tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post978597844458144154..comments2024-03-27T01:07:03.944-04:00Comments on The Roses of Prose: Why Am I A Pantser? Blame It On My Kids by Margo HoornstraAlison Hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12725250883303287946noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-29470898290676025702016-04-18T16:36:11.902-04:002016-04-18T16:36:11.902-04:00Both my kids came pretty close to their due dates....Both my kids came pretty close to their due dates. Not my grandchildren. G'daughter #1 came 5 weeks early; G'daughter #2, 4 weeks; G'son, 6 weeks early & the only one who had to stay in the NICU. When Son worried about G'daughter #2 coming so early, his sister told him when kids are done cooking, they come. Must be from the Burton side. Hubs was 2 months early.<br /><br />I'm a plotser--a hybrid pantser who has to eventually plot. Works for me.Diane Burtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03754105332297068271noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-21168678943849191502016-04-12T07:04:44.214-04:002016-04-12T07:04:44.214-04:00I did learn, Leah. At light speed! Sounds like you...I did learn, Leah. At light speed! Sounds like you got a nice blend kid wise. Bing a pantser does have a downside. I tend to go far afield at times with my writing.Margo Hoornstrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00036077481652050799noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-8756806741776089732016-04-12T05:05:55.989-04:002016-04-12T05:05:55.989-04:00Wow, Margo, you sure learned quickly that a parent...Wow, Margo, you sure learned quickly that a parent has to be able to react quickly to just about anything! My sons were opposites--one early, one late--so maybe that's why I'm a mixture of plotting and pantsing. I need a basic outline for the plot because my mind will go meandering, like the little boy on Family Circus, until I've wandered so far off plan, I'll never make my way to an ending! Fun post!Leah St. Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11004006100786260893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-79525398409371171702016-04-11T20:15:04.300-04:002016-04-11T20:15:04.300-04:00Vonnie, You never fail to entertain. Thanks for th...Vonnie, You never fail to entertain. Thanks for the chuckle. I'm sure you'll get those characters back in line. You always do. Good luck on the completion.<br /><br />Andi, just when we think we have everything under control....not a lot you can do once the labor starts!<br /><br />Ally, lucky you kid wise. Sometimes I wish I could be more of a plotter. Not in my DNA I guess.<br /><br />Margo Hoornstrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00036077481652050799noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-14682430029319136042016-04-11T17:23:53.126-04:002016-04-11T17:23:53.126-04:00I am most definitely a plotter. If I sit down to w...I am most definitely a plotter. If I sit down to write with only an idea, I'm completely blank on how to proceed. I do not do extensive outlines or graphs or charts, but I do have to have a scene by scene plot, although things change as I go along. I like to have a list of short scene notes, then I dive into each scene and I'm still surprised and excited about what develops. I only have an idea of what will take place. Watching it play out still keeps me interested. :) And, as I said, things change. EACH of my 3 kids were late. My eldest two, the girls, were each 12 days late. My son was a week late, if I recall correctly. :) Maybe that's why I like a plan. Alicia Deanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12003539473772776004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-58497951630383240682016-04-11T13:30:02.221-04:002016-04-11T13:30:02.221-04:00Margo, as a fellow pantser I empathize with you--a...Margo, as a fellow pantser I empathize with you--and had a similar experience with my own baby, too. Maybe that's why I'm a pantser? She was due Jan. 12th and managed to arrive, in the U.K., on Boxing Day with hospital staff still off and away partying and granny and grandpa visiting for the Xmas holidays. Yup, all good training in thinking on the fly...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-53207631590332752992016-04-11T13:04:48.126-04:002016-04-11T13:04:48.126-04:00I am a pantser who is leaning toward listing bulle...I am a pantser who is leaning toward listing bullet points about halfway through the books so I don't freak about where the story is heading...if anywhere. Even so, my characters threw me for a loop over the weekend. Suddenly, just a few hours after a wonderful proposal, my heroine throws a fit. I'm yelling at the screen. "No! No, I didn't plan for this. You can't. You just can't. You know he'll walk out if you say this." Well, she said it...I wrote it...he walked out...and I was left holding the shocked author's bag. <br /><br />Loved your post about "birthing babies." What a great tie-in. Back to the writing cave. I want to finish this bad boy today. Vonnie Davis ~ Romance Authorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07360480832587538895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-24856780828937596672016-04-11T11:20:50.997-04:002016-04-11T11:20:50.997-04:00Jannine - Oh no to the server down! Funny how kids...Jannine - Oh no to the server down! Funny how kids who have the same parents can turn out so very, very different. Unfortunately, I remember induced labor too. Except it was to deliver the second twin. Come to think of it, both my girls were the hesitant ones. Hmmmmm.<br /><br />Rolynn - My mother was an English teacher and my dad was a writer. Talk about two ends of the spectrum! Thank goodness you are finally free to be a tried and true pantser. Every time you write is a surprise, isn't it? I love it! Margo Hoornstrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00036077481652050799noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-16625825098332190142016-04-11T10:41:45.746-04:002016-04-11T10:41:45.746-04:00Pantsers unite. Funny about my writing style. I ...Pantsers unite. Funny about my writing style. I was a high school teacher and principal, careful at planning lessons, speeches, evaluations of teachers...on and on. Maybe I'm a pantser as a writer because I wanted to be free of that gnats eyebrow planning. Heck, I taught expository writing, critical analysis, pounding away at my students the concept of using their brains to be clear thinkers. Sure, they/we used creative ways to present ideas, but the analytical thinking was vital...primary resources, too. You get the drift.<br /><br />Writing fiction is a world apart from all the above. I had to start over and learn...loosen up, too. So it makes sense I'm a pantser today. I am surprised every morning when I write...an that, I like!<br /><br />Rolynn Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09504770204968969467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-88354560152818891652016-04-11T10:35:30.280-04:002016-04-11T10:35:30.280-04:00Funny about your kids, Margo. Tara was 10 days ear...Funny about your kids, Margo. Tara was 10 days early. She's still extremely impatient. Kristen was 9 days late. Had to induce labor since apparently she wasn't ever planning to come out... I still have to prod her (forcefully) to get her moving. So maybe their personalities were already established at birth! As for my writing, I began my career as a plotter and turned into a panster, so I worked in reverse order from my kids. Fun post! Oh, if you don't hear from me anytime soon, my email server is down and they have no estimate as to when it'll be fixed. Grrrr...Jannine Gallanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01047728297429025804noreply@blogger.com