I've Got a Theory: Character Pantsers

Generally speaking, we are each better at either plot, characters, or setting, right? (Click here to see a fun poll on whether plot, setting, or characters came first.) One of those three tends to come more easily to us. It's the thing that feels most real in the first draft. It's the thing that feels most clear to you as you're writing.

And although we're all somewhere in the middle, we each consider ourselves to be either a plotter or a pantser / discovery writer, right?

Here's where my theory comes into play. You ready?

Discovery writers (a.k.a. pantsers) tend to be strongest at writing characters.

I know that a lot of writers get a character (or characters) in mind, then plop them down somewhere in the middle of a situation and see what they'll do. Who wants to plot that? The fun is seeing how the character(s) react to the situation, and then see where it goes from there. It totally works!

On the other hand, you can't really plop a plot down amongst characters in a setting, and see what the plot does. You can't really plop a setting down amongst characters and a plot, and see what the setting does. Obviously both the plot and the setting is colored by everything and colors everything, but it's not the driving force.

So let's go about proving / disproving my theory, shall we? In the comments, tell me what you're strongest at (plot, setting, or character), and whether you're primarily a plotter or a pantser. (Or use whatever phrase you prefer to call it.) I'll start us out.

I'm a Setting / Plotter.

You?

The Way We Are: The First

Every single novel had a teeny little beginning. The initial spark of an idea. That thing that came very first that made your brain go crazy with the possibilities of where to take it.

Thinking of your WIP, what element came first for you? 
Plot, Character(s), or Setting?

If you had asked me this question and I had to spurt out an answer without giving it any thought first, I would have shouted, "Plot!" (Because you tend to shout when someone tells you to spurt an answer.) As I actually thought about it, though, it's so not plot for me. It's setting! In fact, when I look at every book I've written, it's been setting every single time. I'm not 100% sure why it is that way for me. Maybe because I like to travel, but don't get to often. Maybe it's because I love when a book takes me somewhere unique. And for the setting to truly effect every aspect of the story, it has to be in my mind from the very beginning.

So now it's your turn! And since a) we haven't done this for a while, b) I'm home writing today, and c) I love pictorial representations of random questions, I say we do this as a picture graph!

Several times during the day (and tomorrow, too), I'll update the graph based on your comments.

Ready, set, go!



P.S. Thanks so much to Colin D Smith for the Versatile Blogger Award, and to Kelley at Between the Bookends for the Two Thumbs Up From a Skunk Award! I feel honored, guys. Thanks!

Who knew we were playing with so much power?

Well, okay. Probably us. We know the power words have. I watched a youtube video months ago that showed the power words have in such a different way than I've ever thought, and it's fascinated me ever since. This video really spoke to the writer me.

It's eight minutes long. I know not everyone wants to watch a clip that long, so I'll paraphrase.

Basically, it says that the words you learn could have an impact on the colors you see. Fascinating already, right? They talk about tests they do on babies and toddlers to see how the brain processes color before language and after language, which is in itself interesting, but the part that really got me was about the Himba tribe in Northern Namibia.

The English language has eleven color categories. Reds, blues, greens, browns, yellows, etc. In the Himba tribe, they have FOUR.

Zoozu= dark colors, including red, some blues, some greens, and purple
Vapa= white and some yellows
Borou= some greens and blues
Dumbu= different greens, reds, and brown

Why is this weird? They did a test, showing participants a ring of squares where all but one of the colors were the same. When the colors were all green, with one very slightly different, English-speakers had a hard time figuring out which green was different. With the Namibia, the other green had a different NAME, so they picked it out instantly. When the ring of colors were all green with one blue, English-speakers picked it out the second it was put on the screen. Easy peasy, right? The two colors had the same name among the Himba, though, so they couldn't tell the difference.

So the words we use to categorize things really changes the way we SEE things. Isn't that fascinating? (If you want to just watch the Himba tribe part, skip to the 3 minute mark. I promise it's worth it.)



When I first saw this video, I thought, Wow! It would be so cool if someone wrote a fantasy using some of these elements! But then I realized that its implications are far greater. This talks about how we categorize colors. That by having categories to put them in, we quickly order what we see.

Characters and setting are the same way. When you read about someone or some place, your mind immediately categorizes them (not always in the right category, of course). The brain orders what it sees. And that, my friends, can be used to our advantage or our disadvantage. A reader WILL do it, whether we want them to or not. If we're aware of it when we first introduce a scene, it can be to our advantage. A few carefully chosen words can set a scene by placing it in a well-known category, which is especially helpful when it's a part you don't want bogged down by description. If we're aware of it when we're introducing a character, helping the reader put them into a category with the words we choose can get them thinking exactly what we want them to think about that character (whether it's a correct assumption on their part, or whether we want them to learn it's incorrect later).

Pretty powerful stuff, words. Kinda makes you feel like a superhero, doesn't it?

I've Got a Theory: That Spark is Your Super Strength

Okay, so you know how everyone has one method of learning that works better than others?  Seeing, hearing, or touching, right? You may learn best by, say, by seeing, but you can still learn by hearing or touch-- it's just takes a bit more work.

And you know how there's three basic elements to every story-- Plot (including conflict), Characters, and Setting?

Well, I have a theory that sort of combines the two concepts:

Out of the three main story elements, everyone has one area of super strength that they are a natural at.

About about your current work in progress, think back to the very, very beginnings of it when that first spark of an idea came to you. That thing you built the entire story around. Was it a character that inspired the story? A place where the story would happen? An idea for a general concept or a fabulous conflict? When you get a new story idea, that initial spark-- character, setting, or plot-- generally comes in the form of the thing out of those three you are best at.

So... if I'm a natural at writing characters that feel real, does that mean my plot and setting are going to stink?

No. It just means that you are going to have to try harder on your plot and setting than you had to do on characters. That those things probably aren't going to be strong enough in the first draft, and it will take a few rounds of revisions to get them up to the same level as the thing you've got super powers at.

Okay, so a few examples. I would dare say that Stephenie Meyer's and J.K. Rowling's strengths are in characters. Stephenie said that her characters came to her fully-formed (a huge hint that characters are her strength). And in both of those series, wasn't it amazing how real the characters-- even the minor ones-- felt? And I think than Dan Brown's, John Grisham's, and James Patterson's strengths lie in plot. And that pretty much every high fantasy book's strengths are in setting.

So what do you think? Do you have one area of super strength and other areas that you have to work really hard at to get to the same level?