Plotters outline their story, chapter by chapter and scene by scene. When they sit down to write, they have a fully designed path to follow from beginning to end. It's not that they don't let their story meander off that pathway when it decides to take a turn but they plot for a purpose. To get their story from point A to the predetermined point B.
Pantsters on the other hand usually have a general plan, a big picture so to speak, before they start. Then they sit down at the keyboard and start typing away. They fill in all those pesky details as they go. Often people who write by the seat of their pants will use a 'go-edit, go-edit, go-edit' method where they write a bit and then go back and do some fix up before going forward.
I'm a bit of a combination, light plotting and then filling in most of it as I go. Talk to a gathering of authors and you'll find both types of writers and receive pros and cons of each. Many will be a bit of both like me. How about you? Plotter or pantsters? Why do you think one method is better than the other?
10 comments:
Interesting. I am probably more of a pantster. Never heard that word before. Thanks for sharing :)
I'm a little bit of both. I write up a few lines for each chapter, but that's about it. Fro me, too much pre-planning kind of spoils the whole writing process.
Total Pantser. Makes life exciting!
I'm both, a plotter and a pantster. Cute word!
Plotter - I need to know where I'm going before I begin.
Still flying by the seat of my pants- in life and writing... a bit of plotting might take me where I want to be...
I was just considering this very thought. It makes me feel better to know that my writing style is not some entirely foreign concept and I am therefore somehow being artistic in the "wrong" way! I've been having artistic uncertaintly illness for a few weeks now. I wish there was a cure!
I fall more towards the panster side of the spectrum when writing, but do both.
It's taken me a while, but I've begun to come to terms with the way I write. There's a creative process to both plotting and pants-ing, and how each writer channels their creativity is personal. Neither approach is right or wrong. It's what's right or wrong for each person.
For a little while I tried to force myself into being uber-plotter. It blocked my creativity and brought my writing to a halt. It was wrong for me. Others swear by it. So, it's right for them. The writing process is subjective and personal.
Just be the writer you are, and embrace it.
Tried pantsing. Writers who do it swear it's more fun to let the characters write their own story. But mine seem to keep waiting for me to point them in the right direction. Or at least some direction. I guess I'm just a plotter at heart.
Once upon a time I was a plotter, until I realized I was spending more time refining my outline, writing up character sketches, and making maps than I was actually writing. I became a pantser and I've been one ever since. I love the freedom of pantsing.
Post a Comment