WRITING
Plotter or Pantser
Day 5 Preptober writing prompt challenge
Day 5: Are you a plotter or a pantser? What are your experiences with each?
Oh, oh, oh, I know this one!
Ok, before I jump straight into answering the first part, I’m going to talk about my experiences.
So, my first book was an absolute pant-astic adventure to the point that when a character was on the brink of death (spoiler), I was thinking, oh, it will be fine. I was right there with the other characters fighting to save him and when I realized… I couldn’t, I was a wreck. I remember writing and saying out loud, “No. You can’t die.” My characters told the story and I got out of the way — I was a vessel for them to use. I didn’t know how the story was going to end until it did and I had no idea my first ever novel was going to be 165,000 words.
Plotting on the other hand, well, I plot my uni assignments, haha. I couldn't tell you what it is like to be a pure plotter because I’ve never done that and I don’t think I could even if I wanted to. Writers that don’t talk to their characters confuse me as much as I confuse them and I think as someone that does talk to my characters, to try to be a Plotter in the fullest sense of the word would be like asking for a mental breakdown because my characters would be so damn angry that I wasn’t listening to them.
That doesn’t mean that I don’t plan, now. Far from it. I don’t think I could mentally deal with another journey like my first book. The more I can plan, the better, but I’m still giving it over to my characters.
So, what am I, now? Am I a Pantser or a Plotter? Neither.
I’m a Plantser!
As a plantser, I sit somewhere in the middle. I plan out the outline, I know where the story is going, I know the main events. I use Dan Harmon’s story circle or Gwyth Haye’s Romancing the Beat beat sheet.
I outline my story and dot point out the events. I’ve already written and published an article about my process which you can read by clicking the link below. In this article, I step through my process from idea to ALL THE BOOKS using my first NUSA (Natural Un-human Space Academy) book as an example!
And then… I get out of the way. Actually, that’s not entirely accurate. I wasn’t in the way in the first place or I would never have made it that far in the first place. My characters tell me their stories and I write up the incident reports. It almost feels like cheating — I’m not a writer, they are telling me what to write!
If I get stuck, it’s because either I’m not listening to my characters, or one of them needs a little nudge to share what happens next — that tends to happen when things are emotional or intense. Once everything is outlined, I’m not just joining the dots, I’m filling in all the details and exploring the character, their emotions, and their developmental arcs. One line can become 5000 words just as 10 dot points can become a single paragraph.
So, I guess, in a way, I am a pantser more than a plotter, because everything is intuitive and I listen to my characters, but they help me structure out their books like a plotter which helps me keep aligned and focussed. It also helps me (mostly) stay on track with an intended word count which means I can plan/plot my life better in general.
So, that’s me — a Plantser. How about you?