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Pantser 👖 or planner 📒?
Weekly writing prompt #110
Good morning Juicers,
This week’s newsletter is for my prose people. Are you a pantser, planner, or somewhere-in-betweener? After spending the last year or so giving pantsing a fair go, I can say that planning is my true nature.
To me, pantsing—or writing “by the seat of your pants” without an outline—feels like driving without a map. I simultaneously feel like the kid in the backseat parroting, “Are we there yet??” and the bleary-eyed parent at the wheel. When I do outline, I have an easier time getting to where I need to go.
That said, outlining comes with its own set of challenges. It is the process of making the decisions a pantser would make, but all upfront. It can be draining. One tip I got (shout out to fellow Juicer Eva for this one!!) is to take the pressure off by writing the story in the most basic terms possible: think fourth-grade book report. Then, expand the story, beat by beat, and you’ll soon have a fully fleshed outline.
Hope that helps,
Jamie
Weekly writing prompt:
Are you a pantser, planner, or somewhere-in-betweener? In both writing and life or not? What’s that like?
Reply to this email to submit your writing. Share by Sunday evening and see what everyone else wrote for the same prompt.
Last week’s submissions: Black holes
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Writing inspo of the week
A poem often has two subjects: a starting subject and then the discovered subject.
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