I’ll find my way to the end. I’ll use dialogue to exposition some stuff that needs expositing (are these even words? Who knows?), including what information I need to get out of the antagonist at this point of the story. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is also a good opportunity to close out any minor inconsistencies that might have popped up so far. You’ll have to tie them up at some point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This chapter is almost like a bottle episode in a long-running TV show. It’s in one location, has minimal characters and a very tightly constrained information flow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And, as a plotter, I’m not ashamed to say it is almost 100% pantsed. Going in, I have no idea how I’m coming out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I just know where I’ll be when I do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anyway. It’s still a work in progress. I have no idea what the title will be yet. Cover art is still a daydream. But I know it will be available June 1, 2024<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I’m halfway through the first draft of this story. Nick’s in a rough place and while he will inevitably prevail, I’m a bit stumped how he’s going to get out of it. But he has to before the next chapter, because that chapter started with him out of rough place. Plotting versus Pantsing is a … Continue reading Nick Harding’s 4th Case<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"An update on my WIP, pantsing and plotting","jetpack_seo_html_title":"Pantsing in my plotted WIP","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"mc4wp_mailchimp_campaign":[],"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1,2],"tags":[69,33,68],"class_list":["post-14344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-writing","tag-wip-2","tag-three-act-structure","tag-wip"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7747,"url":"https:\/\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/2023\/07\/02\/pantser-plotter-hybrid\/","url_meta":{"origin":14344,"position":0},"title":"Pantser? Plotter? Hybrid.","author":"Tony McFadden","date":"July 2, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Battle stations, everyone. The perennial debate about \"the best way to write\" between writers misses a fundamental point. It's not binary. Pantsing a book, or writing by the seat of the pants, espouses a free-flowing, stream-of-consciousness approach that implies absolutely no thought of character or story arc, just a meandering\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "preorder"","block_context":{"text":"preorder","link":"https:\/\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/category\/preorder\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14294,"url":"https:\/\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/2023\/11\/06\/a-podcast-maybe\/","url_meta":{"origin":14344,"position":1},"title":"A Podcast, Maybe?","author":"Tony McFadden","date":"November 6, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I've been bouncing around this idea for the past month or so and would like to hear your thoughts. While the first draft of my next Nick Harding is percolating (a few months away -- I'm only halfway through writing it), I was considering starting a podcast called \"First Chapters\".\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "writing"","block_context":{"text":"writing","link":"https:\/\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"black headset on condenser microphone","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/pexels-photo-3587478.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/pexels-photo-3587478.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/pexels-photo-3587478.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/pexels-photo-3587478.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12077,"url":"https:\/\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/2023\/01\/15\/a-different-way-to-structure-stories\/","url_meta":{"origin":14344,"position":2},"title":"A different way to structure stories","author":"Tony McFadden","date":"January 15, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"About seven or eight years ago, somebody (and I can't recall who) put forward a \"mini-movie\" approach to structuring your story. Just jumping in here to say story structure does not remove creativity. It's a set of guidelines, much as building design rules are (roof is on the top, windows\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "structure"","block_context":{"text":"structure","link":"https:\/\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/category\/structure\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/minimovie2.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/minimovie2.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/minimovie2.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/minimovie2.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/minimovie2.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6956,"url":"https:\/\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/2021\/08\/01\/story-structure\/","url_meta":{"origin":14344,"position":3},"title":"Story Structure","author":"Tony McFadden","date":"August 1, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"I bang on this a lot, and if the truth be told, this is only a minor component of a good story, but one most often missing. Stories have a structure. Generally, three acts. There are other structures, but they all resolve, in one way or another, to three acts.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "structure"","block_context":{"text":"structure","link":"https:\/\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/category\/structure\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Structure-v2.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Structure-v2.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Structure-v2.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Structure-v2.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Structure-v2.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13529,"url":"https:\/\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/2023\/07\/01\/introduction-to-thrillcraft-story-structure\/","url_meta":{"origin":14344,"position":4},"title":"Introduction to ThrillCraft: Story Structure","author":"Tony McFadden","date":"July 1, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Below is the introduction to ThrillCraft: Story Structure for Unputdownable Crime Fiction. Proders are available now. The book will be released on July 15th. Introduction For the past twelve years, I\u2019ve been honing my writing skills, publishing (at the date of this publication) one non-fiction book \u2014 you\u2019re reading it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "preorder"","block_context":{"text":"preorder","link":"https:\/\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/category\/preorder\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/StructureCover2-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/StructureCover2-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/StructureCover2-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/StructureCover2-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":16523,"url":"https:\/\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/2025\/04\/03\/artificial-pseudo-intelligence\/","url_meta":{"origin":14344,"position":5},"title":"Artificial Pseudo-Intelligence","author":"Tony McFadden","date":"April 3, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I've drafted this post too many times. It's very straightforward: There is no place for AI in creating art. I received an email from the South American River (tm) this morning informing me (and they seemed proud of the fact) that I had been \"...invited to participate in KDP's beta\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AI"","block_context":{"text":"AI","link":"https:\/\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/category\/ai\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/gerard-siderius-YeoSV_3Up-k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/gerard-siderius-YeoSV_3Up-k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/gerard-siderius-YeoSV_3Up-k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/gerard-siderius-YeoSV_3Up-k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/gerard-siderius-YeoSV_3Up-k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/gerard-siderius-YeoSV_3Up-k-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14344"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14344\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14348,"href":"https:\/\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14344\/revisions\/14348"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n