Creating something out of nothing:

Conquering the blank page as a pantser 

What do Rex Stout, Raymond Chandler, Issaac Asimov, Mark Twain, Dean Koontz, Margaret Atwood, Ernest Hemmingway, and Stephen King all have in common? They, along with many, many other authors, both traditional and indie, are what's known as pantsers, also known as discovery writers. 

Whether you outline and plot out your entire story before you begin your novel or fly by the seat of your pants, if you're a writer, you've experienced the emptiness of the blank page. The weight it seems to hold as you stare at it wondering who will blink first - you or the bright, white screen staring back at you. But if you're a pantser, you probably face this more often than the writer who plots everything out ahead of time. Maybe even every time you start a new chapter or need to get yourself out of a jam in your story. On the other hand, the plotter is less likely to face the blank page with any kind of fear simply because they have already outlined the beginning, middle, and end of their book. 

I'm a pantser and whenever I sit down to begin a new project, I trust that my mind will work through any creative bumps in the road that would prevent me from endlessly staring at a page with no words on it. Writer and podcaster Joanna Penn is also a pantser, and she says that she likes to think of the blank page as the promise of unlimited possibilities rather than the fear of the unknown. I agree with her. I think all pantsers would agree with that statement. And although that empty page can sometimes be a bit intimidating, for me, that's part of the fun of writing into the unknown. Allowing my characters to show me where the story needs to go helps add depth to my writing. I love having the story develop as I go along. I find that my mind's creative juices flow easier, and I discover places to take the narrative that I might not have thought of if I was trying to manufacture the whole thing before I ever type the first word of the manuscript.

I know that most plotters would disagree with the discovery way of writing... and that's okay. There's is more than one way to write a book, and we each have to make a choice as to what the best way is for what we want to accomplish. And truth be told, most writers who outline their entire book, will admit that they will take liberties with the outline based on ideas that pop up during the writing process. They are willing to go off script and take the story in a direction that may work better than what they had originally outlined. Sometimes allowing the discovery to happen will make a good story even better. I also believe that even a pantser will begin to plot things out once they have a solid idea of where their story is headed. So, on some level, we all cross over to the other side at some point during the process of writing a book.

No matter how you write your book, the idea that you can fire up that computer, or pull out a fresh, new notepad, and create something that didn't exist before, is an incredible feeling. And then to have readers enjoy your stories, care about your characters, invest their hard-earned time and money into a make-believe world that you created is satisfying at the deepest level. 

For me, knowing that I have the ability to create something out of nothing that matters to others, makes it that much easier to sit down in front of my computer and work hard at conquering that, sometimes intimidating, but always bright, white, blank page. 

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Thanks for reading my meandering thoughts on writing😀

I would love it if you would check out my books - see what a pantser can accomplish when writing PI/Detective stories✍

You can take a look by clicking here: Tony Razzolito, PI

Until next time...😎