I'm a pantser! Plotter Heavy outlining and structuring up front Low flexibility - changing the core map can break the structure Risk of writer's block or feeling constrained by the plan Pantser No or minimal planning; jumps straight into writing High flexibility - story goes wherever the characters take it Risk of plot holes, rambling, or heavy re-writing later Plantser Basic structure or major signposts mapped out Balanced flexibility; has a destination but can take side roads Moderate risk - occasional pacing or transition fixes needed
I'm an underacheiving planner. I write best when I have a detailed outline. But... I don't always outline sufficiently.
Team Plantser here! I need a basic structure and my most important occasions mapped out. I also kinda know where the story ends, but still can be surprised by the story taking a completely different turn every now and then.
This is my first NN, I found out about it at 11 PM on October 30th. My strategy is create the characters in a mess of points which I'm still working on. Then once I'm finished, I'll organize it in a doc. The actual story has a solid two sentences worth of plot where one is the first paragraph worth of knowledge and the other is mid story. I've got this! (So I suppose that fits under the catogory of Plantsers)
def a pantster with a vague idea of where i want the story and characters to go.
Plantser here! I first thought I'm a pantser until I found out that something in between exists.
Replying to Bethany: same here ToT ↩️
Pantster, I imagine specific scenes and change things as I go, the only things I write down are names of characters and places... And numbers; ages, timelines. I dream up a scenario and I'm like "How do I get there" and everything else is a free for all.
I usually have a general plot outline in my head, but my experience when I have actually finished the novel on schedule is that by the end of the first week I am having to do a bit of a 'stream of consciousness' writing style to make the quota. While the story tends run away like a dog with the gate open, it often takes me on fun adventures. It can be amazing how characters can develop in ways you did not expect as well.
I'd better be a pantser, because I'm jumping into this novel november on day two with no outline to speak of!