Types of Authors:
Planners and Pantsers
Planners or Pantsers. At least, that’s what the great Brandon Sanderson calls it. And who am I to disagree? When it comes to storytelling, authors will always fall within this scale of Planners and Pantsers. Though, oftentimes we end up somewhere in the middle.
Planners
On one extreme, you have the people who need to map out their entire story, from start to finish, scene to scene, before they ever start writing their novel. This is a great method for people that want to invest a lot of time upfront. Usually by planning things out in such detail, you make things a lot easier for yourself when you start actually writing your book.
PROs:
Easier to avoid plot holes
Structured and prepared character arcs
Stronger endings
Faster writing once you get started
CONs:
Too much rigidity can make it hard to adapt
Takes a lot of time to think things through when you’re not IN the story
Writing can feel formulaic at times
Pantsers
On the other extreme, we have Pantsers. Now, these are the people that “fly by the seat of their pants”. They don’t know what’s going to happen next, they just let the natural decisions of their characters determine the direction of their story. It can be a lot of fun to write this way, but it can also back you into an ugly corner if you’re not careful.
PROs:
Characters feel very real as you write them
Less stress about the end result and more trust in the process
You don’t take yourself quite so seriously, so you can have a little more fun
Stronger emotion
CONs:
Could lead to writer’s block if you dive in without realizing all the plot consequences
Difficult to find motivation to write if you’re not sure where to go next
Potentially little structure to the actual story
Where do I fall on the scale?
Like I said, most people fall somewhere in the middle. Unfortunately, I do tend to lean more toward the Pantsers. I can’t help myself! I just love feeling like I’m reading the story as I’m writing it. It’s more exciting for me when I don’t know what a character is going to do at any given moment.
With that said, I like to plan my books out in chunks. For multiple POVs, I write one character at a time through the first half of the story. Then I switch to the next character and repeat the process. Then I can read all of Part 1 together and see how all the character stories fit together. This then allows me to dive into Part 2 with a better understanding of how these individuals are all going to come together for the greater story. Essentially, I break my planning into two components:
- Story outline: I typically write one or two bullet points for each chapter. Basically the main objective I think the character should accomplish.
- Chapter outline: Bulleted list of how to create the scene to move it toward the main objective of the story outline.
Now I know what you’re thinking: “Vesneratch, you said you were a Pantser! But you’re planning out your whole story!” Meh. Sort of. Although I try to have a vague plan in place, it changes quite often as I write each chapter. Sometimes my characters just don’t want to cooperate with the plans I have for them. Sometimes it’s just better to let them live their lives. But then that messes up my entire story outline and I have to readjust every couple of chapters. Before you know it, I have no idea how the book will end.
Can you execute on your writing?
At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter where you fall on the scale. What matters is that you write in such a way that fuels your passion and keeps words flowing on the page. Because if you don’t enjoy writing every day, you’ll never have the motivation to actually get your book finished.
Too often I see authors start a story, but abandon it for new ideas when they hit a roadblock. Stop it. Until you’ve actually finished your first book and understand what it takes, none of your ideas matter. Anyone can start a book, but very few authors can actually finish and be proud of what they’ve accomplished. Stop procrastinating. Stop making excuses. Just write your book. If you hate it by the time it’s finished, see if you can edit it to a place you can be happy with. That’s all part of the process.