#pantser vs plotter

[bangjiazheng]

Pantser vs Plotter: The Right Way to Write

[iriemorning]

reverse engineering

my initial ambition was to be a civil engineer. it’s why i took the STEM program in high school. as i set off to a more creative path in the past few years, little did i know that i would come back to it again, albeit more on the mechanism part. how i go about my goals usually begins with a simple process. i envision a finished prototype first then disassemble them like lego; i break them down to build it again as close to what i had pictured in mind.

it’s strategic thinking, like how athletes do. how do you win a gold medal? they train for years and they often start when young. they think about the desired outcome and reverse-engineer what would be necessary to make it happen. in a magazine interview by lebron james, he said he wanted his team to win the championship—to do that his team must surpass and win all the other teams all the way to the finals, and to do that he practiced his three-point-shooting skills every day. he went from a general goal and funneled it down to what he can easily work on every day, in order to make his big dream happen. he could have criticized the shortcomings of his team members but he didn’t; he worked on his skills instead. he filtered all possible ways to only the best way—one that he had utmost control over. and now look at him.

that’s the power of reverse engineering.

ೃ⁀➷

sometimes you begin to question the probability of your goals—if they’re unreasonable, delusions, or just pipe dreams. the same dilemma that entrepreneurs have when starting a business. it’s wobbly and fear-inducing in the start. whenever i start to feel that way, i come back to what made me dream of it in the first place. the exact place and time i built the prototype in mind. this repainting process neutralizes my worries, and also sets me on fire. i often feel like an entrepreneur whenever i set off to a new goal every decan.

there’s a lot of luck involved in going after your goals as well, no matter how much you plan your way around it. like how businesses have breakout moments in the market.

but entrepreneurs dont gamble. gambling is mostly luck.

one thing that entrepreneurs and goal-oriented people have in common? they’re in it for the long haul. their goals have lasting impacts in their lives. a gambler only bets randomly for instant gratification. an entrepreneur takes a calculated risk based on market study and an extensive business plan, while a gambler is a blind risk-taker.

in my everyday waking life, i often remind myself to live like an entrepreneur, to walk my path with a solid goal and purpose, and not like a gambler who waits all their life for the wheel of fortune to point at them.

ೃ⁀➷

in writing creatively, reverse engineering is also a must. i used to think that i should be a gardener—the type of writer who allows their stories to progress naturally, like tending to a plant. gardeners value the freedom to let their stories grow in an organic way. as opposed to architects who prefer to have every detail of their story organized before they start writing. you see, the prospect of being a gardener is pretty, right? they write with their emotions, their writing exciting and fresh, while an architect’s would come across as soulless and robotic. after all, expressing creativity must be as free as a bird, not shackled in the cages of a ‘plan’, right?

that’s how i used to think.

for a very long time i’ve been caught up on my writing having no emotions and sounding robotic, and in the end i gave myself a harder time to write anything at all. it’s a hard lesson that’s even harder to erase the longer i didn’t budge to change.

if you only write by the seat of your pants, you get more vulnerable to writer’s block—that sinister moments before disaster when you’re facing a blank page and you cannot come up with anything to write. boom. you’re stuck.

but its okay. great ideas dont come everyday. neither does inspiration. you have to catch them when they appear, put them in a basket and use them at the right time.

nowadays i split my writing process into the creative stage, then labor stage. first is when i make a storyboard freely; exploring stuff i could add to my idea basket and start sketching my outline from there while being open to changes. all the fun and exciting stuff about storytelling goes here. i draw a roadmap to come up with the beginning, the middle, and ending. preparation is a must. if you skip it, you’ll have a decision fatigue in the labor stage, where you execute the act of writing itself. most people just go straight into writing without having a central idea or timeline in mind so they’re stuck halfway. the quality would then almost always fall off and we either get an unfinished story or a mediocre ending. in retrospect, embodying the sentiments of a gardener and the means of an architect in my creative stage gave me a reliable system i can work with as a better writer.

this is a message to the past me: it’s not wrong to have a plan. it won’t hamper your creativity; a solid outline assures that your creativity is unleashed properly. this is how illustrators make beautiful drawings; how engineers build sturdy buildings. they make sketches and blueprints to a goal, then reverse-engineer it down to the simplest tools needed.

[vivsinkpot]

Plotting vs Discovery Writing: Should You Plan Your Story or Wing It?

