Throwdown Showdown: Patty the Panster

DUN...DUN...DUN...

Today folks, those out-of the box Pansters will go toe-to-toe with those finicky Outliners. Let's see who has what it takes to end up on top.

For those of you who are new, this is a blog feature where two opposites give each other their best shots (pun intended). Today we'll discuss one of the POV's and Wednesday we'll do another. Then on Friday, we'll announce a winner! 


Today Pantsers will be up to bat first.

Let's rumble.

Hi! *shy giggle*

I'm Patty and I'm a Panster. Pansting is, well, awesome. You see, 100% of my life is so organized and by-the-book.

Wake up a 5:30.
Wake and feed the offspring.
Feed and take care of the dogs.
Get dressed. Throw in a load of laundry. Eat breakfast.
Yell at the offspring for still being in bed.
Yell at the dogs for fighting over a single toy.
Be out the door by 7:00.
Take the kid to school and be at work by 7:30.
Daily grind. Mapped, planned, every second accounted for by the boss.
Leave at 4:00.
Depending on the day, pick up the offspring and take her to swimming, gymnastics, to see her pony, a friends, to the mall, blah, blah blah.
Be home no later than 5:00 to let the dogs out before they make a mess of my house.
Then run some more errands (like picking up the offspring from one of a million places).
Around 7:30-8ish I might finally end up back at home to: Finish laundry. Feeds dogs. Feed offspring. Do dishes. And because I'm a neat freak, clean the house as I go.
By around 9:00 I'm pooped and fall into bed.
Get up at 5:30 and start all over.
Oh, and if you're wondering, the weekends are the same way, only with different "things" to do. And somewhere in there I do have a husband...although most of the time I'm not sure where he fits in.

So, while I love me some organization and planning in my life, I need a break sometime.

ENTER...WRITING.

It's that moment when I can sit down at the computer and just let the creativeness flow. I'm not restricted by schedules or outlines or characters sketches. I'm not restricted at all. I can do what I want, when I want, and no one can tell me different. I'm not held back by a plot, I'm not stuck in a chapter because something needs to happen at the end of it.

I fly. I SOAR.

 It's my moment, my time, to do whatever the hell I want. It is my freedom, what saves me from going ape-crap crazy because of my crazy normal life. It's what frees me, being able to write 2K and not really care where the story is going.  Who cares if I change the character's name five times? Or the arc of the story? Or the fact that there is no ending...yet. I don't know what I'm doing until I DO it. There's plenty of time to figure that out later. The story unfolds as I write it. The characters, the theme, the plot, IT takes ME on a journey. Not the other way around.

I'm telling a story here, people. I don't need anything but my creative mind and my fingers to do so. Restrictions in creativeness are for babies. Outlines are my biggest fear. If I didn't have this time, my time, I would choke on reality.

Sure, what I end up with isn't perfect. But it can be fixed. Everything can be fixed. What matters is that I had the time of my life writing it. The time when I was finally free.

* * *

Make sure you stop by on Wednesday when Oscar the Outliner steps up to the plate.

~JD