So, this article isn’t going to be about what you think it’s about. Though, I’ll admit, I ask this question frequently of my friends – this time, I’m talking about plotting vs. pantsing.

I am an organized person (it drives Shae Connor nuts). My closet is organized, my bed is made, and if my desk isn’t clear, it makes me crazy. I have all the makings of a great plotter (or a sociopath)—but I’m not. I try to be. I have a dozen different story roadmaps—the hero’s journey, James Scott Bell’s story points, Michael Hague’s inner and outer journey maps. When I use these tools, fill in all of the forms, map out all of the points, I find that in my heart, the story is written. Everything else is just details, and I have no interest in moving forward.

Aaron came as a small voice in my head who would whisper to me about monsters in the dark. Not only could I not plot him because I didn’t know what would happen, but he wouldn’t let me write on the computer. The entire novel was written in loose-leaf notebooks with an OCD chosen pen. It’s interesting since Aaron turned out to be a computer whiz.

So, though the left side of my brain wants me to organize a story to death, planning out the twists, following all the rules—the right side just wants a clean sheet of paper and a pen. It takes a lot for me to shut that left side up and just let the right side flow. Aaron was like that, Monsters, and now Gregory. I just open up the page and let whatever is inside me spill out onto it. It’s getting harder and harder to churn out those devastating, heart-breaking novels as my life in Atlanta continues to flourish. The shattered feeling in my head continues to diminish, and it’s difficult to write rich, three-dimensional, authentically broken characters, when I am, in fact, no longer broken.

This year, I plan to take my pansting skills in different directions. Maybe a little Sci-Fi, maybe a bit of softer romance, maybe a little quantum leap—just to stretch myself because I know that I can. My goal is to continually challenge myself as a writer and find all those little places in my head and my heart where stories live.

I hope you’ll come along for the ride.

XOXO,

JP Barnaby