Greetings there bloglilites, bloglings, oh followers and purveyors of this rambling writer and his writerly writings, or…blarghing. Sup?

So today we’re going to talk about pantsing, and no that’s not the art of trying to cram your child into a pair of pants when they’d rather run amok sans the legged garments. It’s about writing by the seat of your pants, without a plan, daring to do without the how, or all of the how. And then there’s the how do you do that without the how!? Good question! You just do. It’s like blarghing, on a larger scale. Who says you need a plan? Every plan starts as a fragment of ideas, like this post today. You just need to be willing to sit down and type. To put in the effort of trying to connect the fragments.  And you know what?

It’s terrifying and that’s okay. There there, ssssshhh little writer. It’s okay. Know why? Because it works. It just does. It’s like an artist who has an idea, just an idea, no sketches, no plans, but begins to paint anyways. New twists arise, PLOT TWIST, new ideas and detours, you learn with them and grow. By the end, boom, a new, finished work. It can surprise you, and thus, your readers! It’s fantastic, George R.R. Martin writes this way, did you know that?

Bet you don’t see his twists coming, well, apart from the twist of the knife, right Snow? Sorry too soon? Too bad. But that’s how it works. Stephen King, Neil Gaiman and so many others write this way. It’s like any other style of writing, the more you do it, the more practice you get at it. You’re stringing together ideas and connecting them as you go, trying to reach certain key points. Surprises pop up not for the worst, but for the better, so long as you look at them that way and try to go, “Hmm, wonder what I can do what that. OH CRAP THREE CHAPTERS AGO I SAID THIS AND IT TOTALLY SETS UP THIS NEW BRAND SPANKINGLY AWESOMESAUCE PLOT TWIST!”

When that happens, you have to jump up out of your chair, thrust your fist into the air and shout PLOT TWIST! Else wise the writing Gods will be mad and steal your muse away, chain them up and leave you idealess. Always appease the writing deities. Always jump for plot twists.

But you need to approach writing, pantsing like a great open ended mystery. It’s the mindset behind it, don’t be afraid you don’t know where it’s going. Be excited that you don’t know what’s coming! It’s like being a reader and that’s the point dumkompf! Be surprised, have fun, learn to roll with the punches all the way to the end. Pantsing is great. It makes you endlessly adaptable. Have fun, write, trust yourself, trust the muse, trust your story and little voices in your head telling you to write this and kill everything….

*Blinks* Um ignore that last part. What you don’t have those voices in your heads? Hahaha, neither do I…..Neither do I…..

Now go pants, pull them up, sit your fine butt in the chair, and write!