To Be a Pantser or Plotter

Hi fiction lover! If we’re anything alike, you probably spent a lot of time wondering whether you should pants or plot when writing a story. Good news is, a lot of writers succeed with their own style and techniques, so there’s no one right way to go about it. But I’m here to work through the pros and cons of each! To be a pantser or plotter? Let’s find out together.

Pantser or Plotter Conundrum 

First, let’s define pantsing and plotting. Pantsing refers to “flying by the seat of your pants,” or making it up as you go. This can be chaotic as you take characters off the road of the main story and into a plethora of tangents. Plotting refers to knowing what you’re going to write before writing. This can include making a detailed outline, even going so far as to capture the emotion of each chapter and each beat of a scene. 

So, my favorite two authors are Marie Lu and Leigh Bardugo. What if I told you that their processes are completely different? Let’s start with Marie Lu. She says that she is a pantser when it comes to writing. She starts with a character and then builds a world around that character. Typically, she knows only a few chapters at a time which she will outline. I love this process because this is how I started out, and what I reverted back to after trying a number of different ways to approach drafting. 

On the other hand, Leigh Bardugo will outline her works, and she always will know the ending to her stories. It’s amazing to know that compelling stories can be created through either pantsing or plotting. As I continued my writing journey, I tried to do more outlining. Honestly, this method helped me a lot to understand structure. However, I did miss the ability to take the journey in real time with my characters. 

Which One is Right for You? 

So, the question remains: pantser or plotter? Going back to my journey, after trying both methods, I figured that I loved pantsing much more. However, I didn’t want to give up what I learned through my plotting. So, I decided to outline the bare bones of my first drafts. Meaning, I would know the key plot points before starting. Namely—the inciting incident, the push to act 2, the midpoint, the push to act 3, the climax, and the ending image. For more about these particular beats, I recommend reading Save the Cat! Writes a Novel. 

So, after figuring out my characters and the setting, I will outline these plot points briefly. Then, I will use a more Marie Lu approach and take it one chapter at a time. Sometimes, pantsing can be frustrating. I spend some time staring at my screen and wondering just what I got my characters into. When I reach a roadblock like this, I have to go back to the brief points I wrote down and make sure my main character is moving toward the next big roadmark. 

Outliners have it much easier at this point. They could look at their chapter by chapter outline and know exactly what to write next. This is what you need to consider when deciding whether to become a pantser or plotter. The best advice I can give you is to try both! Try to outline a section of your novel/manuscript, for example, if you’re a typical pantser. You might find that you’ll like the other approach, taking elements of it like I did. 

Although you might think that outlining will suck a lot of fun out of the writing process, it might just surprise you. You will have a lot of freedom in each scene to “write as you go,” and depending on how detailed your outline is, certain elements like worldbuilding can be built as you progress further along. 

I hope this gave you some clarity on which avenue to decide when it comes to drafting? Like I said, feel free to experiment and try different authors’ approaches. I recommend looking up your favorite authors’ writing processes and gleaning from what works for them. To be a pantser or plotter? It’s all up to you! Thank you for reading and check out more of my blog for everything fiction!