Life is Short, Choose Wisely - and Use Spellcheck
For as long as I can remember, I have always approached story writing from ‘the seat of my pants’. This is a common term for a writer who just writes as the story comes to them; it unfolds as they write. They may have a general story in mind, maybe even a few plot points and scenes, but for the most part, they just write whatever comes to mind without too much forward planning.
Last year, in the summer of 2025, I had a very bad day. I won’t go into details, but it involved a childhood friend of mine, whom I have known since the age of twelve. I ended up having a week off from work, and I spent it not writing, but actually outlining a story. I used Grok to lend a hand with some research on private detectives, what they could do and can’t do, etc, and over the course of that week, I ended up outlining a modern private detective thriller.
Never before had I ever outlined a story. And never before had I written a modern thriller. Did I finish that story? Half way, yeah. It is not listed on my STORIES page, but may be someday in the near future.
So why am I bringing this up?
When I was a pantser I struggled to write a thousand words a day, if I was lucky.
Now, as an outliner, I can easily crank out one thousand words an hour, sometimes a little more. It is a huge difference in my writing productivity, and helps me keep focused. I wish I had started doing this years ago.
As a person who has a day job, other hobbies and interests, and just other things going on, my writing time is limited. Some days I have no time to write. Other days I have a few hours. Most days I get an hour. Being able to be as productive as possible when I do have time to write makes the writing process so much more rewarding. I know I am going to get some work done. Progress! And that keeps me coming back to wanting to write. I don’t feel like I am grinding and struggling – when that happens I lose interest in writing.
Writers write. Get to work.