First Cup of Coffee - January 29, 2024

The TWISTED MAGIC audiobook is live! Also sharing a call for authors influenced by Tanith Lee. And why I think classes teaching "plotting for pantsers" are damaging to intuitive writers, and other thoughts on process.

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Transcript

00:00.47
jeffekennedy
Good morning, everyone! This is Jeffe Kennedy author of epic fantasy romance I'm here I had to sneeze I'm here with my first cup of coffee. Oh that's delicious. Today is Monday January Twenty Ninth last podcast of January Twenty Twenty four already just amazing. Ah so I have a bunch of things to talk about today actually a fairly long list. So I may not get to all of it. But first I'm very important. Is and I forgot to mention the Twisted Magic audiobook is live. It is on audible and will be on Itunes. It's probably on Itunes by now. Ah not on Youtube yet that'll be in three months because I'm doing the ninety day exclusive on audible to help. Make back my investment but I paid for the audiobook but you can um, certainly listen to it on either of those if you like or wait ninety days. A couple of you have messaged me and asked and 1 person said well they just have to go listen to the rest of the series for the next three months which thank you I'm so glad that you are enjoying the books. Ah, um, other important piece of news is that if you are a writer um or maybe a reader reviewer too.

01:36.70
jeffekennedy
And you are a big fan of Tanith Lee ah, there's some things going on with Tanith lee's the tenth anniversary of her passing I have some other exciting news that I can't reveal just yet, but it'll it's coming and. If you are interested in being interviewed about tenthly her influence on you on your work if she is one of your influences please message me you all know how to find me send me a message I am making a list of names. For a group that are going to be doing some interviews and yes I totally want to get interviewed and they're doing a tribute anthology to her and I'm really seriously thinking about doing a story for them. I'm not sure it's the wisest business decision. Anthologies don't typically pay all that well they're doing a kickstarter for it. But I kind of want to so I have my annual planning call with agent Sarah this afternoon and it's on my list to ask her. What she thinks about doing that amusingly. It was not on my list but I put it on there now I just popped over. So thank you for that reminder. Ah okay, let's see so it feels like.

03:08.70
jeffekennedy
Feels like it was a busy weekend I want to say it's been a week but it's been a weekend. Um all right? So 1 thing is I was going to say let's address the elephant in the room I I work with somebody who uses that phrase frequently and it's It's never what they mean I always want to say it's not really the elephant to the room. Ah for those of you who don't know this comes from a long ago. Story um, about ah what was it called Harvey Harvey who could who had an invisible friend a man. Um, who had an invisible friend that was a believe a giant pink elephant. Okay so I was getting it totally wrong. Um I don't know what I'm thinking of but I was not thinking of the correct thing. So. It's good that I I checked. Um. It actually comes from maybe some russian writers dostoevsky in his novel demons wrote Belinsky was just like krylav's inquisitive man who didn't notice the elephant in the museum and kryov wrote this fable called the inquisitive man. Which tells of a man who goes to a museum and notices all sorts of tiny things but fails to notice an elephant. So anyway, the elephant in the room is like the looming topic that everybody is avoiding topic talking about ah and it's.

04:39.49
jeffekennedy
You can really only use it if everybody in the room is aware that there is this looming topic. It's not like oh I have this thing that I'm hesitating to tell you about I know I'm over at analyzing anyway. So I posted um onto threads. Yesterday morning because I had seen yet another class. Ah that was titled and and this is of a theme this one was titled outlining for pants. There have been other ones plotting for pantsers. And those of you who've been listening to me for a long time know that I have a real problem with this. Um, and so I posted a series of posts about it. It's on threads. So I don't know what we call it and I didn't do a great job of threading them either. Not necessarily in order because I kept thinking of more things to say ah but my point is is. It's really frustrating to me that there are so many um classes and workshops specifically targeted at teaching people. Who don't pre-plot or outline called pantser and for any of those of you new to to this. Let me quickly. Ah recapitulate pantser comes from the phrase to fly by the seat of your pants which means to be completely out of control right? and.