Ah, the age-old writer’s dilemma:

Do you map every scene like a tactician drawing battle plans — or dive in with nothing but vibes and a chaotic sense of adventure?

Here’s a breakdown of the pros and cons of both approaches — and why the real magic might lie somewhere in between. 🖋️

Plotting (Outlining / Planning)

Pros:

✔️ Clear direction – You know where you’re going. No getting lost in the woods.

✔️ Foreshadowing magic – You can plant clues, callbacks, and payoff arcs with confidence.

✔️ Fewer plot holes – A roadmap helps spot inconsistencies early.

✔️ Less panic during writing – You’ve already solved some of the hardest narrative problems.

Cons:

✖️ It can feel rigid – The story may resist your outline or outgrow it.

✖️ Planning fatigue – You might lose momentum before the writing even begins.

✖️ Less room for surprise – Characters can feel boxed in by pre-decided fates.

✖️ Too much structure can kill discovery – Sometimes the magic is in what you didn’t see coming.

Discovery Writing (Pantsing / Writing as You Go)

Pros:

✔️ Creative freedom – You’re exploring in real time. Characters can surprise you.

✔️ Organic pacing – The story flows from instinct and mood.

✔️ Emotional authenticity – Moments feel raw, fresh, and true to how they unfolded.

✔️ Writing is more exciting – You’re discovering the story as a reader would.

Cons:

✖️ You might write into a corner – Plot knots are harder to untangle without a plan.

✖️ Revision may be intense – You’ll likely need more editing to fix structure, foreshadowing, and pacing.

✖️ Themes may be muddled – Without direction, your story can lose its core.

✖️ Momentum stalls – Getting stuck is common if you don’t know what happens next.

The Hybrid Approach (A Little Bit of Both)

Plot the skeleton. Discover the heart.

Many writers outline broad strokes (major beats, ending, key twists), but leave space to discover the emotional or interpersonal journey as they write.

You might:

Write a chapter, then outline the next.

Plan major events, but improvise how characters get there.

Start as a pantser, then reverse-outline what you’ve done.

There’s no “right” way — just the one that keeps you writing and enjoying your craft.

Final Thought:

Plotting is a compass.

Pantsing is a storm.

Every writer’s ship sails differently — but the goal is the same: reach the end, and love the journey.

[chaoticwritermind]

A Gift I Wish I Possessed

I admire how Pantsers can just write and keep going with basically no preparation.

I do not possess such a talent. I need to plan and brainstorm and then ask myself the tough intimate questions of the story.

I wish I could just write and worry about that stuff later.

But I can't. I've tried.

All I'll get in return is a huge wall of writers block to enjoy :/

[kay9leo]

Thoughts on Writing

Okay, so something that I just realize where I have my issues in writing the story is not knowing how the scene before the ending scene ends. I'm a pantser and I'm not the type to plot too much beforehand unless when I'm daydreaming when I go home driving.

Now is that I realize that, I now actually have to plot things out so I can figure out how to go from scene B to D by thinking how scene C goes.

But my problem now is that I don't know how scene C goes because...

[merrybond]

What's a Plotter to do?

I am a die-hard believer in plotting. For the way my mind works there is no other way to write. But what to do when plotting doesn’t work? I’ve tried writing by the seat of my pants and always end up plotting a few scenes in advance, the major turning points of the story, and/or pre-writing before I actually get to the dialogue and, you know, the actual writing of the scene (pre-writing is…

[kogarashi-art]

I really can't start writing until I have at least a Wikipedia-style summary of the events of the story to follow as an outline. Oftentimes I'll also have bullet points of specific beats I want to hit, specific scenes or quotes I want to include, etc. There's still flexibility, but if I don't know the start, end, and several checkpoints along the way, I'm not ready to write. So much more architect than gardener. Flexible architect.

*In writing terms, an architect is someone who plots out, plans, and outlines things before drafting. A gardener is someone who takes an initial idea and then just writes, seeing how the idea grows without specific plans.

Some people use the terms “plotter” and “pantser” (as in, going by the seat of their pants) for these writing styles, but I prefer architect and gardener.

