Rational or intuitive?

How do you write? Are you the detailed planner? Conceiving of every narrative arc, every character and every chapter before you start? Some rational writers never deviate from their initial plan.

Are you an intuitive writer? Writing stories, paragraphs, phrases that are totally unconnected. Allowing the intuition to bring forth whatever is in the conscious mind. Then putting the ideas together into a coherent whole in a style unique to you.

Or are you a seat-of-the-pants writer? Quite often as I’m writing, I sit back and exclaim ‘Whoa! I didn’t see that coming!’ as a new character or event enters the story. It’s a little disconcerting, but I’ve never deleted that intrusion, as it has in every case created a depth to the story. The last time it happened I asked the members of my online writing group if it was a common occurrence. Seems it happens often. This was the first time I had heard the expression ‘seat-of-the-pants’ writing. But it fits.

When I start writing I have a general idea of the theme and the characters, so at that stage, I’m a rational writer. I know more or less what is going to happen; I have plotted the Five ‘W’s. (Who, what, when, where, why.) I often start with a prologue. This is more for my direction than for the reader.

Then I get started. I write in the afternoon. That way I’m not sidetracked by house things that need doing. I plan on a minimum of 500 words a session. It’s not much, but it’s all I seem to be able to achieve. Each 500 words is a section, an idea, or activity within the novel. If I do that every day the novel moves along at a nice rate, and I can keep control. Then when I finish that 500 I go away and do other things and when I come back the next day, the next section of 500 odd words is ready to be written. In that way I’m a ‘pants’ writer.

I like my method.