You Don’t Like Plotting, and That’s Okay
You can keep the messy magic and still write a story that works.
You love writing with the wind in your parachute pants and zero effs plans in your pocket.
“Screw the rules!” you shout with glee as you sail across the clouds, propelled by the next burst of creative fuel. (Are you seeing Howl from Howl’s Moving Castle here like I am?)
The thrill of creative chaos, of wonderment and discovery is where all the magic lives. You don’t want to be caged by the rules of structure. You want freedom to explore every twist, turn, fork your wild and wacky muse throws your way.
This is why you write. To create with reckless abandon. The very thought of plotting or outlining makes your skin crawl.
Being a discovery writer, organic writer, or fly by the seat of your pants writer (also known as a pantser; also hence the parachute pants in the first sentence of this article) is so much fun. I myself am a self-proclaimed die hard pantser. We are the kind of folk who have remained tapped into our inner child with wonder and curiosity and wild imagination.
I’m not saying that outliners or plotters don’t have wild imaginations. I’m just saying, ours leads the way.
Even when it shouldn’t.
Because we all know what happens. And I’m totally not trying to call anyone out here, or piss anyone off, lol. But, how many unfinished manuscripts live in the graveyard of your hard drive? How many files do you have called “new start?”
Better yet, how many finished manuscripts do you have that you quietly backed away from and closed the door on because, damn. Who wants to touch that? That hot mess would be like trying to straighten out a bowl of overcooked pasta!
Where do you even start?
So then, what do you do? You try to harness your creativity by attempting an outline. You cram your creative chaos into a cage of plot points and acts and rising whatevers. The process feels fun for a second. But when you go to actually write, there’s no magic. You already know the story, because it’s sitting there in front of you listed out scene by scene.
Or you write it anyway, but the result is… boring.
You’re not alone. I’ve been there too! So many times it’s almost embarrassing.
Most traditional plotting methods weren’t made for writers like us.
But also? Writing with reckless abandon without at least a safety net or at least one of those Hefty garbage bags that stretches to fit all the things, is pure madness.
Here’s the good news. There is a middle ground. I’ve found it. I use it.
You start with looking at your story in a way where you start to see the shape of it without squeezing the life out of it.
And that’s exactly what we’re going to explore in this post.
Ready? Let’s jump in.
Step 1: Connect with your Creative Energy
Every story starts with a living, breathing idea. A spark that lights the fire of creativity in your soul.
Maybe it was a character’s voice in your head. A scene that came to you in the shower. A question you couldn’t stop asking. Whatever it was, something lit you up, you wrote it down, and it never let go of its deathgrip on your brain.
That’s creative energy. I like to think of ideas like little living creatures, invisible to the naked eye, swirling through the air, just waiting to land on the right person. And that person was you.
Your story has likely evolved since that first spark, and that’s great! The point of this exercise is to reconnect with that initial excitement.
What originally excited you about this idea? What part of it still excites you?
This is the heartbeat of your story. When you tap back into that pulse, everything else starts to get clearer. You remember what you’re trying to say, even if you’re not sure how you’ll say it yet.
✨ Inside the Story Compass, the first thing we do is tap into the creative spark that started it all. I help you reconnect with the magic, and build from that place of energy and inspiration. It’s the difference between dragging your way through a draft, and feeling pulled toward it.
And in your case, oh mighty pantser flying through the air with the aid of your parachute pants, it’ll help you recenter on the original story. Because when you do, you’ll start to get clearer on which parts and pieces of your glorious brainchild of a story are meant to stay and which can go on to live their lives in another story.
Step 2: Dig Deep Into Your Relationship with your Story
Reconnecting with the spark rekindles that initial excitement and puts you on the path to clarity. We’ve rediscovered the electrical heartbeat, now it’s time to unearth your story’s soul.
A lot of inner work starts with your why. This is no different, lol. But instead of it being about you, it’s about your story.
Why this story? Why now? Why you?
This isn’t just about themes or high-level ideas. This is about your emotional why. What do you want to explore, prove, challenge, or express through this story?
Your answers here are going to create the invisible glue that holds your whole draft together. They become your true-north. Even when you’re lost in the weeds of a fork you took back in chapter seven. Knowing this deep level why will give every decision you make (and your character makes; that’s next!) have purpose and meaning. As a result? Your reader won’t be able to put your book down.
This step starts to uncover the message your story is trying to send. That’s where the true soul lives. And no, it’s not the same thing as the theme. It’s so much more.
🎯 In the Story Compass, we do this through guided reflection and intuitive discovery. You don’t need the “right” answer here, you just need to be willing to go deep. I help writers unearth the emotional core of their stories so that every scene has something meaningful and purposeful to stand on.
Step 3: Understand Your Character’s Journey
People talk about plot first versus character first plotting methods. But what if you thought about it this way:
Your character is your plot.
What!?
Think about it! Your character is the person your reader “signs up” to follow through hundreds of pages. It is their story. It is your character the reader cares about.
Your character carries the message of your story. They are the living, breathing representation of what you want to say about the world and the human condition (even if your characters are not human).
I know, that sounds like a heavy load for your imaginary friends to carry.
It’s hard for them to carry it if they just carried a watermelon (Dirty Dancing fans unite!). They need a purpose. They need to have carried that watermelon for a reason, and that reason is directly related to who they will become by the time your each The End.
Start by asking:
- What does your character want more than anything?
- What are they willing to do to get it?
- Who are they at the beginning?
- Who are they at the end?
That change—who they are at the beginning versus who they are at the end—is the arc you’re looking for. Not a rigid map, but a journey with direction and meaning. And when you know these things about your character, their motivations become clearer. Their decisions will start to drive the story. They become agents of their own change! And when you look at each scene through the eyes of what matters to them, it allows for creative chaos that makes sense.
💡 Inside the Story Compass, we map this out in a way that supports your discovery process. We don’t force your character into a formula, we get curious about them. We find out what they want, what’s in their way, and how they’ll grow. This gives you just enough guidance to write with confidence, while still leaving space for surprises.
But How Will This Actually Help Me?
“This all sounds nice, but how does it actually help me finish a draft, Claire?”
I know, right? I thought the same thing before trying it out.
Here’s the thing: this isn’t about creating an outline. It’s not about plotting every scene. It’s about getting deeply connected to your story, so that you always know where you’re headed based on what your character wants, needs, decides, and believes. That is where the magic truly lives.
It’s like writing with a compass instead of a map with only one route (or like, you know when you take a different turn and your GPS desperately tries to get you to U-turn to get back on track? It’s not like that, lol).
You can still explore. You can still take detours. But you’ll have the tools to ask yourself, does this really matter to my character? You’ll have the tools to make sure your character is driving the story.
And when you do finish that draft (because you totally will)? It’ll be clearer. Less chaotic. And way easier to revise, because you’ll already understand what your story is really about, and how your character got from point A to point B.
You Can Get to The End—Without Losing the Magic
Let’s recap:
- Reconnect with your creative energy: Remember the spark that lit you up.
- Deepen your relationship with your story: Get clear on your emotional “why.”
- Understand your character’s journey: Let their growth and change shape the path forward.
These steps don’t replace your creativity. They support it. They help you finish the stories you start, without turning them into lifeless checklists.
And the best part? You don’t have to do it alone.
Your Next Step
The Story Compass isn’t a map, it’s a compass to see you through to The End.
If you’re tired of meandering drafts and craving a way to organize your story without squashing the magic, I’d love to help you.
Let’s create a story you love and one you’ll definitely finish.