[carasueachterberg]

Plot is Born From Characters (Book Club 5, Bird by Bird)

Plot is a sore point for me. It’s where pantsers and plotters part ways. I have never been able to plot. The times when I’ve plotted out a story before starting to write, it’s felt stilted and uncomfortable and forced. Like doing a homework assignment. Check that rubric – are you hitting all the right notes? Once I’ve regurgitated what I’d planned, I feel let down. Like I was waiting for this…

[ollydee]

I started a writing vlog :-0

[rightwriter]

A nice motivating video by these two authors, Katytastic and Alexa Donne to get you in the writing headspace :)

[salmonandfox]

Oh look new writerdrama

Or someone ATTEMPTING writer drama:

My TikTok FYP just dropped in my lap an vid of someone making a joke about someone supposedly writing a 90,000 word manuscript -with no plot- so they could pat themselves on the back for having an outline.

I'm overheated, dealing with broken house stuff and ANNOYED in general so I did stitch it to ask if that is ACTUALLY something that has HAPPENED or if it's just to rag on Pantsers. I'm... pretty sure it's the second. Which just... -why-. It's not like someone out there is going to hold you at eraser point and threaten to delete your WIP if you don't IMMEDIATELY switch to Plotter or Pantser. Neither is BAD. They're different methods that work for different people and as writers we have enough LEGITIMATE problems like sexism and racism in the industry and Chat GPT that 'hur hur I'm so glad I'm not a pantser' is just... fucking childish.

[yanderedrabbles]

I’m a new writer, can you tell me about your writing process? Are you a planner or a pantster?

welcome to the fold child, here be much editing and rewriting and possibly also dragons.

I'm DEFINITELY a planner. Usually I'll start my stories off with whatever inspired me but as soon as I get a handle on the idea, I jot down plot points to direct the story.

I'm also all over the place when I write. For example, I'm currently working on a Wild West noncon with multiple characters. I've been bouncing around from one section to the other as the ideas come. The trick is to try and neaten it all up in post lmao

Since you're asking a bit more about the writing process, here's where I'd recommend starting:

My favourite books on writing:

Voice by James Scott Bell. It's pretty short but there are so many exercises to practice voice and style. It's that little extra thing that really pushes a piece from good to great. For example, Stephen King has one of the most distinctive styles I've read and I gobble it up every. Single. Time.

Save the Cat Writes A Novel by Jessica Brody. This one is THE guide to novel and plot writing. It's fun to read, easy to reference and it breaks different genre tropes down into much more digestible tips. It's also the best guide for plotting, and really runs you through how to structure a story. Even if you aren't working on long, multi-chapter stories, knowing the different story structures is a must. If you take away one recommendation from this list, let it be this one.

My favourite writing YouTubers:

Jenna Moreci. She's funny and no nonsense. She's also got a writing book out called Shut Up and Write The Book that's on my tbr. She dives into common tropes, discusses when they work and when they're cliche, and some of the best ways to subvert them.

Alexa Donne. A romance and YA author, she's absolutely incredible when it comes to newbie writing mistakes. She's also really great at helping you edit and plot your stuff. She weighs in quite a bit on the plotters vs pantsers debate too.

Obviously, the creative process is going to look different for everybody. The key is to just try different approaches and see what works best for you. Some authors like to have all their background info down pat before they start and others can't write well unless its all happening in the moment. Some people like to do huge writing sprints while others aim for a little every day. It's all trial and error to find what works for you.

My biggest trick as a writer is to literally jot down my ideas as soon as they pop up. Sometimes they'll be little snippets, little pieces of dialogue that sound good, scenes that just pop into my head. I have so many notes just dedicated to compiling these ideas. It doesn't matter that I might not use them in my current fic, I always hold onto them for later.

I'd recommend looking at some famous author writing routines and pulling ideas from there too. Personally, I try and write a little everyday and then do at least two rounds of editing before I post.

I've still got a TON of room for improvement, but those are kind of the seminal works that got me to this point.

That's all. Have fun babe! May the words always come easy, may the editing be ruthless and may the readers be cool as hell. 💕

[slayingfiction]

Masterlist

Tips, Tricks, and Advice

These are things I have picked up over the years. I am by no means an expert, and I will forever continue my learning journey, so these are simply something for you to keep in mind, and hopefully they help. If there is anything incorrect please let me know ASAP so I can update the post.

Basics

Just Starting Out

Conceptualizing A Story

Plotter VS Pantser

5 Narrative Writing Types

Story Elements

3-Act Story Structure

5-Act Story Structure

7-Act Story Structure

Writer’s Life

To Those Starting Out

Sparking Your Writing Fire

When I’m Not in the Mood to Write

Storytelling Craft

Character

Character Flaws

Character Deaths in Storytelling

Worldbuilding

What is Worldbuilding?

