Writing from the gut – the Pantser with @CiaraGold #RB4U #WritingTip

I’ve often been asked if I’m a pantser or a plotter. Those who write know exactly to what I refer. For those unfamiliar with the terms, a plotter drafts an outline first before penning their wonderful prose. The pantser, of course, writes from the seat of their pants.

I’m a pantser but this comes with its own set of difficulties. First, it’s very easy to get lost or sidetracked. Sometimes a small reference is made in one chapter that can have a great impact on another and I’m a forgetful sort. Needless to say, my rewrites are probably more intensive than those from someone who plots.

With pantsering, you don’t worry so much about the rhythm. There’s a certain ebb and flow to writing romance that some stress over. Instinctively, I seem to know when to rev up the suspense or tension or when to relax the moment. Writing from the seat of my britches allows me to write from my gut. Hmm, I almost want to change the term to gutser instead of pantser.

When I place my characters in a corner, I really stew over how to get them out of a bad situation. I’ll come up with an idea and automatically discount it because it’s my first solution and probably the expected solution.  I want a solution that’s not so normal. My best plot twists happen by not giving into the easiest answer.

Another thing that works for me with drafting as I go, is the absence of a sagging middle. A lot of authors worry over what to do with the middle of their stories. Not I. If I’m going to stress, it’s over the ending. My latest release, The Rose Hunter, was five years in the making mainly because I could not settle on an ending. Perhaps some of the difficulty rests with not wanting to bid characters I’ve fallen in love with adieu.

The Rose Hunter came out in November and I’m so happy to share it with readers. Here’s the blurb:

Lucian Willshire is plagued by thoughts of a fae world and the disappearance of his aunt some nineteen years past, but when his friend drags him back to Hamingjur Castle, he stumbles into Alfheim Haven once more where mystical beings become more than a distant memory.

Lyerra Ahdia is baffled by the sudden emotional changes she’s experiencing until she discovers she’s the only witch to suffer “the change” since her mother stole the Rose, a special talisman with the power to perpetuate life among those in her coven. Tasked with finding and bringing the Rose home, she begs Lucian’s help in navigating the human realm. Against his better judgement, he agrees.

Though neither set out to find anything except the Rose, fate has other plans. Will love be more elusive than hunting the Rose?

Ciara Gold wrote her first “under the bed” book at twenty. Another fifteen years passed before she bravely attempted another, but she’s been happily writing ever since. A true Renaissance woman, when she’s not penning lively stories, she’s reading, sewing, painting, camping, sailing or dancing. A recent empty nester, she and her soul mate currently live on a modest plot of land surrounded by trees, a pond, an array of wildlife and seven barn kitties.

Website  www.ciaragold.com

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