The Problem with Pantsing
I went to film school for undergrad (technically it was TV school, but film school sounds cooler), then worked in television for two decades, and taught screenwriting for fifteen years. But it wasn’t until I entered the world of novel writing that I heard the term pantsing. Pantsing is a writing method where you "fly by the seat of your pants," letting the story unfold as you go.
This wasn’t a thing in screenwriting, especially in television writing. In television, shows need to hit specific beats to keep audiences engaged and make room for paid commercials—the bread and butter of the industry.
Those commercial break interruptions were opportunities to build suspense and keep viewers hooked. To pull that off, every script followed a time-tested structure:
Cliffhangers before every break.
Resolutions to bring viewers back after the ads.
A rhythm that ebbed and flowed but always kept the audience wanting more.
In screenwriting class, and later at the television writer’s table, they called these scene cliffhangers and episode resolutions sequels and hooks. But if you know me, or you’ve been following these posts for the last few weeks, you know that was too broad for me. I needed to label them further. Looking at them, I decided they fit neatly into punctuation marks.
Periods offer closure or a moment of rest. An Exclamation Mark creates urgency or excitement. A Question Mark sparks curiosity and suspense. The Ellipses leaves the moment unresolved. A Dash ends with a twist or abrupt shift.
A pantser might happen upon these by instinct or intuition. I like having these tools in my toolbox. Literally, I have them on notecards in a box on my desk. And these aren’t the only tools I can pull out to help me to structure my novels.
Beyond this discussion of plotting vs pantsing, I feel like this tool box of structure can get lost. I feel that some artists get so turned off by the formula of it all that they don’t see the treasure map that can lead them away from meandering in a maze, or getting lost in the dreaded sagging middle, or miss the exit entirely and never get to the end.
As artists, we crave freedom. We want to push boundaries, break the rules, and explore uncharted territory. But sometimes we need tools to build the bridge to get us to the end of the story. Studying the structure of stories provides that.
This is where pacing comes in. Pacing acts like a road map, offering guideposts to keep your story on track while still leaving room for creativity. With pacing, you can still pants your way through the journey. The difference is, you’ll have a compass to guide you back when you start to wander too far.
Page Turner Pacing: A Loose Framework for Every Writer
I created Page Turner Pacing as a flexible system that works for every type of writer—whether you’re a plotter, a pantser, or somewhere in between. With Page Turner Pacing, you don’t have to give up your creative freedom. It’s designed to complement your process, whether you’re meticulously planning every scene or feeling your way through the story. Just look up every once in a while and make sure you’re still on track.
Ready to Keep Readers Hooked?
If you’ve ever felt lost in your story—or worried that your pacing might not be holding readers’ attention—Page Turner Pacing is for you.