There are two types of writers: the SOTP (Seat of the Pants) writer and the writer who meticulously plots the story before she even types “Chapter One”.

I’m a SOTP writer. The only plotting I do is in my head in addition to research notes and jotting down ideas as they pop into my brain. I often tell myself  that I need to study up on the process of plotting a story and start implementing it. My comfort zone is sitting down in front of my computer and going for it. SOTP writing comes easy for me, but I suspect that once I master the art of plotting, it will come easy too.

Most of us seat-of-the-pantsers don’t know a whole lot about plotting. It does seem complex, even confusing. Do we want to take the time to learn, or just stay in our SOTP comfort zone? I suppose, as with any other endeavor, we can start with the basics. Allow ourselves to learn a few things and put them into practice. After a while, we’ll grow comfortable with this alien form of writing (well, it’s alien to some of us) and it’ll come second-nature.

As a practiced SOTP writer, I’m willing to explore the world of plotting. I’ve read about it,  and heard all about the fine points many authors use. From white dry-erase boards to post-it notes to the “snow-flake” method, there are a plethora of plotting techniques.

This week, I challenge my fellow seat-of-the-pants authors to pick one simple form of plotting to try. Don’t try to tackle anything too confusing, just stick to the basics. Here’s a list of several strategies I’ve come up with:

Simple List: Decide what the basic premise of your story will be, the main characters, the secondary characters, and the setting(s). Once you’ve made this list, you can either dive into writing and see what evolves, or you can take this simple list to the next level and add more info about characters and setting.

Characters: Some authors go into great detail describing each character (main and secondary) before they begin writing. Some simply list the names of all the players in the story, while others note each character’s goal, motivation, conflict, and any catastrophe they may face in order to achieve their goal. Some even decide ahead of time the character’s hair and eye color, stature, tone of voice, and other mannerisms.

Scenes: This step can be quite involved, but helpful in keeping track of where you want your story to go. If you decide to accept this mission, keep it simple. Come up with a beginning, middle, and an end. Decide who the major players are and what their role in the story is, where the story is set, and the main goal of the story and its characters. When you’ve tackled this much, you may add more information and begin to divide each part (beginning, middle, and end) into individual scenes.

Keep in mind, these “strategies” are very basic and come from someone who is a “plotting novice”, but I think it’s a good start. Have fun with this. I know I will.

Before I end this, I want you to know that if you are a SOTP writer, don’t be ashamed. As far as I know, there are no hard and fast rules in the publishing world that state you can’t be a seat-of-the-pantser. Some authors do very well writing this way, while some writers take days–even weeks–plotting every single detail and still can’t produce a good story. It goes back to one of my first posts: Were you born to write? Do what works for you, but don’t be afraid to try something different that may improve your gift to write.