Welcome back, Pantsers! How’s that character development coming along? We’re in our final days of Preptober, so it’s time to lock in those details before NaNoWriMo begins! This week, we’re continuing our series on the how-tos of Preptober by discussing a few helpful planning strategies for Pantsers. Seems like an oxymoron, I know. But hear me out! A few brainstorming sessions are all you need to take your book idea from good to great and avoid that awful writer’s block mentality. So let’s dig into a little plotting!

Here are 5 things for Pantsers to think about as they develop their Plot in Preptober:

1. How it starts

If you followed our previous tips on character development, you should have a pretty firm idea of where your MC’s journey begins. Setup the beginning of the story by introducing the person, the problem, and the plan. Jot down how you’ll show your MC’s personality and all of their quirks, the flaw/situation holding them back from their goals, and how they plan to go after them. Complete this section well, and your readers will be fully invested!

2. How it’s going

As we move through the middle of your novel, we focus on: strategy, struggles, and (my personal favorite) a surprise twist. Show your MC attempting to implement their plan—whether planning ahead or on the fly—the complications that continuously get in their way, and something major that catches them (or your readers) off-guard. This adds juicy tension to your novel and keeps your readers and MC on their toes!

3. How it ends

As you plan your finale, you want to focus on 3 major areas: an epiphany, an epic battle, and the end. The epiphany is that major aha moment the MC has when they realize they’ve been going about things all wrong. Bonus points if this occurs when everything that could fail does so. Then you have your epic battle, grand gesture, or even a war with oneself. The goal is to take down those internal/external forces that have been holding your MC back from the beginning. And finally, think about how you want everything to end: Happily ever after? Worse off than before? Bittersweet? Whatever you choose, make it worthwhile.

4. How it twists

Now that you have a basic outline, you can go back and throw in some surprise reveals to keep things interesting. How could you level-up that twist in the middle? Tossing in one or two more near the epiphany or during the epic finale could also keep readers invested.

5. How it captivates

Brainstorm a few ways you can wow your readers. Do what you do best: captivate them with clever characters, wow them with wonderful world-building, defy expectations with dynamic dialogue. Anything that will keep your readers turning pages. Figure out the icing you want to put on top now, and you’ll enjoy writing that much more later.

Conclusion

A well-developed plot can make all the difference in a satisfying reading experience. Your readers are committing to 300+ pages to find out what happens to that unique character of yours. Make it worth their time! Determine your story’s destination now, so you won’t have to waste time figuring it out in revision. Kinda wish you’d started this planning thing sooner? Great! We’ve got a few more tips for Preptober Pantsers here.