Pantser, Plotter, or Plantser? – Guest Post by Shawn Mackey

 I’ve used all three of these methods at some point. Initially, I was more of a pantser and went in with whatever was in my head, usually the beginning and end with a few moments in the middle. These books mostly didn’t work because I was just starting out and didn’t know how to set a scene or write decent description and other technical stuff. The stories themselves were actually coherent. I started writing notes and outlines for future books while writing these books because of the enormous creative output I had at the time. So I started plotting only because I didn’t want to write more than one book at the same time rather than the convenience of having an outline.

Using these outlines, I quickly discovered the advantage. I was able to focus more on the technicalities of writing rather than figuring out the story. At first, these outlines were a page or two with of bullet points and maybe a paragraph description of the main characters’ backgrounds and roles in the story. This was probably more of the plantser route since subplots would form, and minor characters would occasionally have more important roles than initially realized. This always led to loose ends and unfinished plot threads. Though my writing had improved and the books were easy enough to read, in the end, they never wrapped up in a satisfying way.

Eventually I started to do a chapter by chapter breakdown. I started this a few books before This World of Love and Strife and used that method for it and was able to finish it in just under three weeks. With two or three solid paragraphs per a chapter, I knew how each would go and approached them more as a short story, writing them in a single day rather than either doing several or breaking them up. I would say this was leaning more toward the plotter method, which is where I am now.

For my current books, I not only write a few paragraphs per chapter but write several bullet points under each paragraph to make notes. After doing this several times, I modify the outline to include the information used in the bullet points. I’ll then read the outline a few more times and inevitably add more bullet points. Even as I’m writing the book, I check my outline, and if I do something in the second chapter that will affect the eleventh chapter, I’m sure to add a bullet point reminding me of that change or addition. By the time I’m finished with a book, its outline is sometimes around ten percent of the length. If I’m writing fantasy and have world-building and character profiles, the total notes can end up longer than some of my shorter novels.

So I’ve become more of a plotter and will likely stay that way. I’m not getting younger, so I easily forget things and tend to do better if I have notes to reference. They’ve helped my books immensely by allowing me to make sure the story stays coherent.

Recommended Article: This World of Love and Strife – a Review