06:13.72
jeffekennedy
I believe strongly strongly believe that pantser is a term coined by people who don't like the feeling of being out of control in their writing which is fine if that's how you are Fine. You know I have I am friends with people who outline them pre-plot. Yes, That's a joke. Um, but no I We are all different and we are all on a spectrum and you you all know if you don't by now that my mantra is find out what your process is and own it because. Our processes are as unique as our voices how you create how you Write. It's not the same as how I write we might have overlapping areas but no 2 people are going to be exactly the same Because. Creativity is a very individual thing. So So yeah, there's the classic dichotomy has been set up as plotter versus pantser and I don't like either term. Um I I Don't think that people who write the way I do. Would have called it pancing Um I know that many of us use it because that's the common vernacular and that's what people understand Um, but it's one of those things where by setting up plotter against Pantser plotter.

07:47.10
jeffekennedy
Implies that the people who are panting are not plotting and I'm going to let you in on a little secret. We All plot. Okay, we all plot because if you don't Plot. You don't have a story right? You might have like a slice of life vignette or a poem. But. Every writer who does stories or novels plots. The difference is when you do it which is why I say pre-plotter people who pre-plot are the people who figure out exactly what the plot's going to be ahead of time and they. Get it all and sometimes they outline it sometimes they bullet point it sometimes they do various things where they sketch it out but they figure it out before they start the process of writing now for many of those people it changes along the way. In fact I I don't know if I've ever met anyone. Who wrote exactly according to their outline or the plot they came up ahead of time. Um, maybe you're out there I'd be interested here if if you do, but um, most people it changes along the way. But that's not the same as someone who writes the way I Write. Which is I like to call it being an intuitive writer which I feel like is a nice big umbrella and it's intuitive versus analytical the analytical people and and I've compared notes with some of them. They really think through the story.

09:20.12
jeffekennedy
Whereas the intuitive people. It feels more like channeling it feels like the story flows in from somewhere else. Ah, and we don't figure out the story until we are writing it and and this is why I get frustrated by classes. One of the many reasons. That say well I can teach you how to plot if you're a pants or I can teach you how to outline up, you're a pantser. It's like no no my mind. My Story Brain does not work that Way. Ah, and if you're telling me that you can teach me to do it as I'm writing. Well I don't need to do that as I'm writing because the way I write my method is already. There. So now I'm going to make a very very important caveat here if you have not yet figured out your process then yes. Try many things try lots of different techniques. Ah some people who responded to this thread most people you know like some people sent me give substanding ovations. Um, because my whole point is that. You don't have to change your process if it's working for you. Okay, you, you don't have to outline and it's frustrating to me because it feels like there is this persistent pressure from the people who are the pre-plotters who are the outliners another way of looking at it is um.

10:51.91
jeffekennedy
Architect versus gardener whether or not you have all the blueprints ahead of time or whether you plant the seeds and nourish them and wait to see what growss and you know like all of these things. These are usually a spectrum right? You know you're gonna be somewhere along there. Um, but there feels like there is this ongoing pressure that you must learn to outline that you must learn to plot and I hear reasons for it too. They say well, you'll waste a lot of time writing if you ah, don't. Outline ahead of time or if you don't pre-plot or you'll spend a huge amount of time in revision and okay, so maybe that's true. Maybe you will maybe? That's how it works but I'm going to tell you all something and I didn't end up saying this on this thread and I don't. Say it often. But I know it's true from talking to other people who are intuitive writers who write like I do ah and it you know like last week somebody asked me how do I write so fast. How am I so productive and. I really do think that part of why I'm able to write fast is because I don't spend time outlining ahead of time I don't spend time pre-plotting I am I just let the story flow and the more I can take my conscious control out of it.

12:24.10
jeffekennedy
The faster I can write um and this is just this is me this is what works for me I've discovered this is what works for me. It may not work for other people I have tried to teach it to other people and it doesn't always work for them. Some people will come back and say will they write much faster if they have an outline ahead of time. Great. I mean that's what we want we all want to be as creative and productive as possible. Um, but this is a method that works for me right? and I will add that. You know I feel like there's a strong mythology out there that if you write this way because people have said it to me. They're like well then you spend a lot of time on revision right? I do not? um, ah it takes me generally and I you know all know I keep track of my metrics. It takes me somewhere around 50 to 55 to sixty days to write my first draft of a novel and it takes me two weeks to edit it and and I think I write good books. Um I've you know won awards and that kind of thing and people like to read them and. Ah, yeah I I this is working for me and I'm not saying that's going to work for anyone else, but seeing this kind of ongoing attitude out there that let me teach and and see the thing is is these are targeted at pantsers right.

