I did not write Home Planet by quill, but I did write it by the seat of my pants.
When I was in my Master’s program I learned the delightful fact that many readers identify themselves as either a “planner” (someone who outlines everything in advance) or a “pantser” (someone who writes spontaneously by the "seat of their pants"). If you know me at all, I bet you are guessing I am the former. The planner.
You would be wrong.
While I’m happy to admit I’m a Type A, overly organized planner in almost every facet of life (I mean, c’mon, I have a personal Asana board 😅), writing Home Planet was a very different experience. I definitely organized my time of when I’d write and gave myself goals around my writing, but every time I sat down to add to the story it was with no clear outline of what would come next. In many ways, I didn’t tell this story, it told itself to me.
I had a general idea of one main plot point. There would be a woman, she would be an astronaut and there would be a pregnancy. Beyond that, it was a blank slate. There were times where I’d be writing and it would be like, “Okay. Well I guess that’s where this story is going then…” A fact that amused my husband and any friend I discussed it with to no end.
Is one way of writing better than the other? I don’t know, but my guess is no. I think if you are a planner you spend a lot of time upfront organizing your story and then when it’s time to write your first draft is (probably) closer to your final draft. If you are a pantser, you get right into the writing, but man there are (probably) going to be a lot of rewrites. (In my experience, I went through 6 official rounds of edits with professional editors to get to my going-to-the-printer version. And that doesn’t count the friends and husband who read several other versions.)
It turns out that writing Home Planet was a little bit like a science experiment. It started with an observation. I followed that thread with curiosity and questions and the conclusion revealed itself. 💜 Does this mean I’ll be a pantser for the next book I write? Only time will tell, but my guess is yes. I’ll leave the writing side of my life the place where I can live in chaos and unknowns. And who knows? Maybe some of that loosey-goosey-ness will bleed over into other areas of life in a good way.
We’re just over a month away from the book’s release date (September 15th) and I’m so excited to get it out into the world. I hope to have preorders available in the next couple of weeks and am currently working on a launch party. If you’re in the Denver area (or want to travel here) and are interested in attending let me know. I’d love to see as many friendly faces there as possible.
Until next time,
Tiffany