Hello Lovelies,
Over the past year I’ve mentioned plotting and pantsing a couple of times, so I thought it would make sense to dedicate a blog post to explaining what they actually are and how they work.
If you’ve been here for a while, you probably already know that I’m a pantser and, no, that doesn’t mean that I pull people’s pants down. The word comes from people saying that those kinds of writers ‘write by the seat of their pants.’
I thought you had to plot
When I started writing with the goal of actually finishing a story, I did some research because how do you actually finish a story? What I found was a ton of ways to plot a book, down to every single scene within a chapter. Not only did I find that overwhelming, but it actually also made my creativity drop to below zero.
For some people, the only way they can write and finish a book is if they have everything planned out, which is what makes them planners and not pantsers! I tried faithfully to plot out my first few books but once I started writing, it became almost impossible to follow the plot because once I write, my characters and brain just take over and do whatever they want!
What is plotting?
I learned about plotting in school, or more specifically, the narrator model, eg. impact, presentation, elaboration, point-of-no-return, escalation of conflict, climax, and fade-out. This was mostly for movies but they also work for books. There are a lot of different plotting methods. I’ll list a few below and direct you to where you can read about them individually.
Plotting tools
I have been plotting a bit more than usual lately and I’ve found that I like using Milanote. It’s very easy to use and you can move things around, you can create a mood board, and they even have a free version. I’ve added a picture of one of my Milanote boards and, yes, it is as simple as that; basically the sticky notes system but online!
What’s pantsing about?
Pantsing is basically just the word for going in without a plan. Now, it doesn’t mean that you have to start completely from scratch. I usually know the characters, some of their background, and I’ll have an overall idea of where their story is going or at least starting. I don’t plot this. It’s mostly knowledge from previous books where the characters appeared as well as just information I keep in my head.
I also keep documents on my computer of character names and information such as eye color, tattoos, and so on. I don’t consider that as part of planning. It’s simply a way to remember the things I will undoubtedly forget because my memory is non-existent (No really, don’t ask me what happens in my books. I probably won’t remember).
Can you mix the two?
While I think that there will always be a little bit of planning involved with pantsing because you need to know and remember things about your characters and locations, there is in fact something called a planster. A plantser is the middle ground between a planner and a pantser. I would say that a plantser is someone who plans the overall things out and then pantses the rest.
Do you have to claim that you’re one of the three? No. If you’re writing a book, you’re a writer. If you’ve finished a book, you’re a writer. How you got there? That only matters to you because it’s how you’ll keep getting there.
What’s most important?
Yes, that is the question isn’t it? Is it to follow a specific plotting method or is it to throw caution to the wind and just write whatever comes to you? My answer? The important thing is to do whatever works best for you. If you haven’t figured that out yet, or perhaps you’ve just started on this journey? Then fret not, try out everything you feel drawn to! Try it out so you know what you like and what works and what doesn’t. It might take a year or two to get a method down for you, it might only take a month, but either way, you’ll be better off for it.
So, which am I?
I would say that I generally lean the hardest toward pantsing but I would identify as a plantser (a mix of the two). It will also depend on the genre. It is almost impossible not to plan if you’re writing something like an epic fantasy novel. I would certainly get lost. As would my characters!
Thank you for reading along! I hope you learned something about the differences between plotting and pantsing or maybe even discovered which kind of writer you are.
I have a few other blog posts like this one about how specific things work in the author/writer world. You can find them all here. If you would like to see more of this kind of blog post, please let me know in the comment section below!
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