Chaos Drafting (or, For those of use who don't know when to stop)

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Chaos drafting. If you've never heard that phrase before, it's because I'm fairly certain I just made it up. We're just going to roll with it anyway.

As a bookseller who has hosted countless author events at my store, I can tell you that the #1 question that gets asked of almost every author during their Q&A session is something akin to: "What is your writing process like?"

Followed up almost exclusively with: "Are you a plotter or a pantser?"

More and more, I've spoken to authors after the fact who tell me candidly that they really don't love that question. Not because they're tired of answering it, but because plenty of authors don't fall neatly into either category. Largely, the authors I've spoken to about their drafting process confess that it's a lot more touch and go than the plotter vs. pantser stereotype would suggest. And let's be honest, the term plantser just doesn't do the job.

So here is my anecdotal contribution to the conversation on drafting style: chaos drafting. Let me explain...

While plotters are known for keeping meticulous notes and sticking to the boundaries they cut out for themselves in their fictional worlds, pansters are known for doing literally the exact opposite of that. Chaos drafting is some funky hybrid of those two types, but the emphasis here is on exploring.

One of my major challenges while drafting is having trouble sticking to “the bones”. Logically, I know it would be easier to write first draft that is sparse but untangled, allowing for layers to be added in the future drafts.

But my brain doesn't work like that. I'll start with bones and then turn it into a forensic investigation—Where did the bones come from? How long have the bones been here? Are there other bones buried close by? Are these bones from an animal or something else?

Laini Taylor has an excellent piece on her Patreon (which I think is well worth the subscription) where she tries to explain her drafting process and reveals that most of her writing time is spent exploring the world she has created. It is a lesson in immersion and world-building that resonated with me as someone who cannot help but wander my own worlds. For this reason, writing can feel like taking a dog on a run, only for the dog to stop dead in its tracks and sniff around every tree or flower garden. Just when it feels like I'm gaining some momentum in my writing—cranking through some quick chapters and moving the plot along—my curiosity snags on some minor detail and will fixate on it, holding it up to the light and trying to see it from every angle.

And this can feel so frustrating when just about every writing magazine or website is telling you that the best way to finish your novel is to just “set the bones down and work out the details later”. Because the details are, frankly, a lot more interesting than the bones. The details are what keep me interested and prompt new questions for me to ask myself as I explore this fictional world.

My last WIP for NaNoWriMo was a story I had been casually writing for a few years now. At one point, I decided to take the plunge and give it my full attention for a couple months in the hopes of finishing it (finally). I had allotted a 100k goal for myself, thinking that I would likely come up short of that count unless I fleshed it out a bit more.

Well, 250k into the project, and I was only barely breaking into the third act. For months, I berated myself for it. How could I let this project get so wildly out of control? If I were a real writer, I would have the discipline to keep my eyes on the outline and not let myself wander aimlessly in this new world I had built. I made plenty of self-deprecating jokes about being the author with the “never-ending” WIP, and I shelved the project to return to it when I was finally serious enough to do it justice.

It really wasn't until recently that I've come to terms with the fact that, while some people can write very effective first drafts with the skeleton method, my brain just does not work like that. Not only that, but my chaos drafts aren't worthless or empty of meaning just because they tend to ramble. In fact, without my wandering first drafts, I likely wouldn't have stepped off the path far enough to solve some glaring issues with my plot. Letting myself explore and listen to my characters spill their thoughts and feelings onto the page has led to so many incredible discoveries in my WIPs, and I am more grateful now for my chaos drafts than for the various half-assed outlines that preceded them.

When I was in high school, I spent most of my free time on stage in theatre classes. One of the things my director used to tell us when she needed us to project louder or make bolder choices onstage, was “give me everything you have inside of you, and if I need you to cut back I will tell you—but it's always easier to pull back than it is to push yourself harder”. And, in essence, that is the chaos draft.

Savannah

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Caw Caw for now!

The Tome Ravens