"Pantser"

 Among the many quotes about writing that I admire, one stands out for me. When asked about how he writes, the novelist E.L. Doctorow said:

"Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way" 

He is a "pantser", which is to say someone who writes by the seat of his or her pants. There is no outline to follow or map that shows every twist and turn of the story. A pantser writes into the story, trusting that he or she will see far enough ahead to keep going, to discover, to be surprised, to follow the characters where they may lead. 

I am a card carrying panster! When I start writing a novel, I usually have the title and a main character (although that main character may be replaced by a yet unknown character). I also have a notion or an inkling about challenging circumstance that character may face. Other characters emerge, often quickly, though some don't make it onto the page until I am well into the story.

Writing this way is a little bit crazy. It takes a lot of trust in the process, a willingness to let the story emerge out of the dark road ahead.