Writing without a roadmap is something I have always done. As a teen I would make very detailed bios for my characters and a short blurb of the story. This was something instinctual and I got away from giving any forethought to the characters’ background. At the time I didn’t realize how much depth those bios gave my characters, by stopping that little bit of planning, my Characters suffered.
Over the years, I’ve incorporated the best of plotting with the best f pantsing. I’ve learned that not knowing what the characters are going to do or say is very refreshing and surprising. There’s a certain freedom that allows the characters to develop an organic relationship with one another. Whereas if I plot out everything my muses rebel against what they perceive as something rigid.
I used to be a confirmed pantser, and wanted nothing to do with plotting. However, when I went back to school I had to learn to plot. Plotting is great when you get to a part in the story and don’t know where to go. You can just look at the next bullet point and go from there.
For me, incorporating a rough outline, allows my inner pantser to soar free without hindering the muses.
I hope your technique will work for me. Instead of bullet points, I have a stack of note cards for my WIP. I’m slightly stuck on how I’m going to get from one pivotal scene to the next. Usually, enough coffee will break the dam and ideas leak through. Wish me luck!
I agree. I think a rough outline is good for me and I do character sketches, however, I do not sketch alll conversation and movement and let the character decide that.
My characters materialize in my head fully fledged. I rather enjoy getting to know them better as I write the story, discovering them the way a reader would.
I like to use a loose outline, but I completely agree that if I had to rigidly stick to my outlines, the story would either suffer or wouldn’t get written.