Algis Budrys (Lithuanian-American science fiction author) said, “The manuscript is only a vehicle for making a purposeful series of events appear in the reader’s mind.“
Regardless of which category you put yourself into, plotter or pantser, we all have the same objective: to reach the reader’s mind. Either intentionally or driven by our imagination, at some point, we might swap writing methods. Sometimes we do free-flow writing as a pantser to surprise ourselves with the evolution of our initial concept.
Pantsers are often fiction novelists, writing their stories by the seat of their pants. As they move along, their narrative may turn in another direction.
However, it is common to interchange the two methods, as both have advantages. The pantser is free from road restrictions; he can take his story wherever he wants, risking reaching a dead end. Nevertheless, the trip may be intriguing without restricting his creativity.
The plotters plan and outline their story from the beginning because they know exactly where their “writing trip” goes, thus avoiding surprising outcomes. Synopsizing your story offers you more time to focus on your protagonists and their evolution in their world. While everything is calculated and put in its place, changes can easily be incorporated into your story, at any time, without altering your narrative.
I think we can be a bit of both, therefore enjoying the privileges of each method when necessary!
Let’s become plantsers and indulge in the magical world of writing. And don’t forget, if the inspiration refuses to show up, ask yourself: what would I like to read? Good, now write about it! Your enthusiasm will reflect in your manuscript.
Hello, passionate readers,
I am Kate Barny, a trilingual (autodidact mainly) writer of educational books and author of fiction novels. I was born and lived in Greece, later moved to England, and eventually settled in France with a husband, two dogs, and plenty of books.
After navigating through different countries and professional identities, I finally indulged in what I loved doing most: crafting stories.
Drawing and scribbling were my absolute pass-time since I held a pencil.
A fervent buff of sci-fi since childhood but also a huge fan of Greek mythology (one cannot deny their roots), I couldn’t resist not combining past and future altogether.
Over time, my passion for reading scientific and technological articles fueled my imagination with innovative hi-tech gadgets, avant-garde dwellings, spaceships, teleportation, and exotic worlds.
The majority of my writing ideas are the product of my subconscious, with some characters emerging from my nightmares and others from less dark dreams.
After finishing my studies in canine behavior, I worked with these fascinating animals for a few years before writing about positive reinforcement and how to understand and deal with behavioral issues.
In 2019, I attended online Creative Writing courses and started my first tale scribbling a book of memoirs.
Before long, my literary composition embraced most of speculative fiction’s subgenres: sci-fi, science and urban fantasy, false utopia, and climate fiction.
My stories address fans of unconventional fictional prose (so they told me) and whoever loves journeying to futuristic, utopic, dystopic, or more complicated worlds.
Enjoy reading, everyone.
The thirty-year-old investigator of nature’s abnormal phenomena, Aethra Ortygeans, lives in Sydney in 2080 while keeping her bizarre mental condition a secret. The gigantic moving rectangles on the ceiling don’t appear until midnight; she wouldn’t risk losing her professional credibility or job by admitting she is part-time delusional ...
In the year 4130, what people used to call Earth, is a Pangaea-like terra firma.
The world consists of 3 super-continents and their three Confederations, the Euroatlantian, the Americian, and Oceanian. Nerovia is the descendant from an ancient species called Neropteseans, the posterity of the water Nymphs ...
«Choices Of Life» is a story of three female relatives – descendants one from another – and their lifetime wrong choices. Zacharia rejects the first marriage proposal because of the misspelled love letters. The second she ran away before its announcement. She accepted the third. Her daughter's marriage lasted ...
Dogs do not enjoy being aggressive; they are not happy to live by their defense reflexes.
Feeling threatened by your environment can be detrimental, physically and mentally.
This book describes how genetic deficiencies are responsible for prompting aggressive responses.
Task-Click-Treat is a simplified guide (for beginners and not only) demonstrating how to use a clicker to train your puppy or adult dog. Clicker training is a learning technique with acoustical guidance.
Each species has its own means of vocal communication and undeniably it produces sounds. We humans talk, cats mewing and dogs bark - sometimes more than we can tolerate ...
Writing is primarily about entertaining ourselves. We should be excited about the stories we craft; otherwise, the lack of enthusiasm will pass on the manuscript. If you're bored or unmotivated while writing, your readers will become too. Find the optimal hour and space to dedicate to your narrative and take a break when inspiration is not in rendez vous.
"So any place where you feel that your story is slowing down in its pacing, you might look for ways that you can start hooking your reader."
- David Farland -
We should invest in creating compelling heroes and antiheroes. Our protagonist should captivate with his unique skills. The more contradictory the personality of the antihero, the better it is to define and determine the identity and purpose of our hero.
"Let us know what people look like. We want to see them, obviously, if we’re vicariously inhabiting the scene, don’t let us have some default picture, which we’ll come up without of our own warehouse of stock images because later you’ll tell us some detail which violates the default picture we came up with. Let us see the characters pretty vividly right from the start. If you give the readers an opportunity to misunderstand what you’re saying, they will all take that opportunity." - Tim Powers -
The readers prefer to know immediately whose story they're reading to recognize and understand quickly who the character is and whether or not he would be worth following. Don't be shy, withholding the main character from page one; put them front and center. Use your voice and write with your style (not Hemingway's, Grisham's, King's, etc.), and make sure your heroes also sound like themselves, not like somebody else's. A story begins when ...
Often our vision is captivated by colors and impressive font styles. It is practically inescapable not to be impressed by a well-designed cover! Sometimes the reader’s attention is triggered by appearances, before even read the synopsis of a book. A compelling cover builds readers; however, try not to succumb only by appearances! A plethora of knowledge or entertainment may hide behind less attractive covers ...
Know what you’re going to write before you write it. A book outline is a roadmap or blueprint for your story. It tells you where you need to go and when in chronological order. Write in your preferable place at your most productive time. Write scenes that excite you. Read your manuscript many times - at least 10 - before you give it for editing. The editor would not make your story better or make sense; only you can do that. If your idea is not exciting, even after editing will remain so. Modified and corrected, yes, but still poor. Don’t bore or confuse the reader. Shorter is always better. You’re never going to make your writing perfect. All you can do is do the best you can.
A genre consisting of defying the literary norms and conventions established by traditional realist works within literature's principles. The writers of this genre focus on using innovative storytelling techniques that are playful, bizarre, risky, controversial, or sometimes even incomprehensible ...