13:57.86
jeffekennedy
It's not um, a class on learning to outline. It's not a class on learning to preplot. They're saying for painters right? because clearly we need to teach these people and I've been trying to think of an analogy to and I've come up with a perfect one. But. Partly what's I don't know a little bit bothersome to me is that a lot of people responded to this thread and a lot of people were happy and saying. Thank you I keep feeling like there's something wrong with me I keep trying to learn to outline before I write and I can't and. Yeah, it's like yeah this is how we are um, it's it's not a matter of being taught. Um and someone responded on that thread and said that it reminded them of extroverts telling introverts that they need to just get over themselves. And learn to socialize and I think that's a great analogy I was trying to think of one two to explain to some of the people who responded interestingly a couple of people responded fairly defensively and saying things to me like well you don't have to take the class. Or you know some of us want that or someone said well you know I was a devoted pantser until I took x course and then it converted me and I'm so happy and interestingly both of these people they had they were publishing their first book and.

15:35.79
jeffekennedy
Oh my best beloved. Let me tell you ah you just don't know you don't know what your process is after you've written one book I'm sorry you just don't um, and I know this because I did not know what my process was when I wrote my first book and in fact I think. If you go out and you find writers who have written 5 books or 10 books or 15 or 20 or me with 65 published titles. At this point if you ask them at what point did they really start to figure out their process. It's going to be several books and. Or they might say I'm still working on it. Ah so you know yes writing a book is hard. Yes, it's a big accomplishment. But if you've written one you just it's not the flex that you think it is to say that you know what? what your process is at this point because you just don't. It just takes time so I was trying to think of a way to explain to these people that it's not about I mean I know I don't have to take the class somebody said well you know this this wasn't for you and that's like you know? Okay, but. So here's my analogy and and I've now I've given it too much buildup and it's not a great analogy but you know to me it strikes me as like if I were going out and I had a class saying or a bunch of us had classes saying we're going to teach left handed people how to use their right hand for everything.

17:10.83
jeffekennedy
And because it's so much easier for you to live in a right handed world. So we're going to teach you all. And yeah, we might have some success. We might have people and this is where the analogy breaks down because does anybody not really know what handedness they are but you know you are going to have some people who will. Take the lesson and say oh okay, it is easier to operate in a right handed world if I use my right hand so I will go ahead and you know use these tools and thank you. But the thing is is when these classes are targeted. At intuitive writers. There is a strong implication that they need to learn how to do something other than what they naturally do and that's why people were replying to me and saying. Thank you, you know I feel seen and I was um. And was waving the permission wand I'm like I give you permission to write without an outline. You do not need to outline your books you can still be successful and now I kind of want to do a series where I just periodically tweet famous authors. Who wrote this way who wrote intuitively um, and a great example is Agatha Christie she's a great example because um, more than 1 person has said to me well but you have for mysteries you have to out line a mystery.

18:42.83
jeffekennedy
And it's like no, you don't Agatha Christie did not she did not know who the murderer was till she got to the end of the book and that is how it works for some authors and it's it's a perfectly legitimate way to write. So so this is me explaining. All the things on this um I did have my friends messaging me and commenting on some people who had replied to it you and saying well I think they missed your point and it's like yeah you know people read stuff fast and they miss my point but that's what it is if if you are. And intuitive writer if you write for discovery if analyzing doesn't work for you here I am waving the permission wand you don't have to do those things. Um, you know i. And and a couple people commented on this and I was certainly that soldier for a long time where you know you take these classes and try to learn these things where you do these character analysis and you know like Gmc Gold motivation conflict never worked for me and after a while I figured out why Um so. Don't beat yourself up trying to adopt someone else's process. Ah yes, take take classes if you want to learn new things have fun. It's good for us. It's stimulating but absolutely no shame in. Um.

20:13.30
jeffekennedy
Ah, getting choked up I'm not I'm actually my throat is dry there. We go? Um, absolutely no shame in discarding those tools and yeah, just like you tell the extroverts that you're very happy staying home with your cats. Ah, you can tell people that you're very happy, not outlining a preploing and not call you a pantser right? Let's get rid of that word. All right I hope you all have a great week hope you create the way you want to create and I will talk to you all on friday. You all take care bye bye.