Planning to Plan
Is Failing to Fail
If you have read some of my stories before, you may know I am a huge proponent of being a pantser over being a plotter. But maybe only planning to plan has some advantages.
They write themselves.
I have explained how many of my stories wrote themselves. They are such that I could never fence them in with an outline since they depended more on anecdotal rather than researched information.
This applies primarily to stories concerning real-world methodology, experiences, and outcomes.
I have, from time to time, also been accused of blurring the line between fiction and non-fiction. So here is what I have learned.
Rule of thumb: there is no rule of thumb.
Planning out a chart of upcoming posts is sheer luxury. It relieves me of kilograms of worry. It frees up my mental resources to worry about other more serious things, such as my treatise on devastating injuries to senses of humor, or the solidity of the foundation at the new Corvette factory in Kentucky.
As I age I find my non-fiction work benefits a little from an outline (if I am caught, I can call it a table of contents.) Even my fiction stories benefit from a hero’s journey on a post-it note sticking to my computer.
None of this is technically planning but does creep right on up to the edge of it.
We’re tough and we don’t plan.
It’s like the two tough hombre cowboys said to the sheriff, “hey we’re tough and we don’t plan.”
“OK, we may plan every once in a while, but not very much.”
“OK, maybe we plan sometimes, but not all the time.”
Be flexible, leave yourself an escape route. Try planning out your next few posts, even if only ideas or titles, even if only for a week. Try making a table of contents before you start your next story. Just don’t call it an outline.
Never get too dependent on planning. Remember when you are fishing in a stream of consciousness, you never can tell in advance where they will be biting.
Last word.
Plan what you can, but don’t beat yourself up, and don’t let it bog down your writing. that is contrary to its purpose.
Thanks for reading!
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Don’s a keen observer and prolific reporter of truth, common sense, humor, & life. He’s a WRITER|HUMORIST, sometimes serious, sometimes tongue-in-cheek. He lives in Nashville, Tn. Follow him on TWITTER, FACEBOOK, MEDIUM, or his WEBSITE.
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