"Pantser" or "Plotter"?

with Lauren Nossett

Oh the “pantser” and “plotter.” Two distinctly different processes that ultimately bring writers to the same conclusion: “The End.”

The “pantser” writes by the seat of her stretchy pants—sitting down and scribbling out the story with very little idea where she’s going—while the “plotter” meticulously outlines every plot point, character development, and red herring.

Get a group of writers together and this question can foster quite the debate with strong opinions on either side. Stephen King notoriously said that outlines were “the last resource of bad fiction writers,” while Ernest Hemingway wrote that “prose is architecture.” For R. L. Stein, planning before writing helps prevent writer’s block, and Terry Pratchett views the first draft as necessary to tell yourself the story. Of course, not every writer falls neatly into these two camps. Some writers take a hybrid approach, writing loose outlines and leaving room for surprises. And as you’ll see, our Thursday Thriller crew is comprised of a healthy variety of both pantsers and plotters.

Today our Thriller Thursday authors answer the question: Are you a pantser or a plotter?

Tessa Wegert: “I’m a little of both, but veer more toward “pantser.” I’ll start with a basic outline, but then deviate pretty quickly as new (ahem, better) ideas take shape. I almost always change the identity of the killer when I’m nearing the end of the book. If I’m open to those kinds of surprises, the reader’s more likely to be surprised, too.”

Lauren Nossett: “I’m a pantser, who desperately wants to be a plotter. My tendency is to write 60,000 words (about two-thirds of my novel), realize I’ve written myself into a corner, and then am forced to write an outline to course correct. (Note: This is not a process I recommend!)”

Danielle Girard: “I’d love to be a pantser, but it doesn’t work for me. I generally know the inciting incident (the start) and have a general sense of the ending, but for the book I’m working on now, I really have no idea how it will end, so I’m just hoping the characters will lead me there.”

Katy Hays: “I hate both of these words lol, but I am a ‘pantser.’”

Greg Wands: “I tend toward a hybrid model. I usually go into a book with a general sense of the shape of the story, akin to the scaffolding around a building. Basically, enough of an idea to get started, but not so specific as to risk getting hemmed in by any preconceptions as the characters begin to come alive and speak to me. I will, however, ask myself questions about those characters early on, which tends to help them take over and guide the action at a certain point.”

Carter Wilson: “I'm an unabashed pantser. I believe there is no learning one or the other, a writer just simply and naturally is one of these two things. Writers should understand the benefits and detriments of their writing style, but should otherwise embrace their method of writing. Being true to your nature as a writer is how one finds joy in a terribly difficult profession.”

Wendy Walker: “I am a plotter. I can’t start anything without knowing where I’m going. It’s almost debilitating! That’s not to say my books are set in stone from the first page. Not at all. They always change and I always get new ideas as I’m writing. Also, sometimes the plot doesn’t work as I begin to write the chapters. But I like to have a good roadmap to get started. And this road map is what gets me in the car to start driving.”

Lynne Constantine: “I’m a plantser! A combination of both.”

QotW: Writers out there: are you pantsers or plotters?