In an article for Writer’s Digest, Julia Brewer Daily says both plotting and pantsing help her maintain historical accuracy in her fiction and keep up with her productivity goals.
To some extent, writers of historical fiction have to plot, Daily says. “To maintain the accuracy of our historical eras, we need to research clothing styles, actual events, availability of restaurants, liquor, and automobiles,” she writes. However, that doesn’t mean your story has to be plotted out in minute detail.
“My outline is a simple scribble of chapter numbers/names and a few sentences about the most important events in each chapter,” Daily says. “My first attempt at each of those chapters can or does not have to be in order. If I need more research or planning before developing a particular chapter, I will leave it and choose another.”
Daily also maps out her scenes using vision board and index cards, to keep track of character movements and historical events. With this general structure in place, Daily lets out her inner pantser and focuses on her word count goals. “Of course, I’ll spend more time in the editing process, but to have a manuscript ready to edit makes the journey worth the effort,” she says.