Weaving the Story

Crafting the Perfect Opening

Writing Craft

Foundation

Story Pacing

Writing Cliffhangers

Diversify Your Writing

Vibrant Alternatives for Movement

Dialogue

Mastering the Art of Dialogue

Using Dialogue Tags

400+ Dialogue Tags

Grammar

That VS Which

Sentence Structuring

Parallel Construction

Integrating Realism

Body Functions

Body Pain: Basics

Body Pain: Headaches

Communication

Conlang: Creating a Fictional Language

Nonverbal Communication: Proxemics

Emotions

Feelings Wheel

Editing and Publishing

Editing Process

Preliminary Editing

Self-Evaluating and Refining Your Writing

Types of Professional Editing

Developmental Editing

Structural Editing

Line Editing

Copy Editing

Proofreading

Weak Words to Cut

ARC (Advanced Reading Copies)

Beta Readers

Questions to Ask Your Alpha and Beta Readers

Publishing

Literary Agents

Traditional Publishing

Extra-diegetic

Crafting the Perfect Title

Original Writing

These are my own original writings. Each post will have the genre stated at the top, and they will be further separated into categories below. Be sure to let me know what you think!

In The Beginning

In the Great Beyond

It’s a Magical Life After All

In the Wake of Spies and Assassins

The Guardian’s Oasis

Living is Hard Enough

Writing Prompts

Inspired by the song Karma by T Swift

[writingtips-resources]

Plotting vs. Pantsing: I Found My Writing Style

Every writer, at some point, faces The Great Question.

“Should I make my main character suffer more?”

(the answer is always yes, by the way).

I’m talking about: Are you a Plotter or a Pantser? And let me tell you—I’ve been on both sides of this chaotic, caffeine-soaked battlefield. "I found my style, but it wasn’t without trial, error, and a couple of existential crises along the way."

Let me explain to you- step by step.

I Started with Plotting

When I first started writing, I thought plotting was The Way. I had color-coded spreadsheets, a detailed scene-by-scene breakdown, and enough sticky notes to wallpaper a small room- thinking and writing as a Plotter.................

Chapter 7: Sarah finds the amulet.

Chapter 8: A mysterious storm begins.

Chapter 9: Emotional confrontation with the villain.

“Wait, why is Sarah suddenly flirting with the villain?

THAT WAS NOT IN THE PLAN.”

But, In simple words, Plotting gave me structure, clarity, and a false sense of control (spoiler: the characters always win).

I Shifted to Pantsing: My Wild West Era

At one point, I threw my outline out the window (metaphorically… mostly) and declared, “Let chaos reign!”

Suddenly, I was free.

No outlines, no bullet points—just me, my keyboard, and a vague idea of where things might end up- thinking and writing as a Pantser:

Sarah picked up the amulet. Cool. Now what?

Maybe it’s cursed. Maybe it sings Broadway show tunes. Let’s find out!”

“Oh no. I’m 40,000 words in, and I have no idea what happens next.”

Pantsing felt like an adventure. I was uncovering the story as I went along, and sometimes I wrote scenes so unexpected, I had to sit back and say, “Did I just… did I just make that up? Whoa.”

Then I Choose "The Hybrid Approach"

I realized I’m neither a hardcore Plotter nor a full-on Pantser. I’m somewhere in between—a Plantser if you will.

Now, I start with a loose outline:

“Sarah finds an amulet. The villain wants it. Big showdown at the end.”

But I leave the middle parts open for discovery.

If Sarah decides she wants to flirt with the villain in Chapter 9… well, who am I to stop her?

Now, the real magic happened and I was too satisfied!

Key plot points? Mapped out.

Character arcs? Clear.

Everything else? Chaos, baby.

So, What’s Your Style?

Finding your writing style isn’t about picking a side and sticking to it forever. It’s about experimenting, adjusting, and figuring out what feels right for you.

If outlines make your soul happy—Plot away.

If you thrive on chaos—Embrace the Pantsing life.

If you’re like me and want both structure and spontaneity—Welcome to the Hybrid Club.

At the end of the day, the goal isn’t to write like someone else—it’s to find your rhythm, your style, and tell your story.

