The Plot. Structure. The meat of the story. Every sentence carries the story from beginning to end. Every sigh or passionate breath and tender kiss. The characters that haunt us with their words and actions. The moments that have us heartbroken, crying, and screaming ‘No you didn’t!’ before throwing the book across the room – were those moments planned, or did that happen by chance at the genius hands of the author?
A pantser is a writer with very few notes and will sit down and pop out a book. A plotter is a writer who has storyboards and the yarn web of notes to plan every syllable uttered throughout the book. Okay, not really, but it feels that way at times.
Some of the greatest stories began with the author sitting down and seeing what happened on the page, while others took some meticulous planning, storyboarding, and research. Both are valid forms of writing a story. Editing will humble any seasoned writer. Anyone who says they wrote something perfectly and sent it out into the world is fooling you.
I am a bit of both a pantser and a plotter, as it depends on what I am writing. Generally, when I write short horror stories, I like to see what happens naturally. I will generally start with a general idea, do some research, and then see if it takes me anywhere.
When I write a novel, I will outline for months before I even write a single word. (Don’t do this – limit your time on outlining, some plot holes you fill as you go – it’s like digging a hole.)
Pantsing and plotting both have advantages and disadvantages – this article will help you decide which writing process best describes you!
The Pantser
Some of the most celebrated authors, such as George R.R Martin, Stephen King, and Margaret Atwood, are known pantsers, or writers who sit down and write with very little outline or notes for a story outline. This style of writing is based on discovery writing. Letting the story unfold before the writer’s eyes, the ending is just as surprising to the author as it is to the reader.
Advantages
- Allow for writer’s intuition to guide the story and develop characters from a natural perspective.
- Allows for easy edits and changes as the story develops and the writer makes decisions.
- Makes the writing process more exciting.
Disadvantages
- The story can stray without a real plan or reasonable resolution to the plot.
- Some genres (i.e, mystery, fantasy) require some world-building or plotting within the plot. Pantsing doesn’t necessarily work for every genre.
- Your characters might get stuck if you’re going in blind.
- You’re going to be editing a lot for continuity.
The Plotter
The mastermind. Or as George R.R Martin refers to as “The Architect”. The One with a binder of notes upon notes that have probably been copied and organized into several different charts – am I calling myself out a bit, yes I am.
Plotting has many advantages and, just like pantsing, some disadvantages as well. When building a fantasy world for your readers or creating chaos and mayhem for your sleuths, plotting can be a great tool to freely build the world on the page before you. I am a notorious plotter. I have a binder that I refer to as ‘the binder of madness’. It’s about to collapse in on itself. I’ve since had to split it up by genre so it’s not so overwhelmed with notes.
I love the pre-writing process of note-taking and research, so I tend to go overboard with the plotting. Since publishing a novel, I have learned one thing : you can plot all you want, but you still have to write the book.
My current WIP that I am aiming to publish before the year ends has been a WIP since 2017. It needed to cook – I needed more inspiration. It started off as a satire piece and then became more real and insightful, post-pandemic. I realized it had purpose, and of course, I feel more compelled to publish it now. But of course as the story changed, I needed to do more research. I felt that I had a good storyline, but I was hung up on certain details. I decided that if I get hung up on a detail, so will my readers.
It’s not necessarily that I need things to be realistic, but as a writer you want the story to be believable. I had to go back and recall what that time was like to create the ambiance and the feeling for the characters. Is what’s happening making sense for the reader, or does it resolve the conflict or create more conflict? You as the writer direct the story.
I tend to create problems for myself ( don’t worry, I’m working on them). <– This sounds like a Fall Out Boy song title.
Advantages
- Allows for careful planning of the story and a plan for the author
- Helps avoid plot holes and continuity issues
- Major plot points can be built, and in-depth character arcs explored in-depth.
Disadvantages
- Time consuming and can keep one from writing said novel.
- Distracts from the natural voice and flow of the author’s ability to tell a story.
- Takes away from the magic of watching a story unfold before an author’s eyes.
- Doesn’t write the story – just plots it.
Conclusion
Plotting and Pantsing are both valid writing processes, both with their advantages and disadvantages. The trick is finding what works best for you and your writing. You may be a plotter in some genres and a pantser in others, a hardcore plotter across the board or a strange mix of the two. The important thing is is that it works for you.
Happy Writing!
KLR
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https://www.writingmastery.com/blog/how-to-pants-a-novel-tips-for-writing-as-pantser
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