Robert Frost was a pantser, too?

Robert FrostI have never started a poem yet whose end I knew. Writing a poem is discovering.

~ Robert Frost

Who knew – poet Robert Frost was a pantser (a.k.a. non-plotter), too?

I’m always interested to read about techniques of various authors: some are meticulous plotters, while others are unabashed pantsers. It never fails to surprise me who is which.

I like the idea of discovering through your writing. It has happened to me on several occasions where I thought I was writing one story, but when my characters began talking and acting on the page, it became an entirely different story.

What about you, writers? Are you plotters or pantsers? Do you enjoy discovering what other writers are? Do you equate writing with discovery?

Happy writing to all!

8 Comments

  1. Jay Dee on September 4, 2015 at 8:08 am

    I’m about halfway in between. I plan out the story roughly, sometimes more, sometimes less, but as I write, everything happens then, at that moment. My plans usually don’t fit.

    • kimberlysullivan on September 8, 2015 at 10:09 pm

      Sounds like we have a similar approach. I need to let things happen as I write, too.

  2. Ishita on September 4, 2015 at 1:00 pm

    I love discovering new things about writers..what places they went to. the cities they stayed in .. I went to Trieste this summer and got curious on Joyce

    • kimberlysullivan on September 8, 2015 at 10:11 pm

      Oh, isn’t Trieste fabulous? Yes, I was also impressed by the Joyce-Trieste connection, and learning it was he who encouraged Svevo to publish. Glad to meet another italophile!

      • Ishita on September 9, 2015 at 6:18 am

        It is. Isn’t it dreamy 🙂 I am glad to meet u too!

  3. ProfeJMarie (Janet Rundquist) on September 4, 2015 at 3:32 pm

    Ha! Love this interpretation of Frost’s lines. 😉

    • kimberlysullivan on September 8, 2015 at 10:12 pm

      Yes, Janet … it’s my loose interpretation of pantser poets. : ) But still, I love the sentiment, and I feel writing without a complete roadmap really is a journey of discovery.

  4. evelyneholingue on September 11, 2015 at 3:31 am

    A pantser, definitely. Although I try to cure myself, I have a hard time to plot. I know the ending, though. Always. I didn’t know for Frost, though.

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