Pantsing vs. Plotting: Thoughts on Writing Style from Someone with No Authority on the Matter

Something writers get asked a lot about is their process, and that’s one of the most open-ended questions you can ask. There are only a million kinds of answers: where you write, how long you write, what kind of environment you write in, and so on. But they’re really asking how you write. Do you plan everything out? Do you just start on a blank page and go? There’s plenty of answers for just these, too. But there’s no cut and dry method to being a great writer. You have to find what works for you.

I’ll preface this by saying that maybe you shouldn’t listen to me, since my novels are in my own personal editing limbo. But take it from somebody who’s tried a lot of different methods and still ended up writing three novels (read: first drafts) the same way every time. Also note that I’ve taken the lead on this topic from reading about other professional writers’ processes.

Writing technique can be summed up into two general branches: Pantsing and Plotting. Pantsing is essentially just writing by the seat of your pants; you have an idea, a character, and maybe a general sense for the path your story will take, but you don’t have anything set in stone. You simply write the story as it comes. Plotting is the opposite: you have an outline and a pretty good idea of your plot, scenes, character development, etc. You take your time before your first draft to make sure you know how your story is going to work. I like to think of these two things on opposite sides of a spectrum, because not all writers can call themselves fully one or the other.

If you’re a Plotter, I admire you. I’ve tried to come up with outlines and character bios and every little conflict my characters are going to run into, but every single time I write, I stray from the parameters I’ve set. I throw in new characters, I change my mind about tone, and sometimes I just don’t end up liking my original ideas at all. Because of these things, I very much consider myself a Pantser.

When I sit down, like I did when I came up with my current novel idea, I knew my protagonist/narrator Penny was going to be a teen spy (because Ally Carter is my writer idol), she was going to start out the book in some snowy mountains, and she would have memory loss. I knew that she would be ousted by her spy organization, and that there would be an evil counterpart to it that she had to stop. But stop them from doing what? I wasn’t sure yet. I wrote the first three chapters with no idea what her real goals were–which meant I had a lot of revising to do when I figured it out. And I did sort of figure it out–not all the details, by any means, but the overall goal. And how Penny and her friends were going to accomplish that goal changed and altered throughout the whole first draft. Hell, I got to the climactic scene and still was trying to figure things out.

This is why I feel like Pantsers have very, very rough first drafts. Also why it’s so hard to finish the first one to begin with. I remember with this story, I got to a point where I just couldn’t figure out how exactly the ending was going to work. I came up with a grand idea that I loved, but when I sat down to write it, it just didn’t live up. It actually didn’t make all that much sense either. So I sort of changed my mind in the middle of a chapter, made a note about it, and continued writing with this semi-vague course of action. That’s where being a Pantser gets you in trouble, at least, in my case. I got too wound up in the uncertainties of the plot, and I stopped writing for a few months. Then I read my savior, Dear Ally, How Do You Write a Book, and her most poignant piece of advice was to just write. I wasn’t going to figure any of it out with my pen un-clicked and my brain trying to solve a problem that didn’t have an answer to yet. So I just wrote like I knew what I was talking about. I focused on character development and tone and let my characters tell me what to do next. It still didn’t make much sense, but I knew that the problem wasn’t with this particular portion of the story. The problem was lurking in earlier chapters and scenes, and I could go back and fix those later.

And that’s my favorite part of being a Pantser: the rewrite. It’s my chance to pick through the plot points I love, the ones that need major work, and the ones that ended up being far more important to the story than I originally intended. I don’t feel like I’ve written the first draft; it’s more like I’ve laid the groundwork for something greater. A mystery for my characters to solve, and I get to figure it all out with them.

For this, though, you need strong characters. You need to know who they are. Which is why creating characters is the most Plotter attribute I have. I come up with the core few and some secondary figures. Usually, I base the protagonist and the core characters on some established archetype, and then stretch it to give the character depth. Something that makes their story worthy of being written. I don’t often specify physical characteristics unless it’s relevant to the plot. I want my future readers to be able to picture themselves in any role, so I include things like sense of humor, lifestyle traits, general goals, etc. A lot of times, these things change, but I like having something concrete to begin with or else I can’t, well, begin.

That’s what makes it a spectrum. I can pretend I’m a Plotter in prep, but once I actually start writing, I become an almost out of control Pantser. It’s worked out for me pretty well so far. I mean, I haven’t been published or anything (yet), but I’ve written three books this way. I’ve loved every second–even the times when I wanted to pull my hair out because I couldn’t figure out what seat my pants were sitting in that day. This process works better for me. And most importantly, it feels completely natural to write like this.

There’s no right or wrong process, it’s just what works for you. And it might take you writing a few different things to figure out where on the Pantser/Plotter spectrum you are. Maybe you’re a Pantser with novels and a Plotter with short stories. I’ve tried the Plotter path, but just sitting down and writing whatever comes to me and figuring it all out as I go has always been more comfortable. I never fail to fall back on it, and that’s what has made writing so fun for me all these years. Terrifying, exhilarating, challenging, rewarding…all of it.