Plotters VS. Pantsers
FIGHT!
Some people feel very strongly about Pantsers (those who write ‘by the seat of their pants’ and composing the story as it comes to them) and Plotters (those who write a mini novel of synopsis and character pages before they write the actual novel.)
Plotters accuse Pantsers of being meandering writers and of not having tight plots.
Pantsers accuse Plotters of being too predicable and wasting too much time in prep work.
My motto:
You can pay up front or you can pay at the end. But either way, you will pay.
Pantsers must do FAR more editing than your average Plotter. They pay at the end.
Plotters sometimes spend just as much time in prep as they do in writing the actual story. They pay at the beginning.
The real truth of the matter is that sometimes you just throw away the whole darn novel in the end anyways (I realize this might hurt some people’s sensibilities- “I would never throw away my novel!”- I believe in writing a learning novel every now and then. It gets me ready for my masterpiece.) The key is just not to give up. Published books come from Plotters and Pantsers who didn’t give up.
Or I guess you could be a Plotting Pantser (someone who schemes to pull down someone's trousers when they least expect it!)
What are your thoughts?
Want to tell us which one you are?
Want to tell us which one you are?
