Pantsing a novel is like this image: You enter the darkness with a flashlight and see what's inside the book.
This image fits what it’s like to write a book without an outline.

Image © copyright kevron2001

I’m working on a special for pantsers—those of you who discover the story by diving in and writing:

Writing worksheets

Typically, writing worksheets tend be about creating a story with an outline.  That’s not particularly helpful if you don’t outline!

So I’m making something that that’ll help the writing process along and be a useful tool.

The proposed worksheet package:

  1. Character worksheets: These are not going to be your typical character worksheets.  They’ll include a few fields that no one else uses but will be important to character development. 
  2. Reverse outline worksheets: These are to be filled out AFTER you’ve written a scene, or a batch of them.  They’re like being on a path in the woods and turning around to see the landmarks of where you’ve been. One of sections is a lot of fun to think about!
  3. Character List: To be filled out after you’ve written a large chunk of the story.  It’ll help you identify characters who need a little more work.

I’ll also include instructions how things that will help you write a novel without outlining (I wish I could say it was a step-by-step instruction) and the ultimate pantser’s tool, cycling.

Are there any worksheets you feel should be included?