Pantser vs. Plotter: Is One Better Than the Other?
Is one way better than the other? No. What matters, is what floats your creative boat and falls in line with your writing process. However, if you’ve clicked on this post, odds are you probably want to know why one is not better than the other, which category you fall in and/or the pros and cons of each. All of which are valid questions. So let’s get to it, shall we?
A pantser, is a writer who flies by the seat of their pants and is completely comfortable with the idea of winging it—no matter the length of the project. Pantsers aren’t really interested in planning and so they throw caution to the wind and dive into their work head first. Typing or scribbling away. Getting as many words on the page as they can and rarely stop to see where they are at. For a pantser the only plot points that matter are the beginning, the middle, and the end.
A plotter, on the other hand, is a super fan of game plans. They always want to know where they are heading because it helps them ensure they are hitting all the right points every step of the way. So before they type a single letter into a Word document, they’ll have a whole wall, notebook, and/or Pinterest board(s) full of notes and diagrams and photos dedicated to their soon-to-be work in progress to reference. How long does this planning phase last? For some, it takes a day, others months, some years. Regardless of how long it takes though when a plotter is done with this phase they’ll know their plot and characters are pretty solid.
Given the benefits each of these approaches has to offer, I would suggest seeing if you can find a middle ground—if your writing process will allow it. For example, when I start a project I make a list of key points I need to hit and any specific scenes I would like to have in the story, as well as a list of major and minor characters I know are going to show up. But I always leave extra room on these lists for unforeseen additions.
Having these lists provides me with direction and the plotter in me takes a lot of comfort in the fact that I know where I need to go. This in turn helps me turn off my inner editor and put all of my energy into creating my scenes and developing my characters. But eventually, I’m going to have to answer the question: How do I get from Point A to Point C, from E to I, and so on? For this task I rely on my inner pantser. Having such wide gaps between checkpoints provides the scaffolding for strategic spontaneity. So even when I’m flying by the seat of my pants, I know I’m heading toward a specific goal and, again, this is a freeing feeling.
Of course, regardless of whether you are a pantser, a plotter, or a combination of the two I cannot emphasize enough how crucial the editorial process will be. Because no matter what approach you choose, a rough draft is still a rough draft. There is no magic bullet when it comes to the writing process.
