Planner or Pantser?

[Steven Sorrels]

So far, it's a mix. I'll do some planning where I want my story to go, do some behind-the-scenes world building, then just cut loose and let the story guide itself, using the prior work to inform some major plot points. I find if I try too hard to stick to the original plan, I leave no room for those on the fly changes that end up being far better than the stuff I came up with in the beginning. Plus, the characters just b*tch and moan about how I'm not doing things right lol

 

[LittleStar]

Very detailed planner here. Chapter by chapter, right down to specific lines of speech and things I might want to describe. I wrote four 1st drafts this way, and I think I only added one or two scenes that weren't planned before hand, and very little changed.

But surprisingly there was a heck of a lot of room for me to stretch my creativity when filling in from my plan, characters said new things or did new things, still sticking with the plan but making the scene their own, so I didn't get bored in the least while writing them.

I used to be mostly a pantser, having a rough idea of where I wanted the story to go and then writing my way there, but i figured that this way was a much better use of my time, as I have a lot of time at my day job to plan in my head, but very little to write it all down.

And as Thaddeus said above, it has saved literal months of editing... Though it was pointed out to me in a previous topic that perhaps my plans are in fact detailed enough to be rough 1st drafts.

 

[ratsy]

I was always a pantser, but lately have been trying to become a little more of a planner. I find it's much easier to sit down and bust out a couple thousand words when I know where I'm going for each scene. This can just mean that I mentally plan each scene as I go, but I do always have major plot points I need to hit throughout the book. I know the end, and I just need to plot the scenes to get there loosely so I don't sit there staring at the screen ever.

 

[The Big Peat]

I'd definitely super agree with Ratsy about needing to know where the next couple thousand words go before I start to write. What he says there is very much my experience.

So is what Thaddeus said about planning saving a lot of editing. Definitely found that one to be true.

 

[Phyrebrat]

But isn't it a case of personal taste in the end? Like all things in life, some people are list makers, and some are go-with-the-flow-ers... On the spectrum of planning/discovery, I'd say I slide along one way or another depending on the project, my inspiration, the weather, external influences, and all sorts.

Whatever works for you is perfect.

pH

 

[The Big Peat]

But isn't it a case of personal taste in the end? Like all things in life, some people are list makers, and some are go-with-the-flow-ers... On the spectrum of planning/discovery, I'd say I slide along one way or another depending on the project, my inspiration, the weather, external influences, and all sorts.

Whatever works for you is perfect.

pH

Of course it is.

Equally, listening to what others do might help people find an idea that works for them and makes what they do better.

 

[Phyrebrat]

Of course it is.

Equally, listening to what others do might help people find an idea that works for them and makes what they do better.

La-la-LA-LA-not-lis'nin'

Yeah. I'm sorry; I live alone

pH

 

[Montero]

I find that it can vary with the book - so an first person narrative could be a lot more "pants" than a three PoV third person narrative with criss-crossing action.

 

[AnyaKimlin]

Tonight I kill a character who I wanted alive at the end, discover who I thought did it didn't do it and my MC is being served cake by a naked brownie and very much enjoying the spectacle. So much for having a planned ending in sight

 

[The Bluestocking]

It's 50/50 for me:

I plan so I roughly know where I'm going, but I also leave space for the characters to decide what form the journey from A to Z would take.

 

[NbDawn]

I'm a planner. I'm probably better at planning than I am at writing. But as I write, things can change (as you said). If things change mid-story, I go back and plan again. For me, planning makes sure I stay on track and mostly avoid plot holes. At the same time, however, I keep in mind that the plan is not set in stone and I do not let it get to me if the plan falls apart.

 

[Biskit]

I bet you love having a farm and wouldn't swap it for city life though. I do love how you describe your life, have you thought about writing your story.

That's what I use my blog for (Writing On The Edge) - mostly my observations on life here, with the occasional rant on something that annoys me.

 

[Ronald T.]

I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Pantser.

I know were I am at the beginning, and I have a fairly solid idea of where I want to be at the end. Everything in between those two points, I make up as I go. And the reason is, what has come before, dictates what will follow. That's what allows the writing of my first draft to feel so fresh and exciting for me. I never know for sure what will happen until I get there.

Of course, I tried outlining in the very beginning of my writer's journey, but I never felt the slightest spark of inspiration. And now, I fear I might lose some of that excitement I always feel if I try to change, it I try to force the characters and story to produce a structured outline. We all do what's most comfortable, I suppose.

So I'll stick with being a devout Pantser. Not knowing what will happen is both exciting and frightening. It's like real life itself. We don't know what tomorrow will bring, so we must be endlessly flexible and prepared to meet the moment.

It's how like works, so I extend that process to my writing.

Just one writer's process.