So tell me, friend: Are you a Plotter, a Pantser, or somewhere in between?

Drop your chaotic (or highly organized) thoughts below—I promise we’re all friends here.

[atamascolily]

on worldbuilding, predictions, and Madoka Magica

On reflection, I think there are two distinct types of worldbuilding. The first and better known type is practiced by people like J.R.R. Tolkien, for whom the world drives the story--the world is created first, and is treated like a real place (or as real as possible) with its own consistent rules. This is also the kind of worldbuilding you see in a lot of RPGs and similar games, which is then populated by characters created by the players.

The second type of worldbuilding is where the story drives the world--the story is created first and the world is then fleshed out to accommodate it later. Sometimes this means retcons or clarifications after the fact; sometimes it means that the author just wanted to do something cool and didn't think too hard about the consequences. Star Wars (especially in the early days with the original trilogy) is a great example of this kind of hodgepodge "build as you go" worldbuilding.

It's easy to get these two types of worldbuilding mixed up because they appear identical on the surface because of how we perceive stories (i.e., as linear narratives taking place in a fictional setting) vs. how they are actually written, but expecting a Type 2 worldbuilding situation to follow Type 1 rules is a recipe for disaster because it's not playing by the same rules on the back end. Also, like "plotter" and "pantser", these are two ends of a spectrum, not absolutes.

Most of Gen Urobuchi's works fall into the Type 2 category, to the point where the first season of Thunderbolt Fantasy introduces a brand-new mechanic more than 2/3rds of the way through the first season solely to get the characters from point A to point B that is never mentioned again, and yet it does its job so well that every time I'm forced to applaud it. The same is true for Madoka Magica, where it's abundantly clear that Urobuchi didn't think much about the details when writing the script, much of which was fleshed out by collaborators (such as Inu Curry's witch designs).

Anyway, all this is to say that I think trying to predict Walpurgis no Kaiten by Type 1 worldbuilding logic--i.e., extrapolating from established rules and taking them to their logical conclusion--is not a likely recipe for success, because that's not how Urobuchi is approaching the story in the first place. The rules of the world are dictated by the needs of the story, and so can be bent or altered entirely (and likely will be) in order to accommodate it.

I don't even mean retcons here (although I suppose that's possible); I mean things like the Incubators' isolation field in Rebellion that allowed witches to exist in a confined space--it's not against the established rules per se, it's just not what you would necessarily expect based on the ending of the original anime. I think whatever happens in WnK will be like that--a weird and unlikely exception that we won't necessarily see coming, but isn't inconsistent with what has come before. It likely wasn't planned from the beginning, but arose organically out of the story creation process post-Rebellion, even though ideally it will be consistent with and support everything that has come before.

Okay, so if extrapolating from the world doesn't work, what might work better? My approach to predictions in general is based on established narrative structures, symbols, and themes, because those are what will actually shape the story, and thus the world it takes place in, and this is a series where story comes first. This doesn't mean I'll be right about anything, but I think it gets me closer than any of the alternatives. If you want to predict how the series is going to turn out, asking "What is the story of Madoka Magica [taken as a whole across the entire main series] actually about?" and going from there is a reasonable starting point.

(A few quick answers--"Is it possible to change fate?" "Unintended consequences." "The power of love and friendship." "Growing up."--etc, etc. Note that these are not mutually exclusive, but emphasizing different elements will often yield different results.)

But even that will only get you so far, because what I or anybody else think the show is about may or may not be what Urobuchi or Inu Curry or any of the creators think the show is about. So it's not enough to extrapolate from existing themes and symbols; you also have to put yourself in their place and imagine the story from their perspective, too. Conveniently, this is an important skill for writers in general, so it's a useful exercise no matter what happens. But the story I would write from these elements is likely going to be different from what actually happens in some or all respects and that's something I've had to accept.

For me, story prediction and analysis in general are less about being right (although that's always satisfying) and more about having fun and becoming a better writer. Writing fanfiction has also freed me from being dependent on canon for a particular outcome. If it happens, great! If not, I can write it my own way. No matter what the outcome, it's all grist for the mill.

But it's the difference between a typical audience member and an aspiring magician watching a magic show--as the latter, I want to anticipate and understand how the trick is accomplished so I can do it myself. To that end, I'm engaging with the material in a very different way than a casual viewer, peering behind the curtain so I can see how it all comes together into a coherent whole.