Knowing that you have a story to write and actually writing the story are two very different things. When it comes to writing a book there are a couple different schools of thought. Some people like to plan the entire thing out from start to finish, while others like to just fly by the seat of their pants. Each of these have a term and the truth is, there’s really no right or wrong way to write a book.
First, let’s talk about the plotter. The plotter likes to, well…plot. They plot out every aspect of their book from start to finish. Some of their draft plots are so detailed, it’s basically an entire first draft of their book. They need a solid plan in order to move forward with their book. They need a brain dump, an outline of each chapter, and likely an outline of the outline of each chapter. They are not likely to feel confident moving forward on their book project until they have every last detail planned. And that’s totally fine! It’s one great way to write a book.
The other type of writer is called the pantser. I eluded to it at the beginning of this blog when I wrote that some people like to fly by the seat of their pants when writing a book. That sums up the pantser. This type of writer just starts to write. They sit down at the computer and just let it flow with no real plan. Again, a great way to write a book.
There are pros and cons to to both types. The pro of a plotter is that they have a really solid plan and eventually the book can just kind of write itself. The con is that writing a book this way can be very time consuming.
The pro of a pantser is that the book gets written faster because there’s no need to spend a bunch of time on a detailed outline. The con is that there are times when writing this way that the writer will get to the middle of the book and realize that there’s no real point or plan to it. Basically, it’s going nowhere fast. Which ends up taking even more time in the long run.
Personally, I prefer taking a middle of the road approach. I like to create a loose outline and then I just get to writing. The outline keeps me on track but it’s not so rigid that I don’t feel like I can move away from it. This is how I published six books in a year so it’s definitely working well for me!
If you need some help with the actual writing of your book then send me an email or message me on Facebook. If you want to jump into my amazing community where I’m teaching women entrepreneurs how to discover and create their most impactful story, then jump in here.
