We get a bad rep.

Pantsers are christened as such because they write as though they’re “flying by the seat of their pants.” Another way to call it is discovery writing. Much of this process is improvising as they’re developing their characters or their plot. You know… discovering along the way.

I am one such person. Why do I pants instead of plotting (planning) my novel beforehand?

I was about 54,000 words into my manuscript when I could no longer ignore this dreadful, gnawing pit growing in my stomach. Everything was wrong. I wasn’t writing one novel like I had envisioned. I was writing two. Two really bad ones, and I was forcing them into one.

The only thing I was effectively accomplishing was mashing these two halves into a sloppy gruel instead of giving either of them room to cook.

And I should have realized this 20,000 words ago.

So why didn’t I?