by Paula Gail Benson

I’ve heard about plotters and pantsers. In Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott commends E.L. Doctorow’s advice that writing is like driving a car and only being able to see as far as your headlights, yet having the ability to complete the trip with that view.

Plotters create a road map. Pantsers have an idea of where they are going and find the path as they take it.

I’m trying to figure out what to call my writing style.

For my latest short story, I started with an idea: what if (I’m a big advocate of “what if” questions—I heard Mary Higgins Clark liked to start that way)—so, what if a former step-father gets a visit from his adult former step-daughter on Father’s Day? She’s terrified because she thinks she might have killed her husband. She goes to her former step-father because he’s the only man she truly trusts.

To help her, the former step-father goes to see if the husband needs medical help. He finds the husband bruised, but alert and with the step-daughter’s biological father. The husband and biological father are concerned the step-daughter has resumed company with those who supported her addiction. Previously, while the step-daughter received treatment for addiction, her mother served as conservator for the step-daughter’s funds. The biological father suggests he’s ready to establish a new conservatorship, with him in charge of the money.

Who should the step-father believe—his step-daughter or her husband and biological father? What should he do?

At this point, I’m not sure where the story is going, only that the step-daughter has confessed to hitting her husband with a candlestick her mother gave her as a wedding gift and that the husband and biological father are determined to control the step-daughter.

The step-father takes a long route home, figuring the biological father might have him tailed. He sees evidence of someone following him. The step-daughter doesn’t answer the phone and when he gets home, he finds she’s gone. With reluctance, he calls his ex-wife and learns she did not support her daughter’s marriage. He goes to visit the ex-wife, who gives him some potential leads for locating the daughter. Notice, the ex-wife is depending upon him to do the legwork, just as she did during the marriage.

As I’ve followed this meandering trail, I’ve figured out more about the characters I’ve met and made myself hone-in on why the husband and biological father are intent on finding the step-daughter. I’ve made myself focus on the premise of the story and the theme it will convey.

Each day, I’ve written my way forward in a notebook, setting out the steps and leaving room to fill in the details as I type up my notes. I see places to make connections and endeavor to add seamlessly to the story.

When I started, I wasn’t sure about the end. Now I have an inkling of what that might be, but it’s still subject to change.

Am I a combination, plotter and pantser—plantser? The hand-written notes seem like a form of plotting, but in fact, I’m just following where the characters lead me. What happens next? Set up the scene and I’ll sketch it out as you (the characters) live it.

Recently, listening to a talk by best-selling romantic comedy author Katherine Center (her latest novel is The Rom-Commers), a member of the audience asked if the characters spoke to her. Center replied no, but the characters let her watch as they took their journey.

I think I may resemble that remark. What do you think? Am I depending upon the headlights in a vehicle driven by my characters?