, you will not find this word in the dictionary. A blend of the two is pantslining. Granted it is not very catchy and may even be a little on the corny side but bare with me. You see pantslining does both. They start with an idea that they brainstorm. While brainstorming they write down notes that are in random order but span from beginning to end. After that the focus shifts to characters; while the creative juices are flowing they develop the core characters. When I say develop I mean they pick the gender, hair color, physical description and name. That's about it but then again they could really be in the moment and more could pour out regarding this character. After that they put their notes away for a few weeks then pull them back out, give a quick review and start writing. You see, that review sparks their mind and they get to writing. Of course they will refer to the notes from time to time to stay on 'track' but for the most part they just write.

This is where it gets interesting; once they are done with their story and it has cooled off they begin the editing and revising. The notes play a critical role in this because as they read through they can add more notes, see how the story changed from the original idea or make adjustments to the story whenever it drifted off the tracks. The notes serve an even greater purpose. As you draw to the end of your story they provide a reference to ensure that all the loose ends have been tied up, there are no plot holes and the characters have developed properly.

The difference between outlining and pantslining can be subtle or dramatic depending on the number of notes you have and how concise your notes are. In the end you really don't have the completed structure as you would with an outline. Is that a bad thing? It depends on your writing style. Think of notes as the bumper rails at the bowling alley for kids. They keep the bowling balls out of the gutter but they don't necessarily guide the ball to the pins. Pantlining keeps your story on track but doesn't really guide it to the end whereas outlining shows you the path but you get to decide how treacherous that path will be.

In the end you should always write the way that fits your style. It could be outlining; it could be pantsing or it could be pantslining. Heck it could be something totally different. The important thing is that you identify what works for you and you stick with it; even if some blogger gives it a cheesy name.