Plotter vs Pantser: Where Do You Fall On The Scale?

 Plotter vs Pantser: Where Do You Fall On The Scale?

Hello my fellow writers! I bring you a fun blogpost about plotters and pantsers, the two types of writing planners. Well, the two extremes of writing planners. All of us fall somewhere on the scale.

Alright, we’ll be going over plotters, pantsers, and the scale, along with a brief explanation about what I’m talking about.

What Are Plotters & Pantsers?

Plotters and pantsers are the two different types of writing planners. And by that, I mean: how much do they plan before they begin writing. 

Plotters will do a lot of up-front planning, and pantsers(or, discovery writers. More on that later) do not.

Now, just because pantsers don’t do the plotting up-front doesn’t mean that they take longer or anything like that. It just means that they spend more time in the after fixing plot holes and things like that, while plotters try to take care of that stuff in the before. 

Okay, next up, I’ll talk about the extremes, and then the shades of gray.

Plotters

Plotters are the ones who create plots before they begin writing. An extreme plotter will figure out all the world-building things, everything to do with the story line, the character’s development, the whole lot.

An extreme plotter will (most likely) have a chapter by chapter outline, detailing what will happen in every single scene. 

They have to spend a lot of time upfront to get that level of detail, which isn’t bad or good, it’s just a fact. Having such an intricate plot will naturally make their writing go faster once they start. 

Pantser (or Discovery Writer)

Pantsers are the ones who write ‘by the seat of their pants’. Meaning that they start writing with no plan or a small, small plan. Another term for pantsers is discovery writer. 

An extreme pantser will begin a story with only a vague idea of what’s going on– like using a Pinterest writing prompt and going from there. An extreme pantser will likely never have a plot at all.

They spend more time at the end instead of at the beginning like a plotter. Because of their tendency to have no plot at all, they have to do a lot of post editing. Like fixing plot holes and making sure that the characters have good arcs, for example.

The Scale

Realistically, no one is just a plotter or a pantser, you always have a little bit of both in you. Some are pretty far on the scale towards one another, but they will always have at least one thing that they do that belongs to the other side.

Plotter

Makes detailed plots, worldbuilding, and character arcs. 

Mostly Plotter

Does a lot of plotting and worldbuilding, but leaves some stuff to be discovered.

Neutral 

Does some upfront plotting, but leaves a lot to be discovered.

Mostly Pantser

Has some plot and worldbuilding, but mostly goes with the flow.

Pantser

Makes very little plans, goes with the flow.

…and there you have it! Plotters vs Pantsers!

I know that this blogpost is a little shorter than my average, so, if you’d like, check out some of my others! Also, comment where you fall on the plotter vs pantser scale– I’m Mostly Pantser. 

Make sure to check out my Youtube Channel as well- RL Writer.