The Woman in the Library

Writers take many different approaches to storytelling, but approaches to writing fiction generally fall between two poles—pantsing versus plotting. Pantsers write by the seat of their pants. They value spontaneity, writing as a process of discovery of who their characters are, and following storylines wherever they go no matter how implausible that storyline may be. The pantser’s approach means that much more work may have to be done in subsequent re-writes and revisions to deal with writing problems, such as plot holes.

The fictional writer Freddie Kincaid is a pantser who spends days following her inspirations and incorporating her day-to-day life into what she writes. She compares this process to driving a bus; she acknowledges that her critical voice plays a role in what she writes, but she describes that voice as “a bus driver [who] is a shadow, a practical necessity of transport, and for now [she] disregard[s] him entirely” (38) to avoid writer’s block. At times, Freddie finds that she loses sight of what she is after in a given writing session. Pantsing also means that her writing is dependent on momentum; she neglects herself and her relationships because she fears losing momentum. Because Freddie is a pantser, she also relies on outlining after the fact to make her draft more coherent.