From Chaos to Colour-Coding: Tentatively Plotting Book 4
For the first three books in the Maeve Lynch Knitting Mysteries, I mostly wrote by instinct.
I usually had a vague idea of where I wanted the story to end up, a solid feel for my characters, and then I’d jump in and see where the writing took me. That approach sits somewhere between being a pantser (writing by the seat of your pants) and a plotter, often called a plantser.
In practice, my version leaned heavily toward “let’s start and hope future me sorts it out.”
And to be fair, it worked… up to a point.
But now I’m starting to think seriously about Book 4, and the series has grown more complicated. There are more recurring characters, longer arcs, and bits of backstory and history that actually matter. Keeping all of that straight in my head (and across note cards, backs of envelopes, and one very overworked notebook) started to feel less creative and more… precarious.
So I’ve done something new.
I’ve Just Started Using Plottr
Very tentatively.
I’ve never used plotting software before, and I’ll be honest, I was slightly suspicious of it. I worried that outlining too much would drain the fun out of writing or lock the story into something rigid before it had a chance to breathe.
But this week, I opened Plottr and… dipped a toe in.
So far, I’ve:
Added my main characters
Started tracking a few ongoing arcs
Dropped in a single early plot point
That’s it. No master plan. No beautifully colour-coded masterpiece yet. Just the very beginnings.
And surprisingly, instead of feeling constrained, I feel… cautiously excited.
Still a Plantser, Just a Braver One
I’m not suddenly a full-on plotter.
I still want room to discover things as I write, to follow unexpected turns, and to let characters surprise me. What I’m trying this time is planning just enough to give the story a structure before I start filling in the details.
The hope is that Plottr will help me:
Keep character arcs consistent across the series
Track subplots before they get tangled
Avoid contradicting something I wrote two books ago
Spot gaps before I’m 40,000 words in
Right now, it feels a bit like standing at the edge of cold water. I know I want to swim. I’m just not quite ready to dive in.
Nervous, Curious, and Willing to Try
This is very much an experiment.
I’m aiming to have Book 4 written by late March and published in April, but since this is a new process for me, I’m keeping expectations realistic. I don’t yet know if Plottr will become a permanent part of my workflow or if I’ll retreat back to my slightly chaotic comfort zone.
But for now, I’m intrigued.
I’ve taken the first step, put the first pieces in place, and I’m nervously excited to see what happens next.
f nothing else, future me will have fewer pieces of paper to keep track of.
