Hello. My name is Maureen and I'm a Pantser.

Yes, I'm a pantser and proud of it.  Well, maybe not exactly proud but it's what I am; a novelist who writes by the seat of my pants without an outline.  Actually I hate writing outlines.  I've tried to in the past and it just doesn't work for me. 

I commented about this on Facebook this morning and one of my fb friends wrote a reply that I just loved.  When you let the characters tell you where the story is going they feel more alive.  It's as if they have breath in them and they speak to you.  She made the observation that books that don't do that are difficult for her to read.  I find that too.

I started my new novel this week and the plotline is going in a different direction from what I originally thought it would because the characters are telling me which path to go.  While I know the story and the background of these people in ways my readers may never see, I don't always know all of their stories until they reveal them to me as I write.  I love that sense of discovery as I go, and I think my readers do too.  They share the path with me and the characters which gives it a freshness.

This is one writer's opinion.  Outlines work well for other writers and they probably have more productive days because they know what they're doing and where they're going with their story.  As for me, I'm along for the ride.