Which approach works better?

[Guest]

For those who have written Novel(s) - Do you plan each chapter meticulously and then initiate the novel or Do you start writing your novel and then shape the characters and chapters? Which approach works better?

[Dexter]

My charachters tend to just shape up as I write. I spend some time getting the esssence of them as a feeling. Then that dictates the way I write about them. I definately don't plan each chapter meticulously. I'd still be on my first 500 words of anything if I did. That story that is aching to be told needs to come out. Loads of it just turns out to be for me to understand the characters and story and I have to axe it. The first draft for me is usually an utter mess. But the bones are there.

[K. Iwancio]

I'm a pantser for sure when I start. But then my mind starts running with the idea. Once I hit my stride I'll start plotting chapters with a rough summary.

[Andy]

I pants the entire time, writing what comes to me and letting it guide the flow of the text. I can't work with an outline because it just kills my creativity.

[Kelly]

I just write and then when a scene ends I start a new chapter. I didn’t have them planned out at first but after several chapters i had a break for a while because I didn’t know what was going to happen next! It took me months to go back to it and then re-reading and editing it all clicked in my head and I planned out the next several chapters as notes so now I know exactly what I am going to write! So my advice is to just get your story down because I feel I wasted a lot of time.

[Lynne]

Whichever works best for you. Try them both and discover the one that works for you.