#plotting vs pantsing

I don't know who needs to hear this, but we're 5 days into nanowrimo so maybe this will be helpful.

Do you want the safety and surety of knowing what happens next in your story but can't stick to an outline? Does knowing in advance what will happen suck the joy out of discovery writing? Do you try to wing it through plots but get tangled in plot holes or have a story that runs out of steam because you can't figure out what went wrong? Are you at your most creative when you have a little bit of guidance? Do you tend to under-write? Do you get ideas in your head for random scenes and snippets that drop from the sky without context?

If any of these apply to you, junebugging a draft might be for you!

What Is Junebugging?

Since you're on Tumblr, you might already be familiar with the concept of junebugging as it relates to cleaning. If not -- I think the idea was first introduced to me by @jumpingjacktrash.

The basic idea is that you tackle cleaning by way of controlled chaos. You pick a specific area you want to focus on, like your kitchen sink, and then wander off to deal with other things as they occur to you, but always returning back to that area. You end up cleaning a little bit at a time in an order that may not make sense to an outsider but which keeps you from getting overwhelmed and discouraged.

How Does Junebugging Work in Writing?

OK, so that's great, but how does this work with writing? Well. In my case, the general idea is to jump between writing linearly, outlining, and writing out of order. It usually looks something like:

Start free-writing a scene, feeling my way through it and enjoying the discovery process.

Thinking, ok, now I have this scene, did anything need to happen to lead up to it? Do I need to go back and add some foreshadowing? Does this scene set anything up that needs to be paid off? And then jump forward/back to make those adjustments.

I'll usually have a bunch of disconnected ideas of ideas that have popped into my head, so I'll write those down in a list somewhere and then try to figure out what goes in between them and what order it goes in.

I'll write what I call "micro-scenes" which is where I'll just sketch out a few essential elements of what's going on without worrying too much about details, description, etc. -- just he did this, she said that, the setting was this, real bare-bones script. Then I can come back through and flesh out each of those microscenes into an actual scene later.

Got a story that has a complex structure? No problem. Write through each storyline one at a time and then chop them up and weave them together afterward. Write all the B plot scenes first then come back through to do A plot and C plot. Move the pieces around like legos. No one ever has to know.

This method works for me because I can't "decide" story elements in advance. I have never been able to just sit down and "figure out" what happens in a story beyond a couple steps ahead -- I have to discovery-write my way forward. But at the same time, that gets really daunting. So I zoom forward with micro-scenes, roughing out the beats in the most bare-bones way possible, then when I run out of clear vision for what happens next I backtrack, flesh out those scenes, build in connective tissue, etc. and by then I will probably find more inspiration to jump forward.

It's basically folding drafting, outlining, and revising all together into a single phase of writing, which is chaotic and goes against everything people teach you, but if it works? then it fuckin works.

I am a hardcore plotter. In the great writing debate of plotters versus pantsers (those who write "by the seat of their pants"), I firmly plant my flag in the "detailed outline" camp, and I'm here to defend why that works brilliantly for me and countless other writers.

When I say I'm a plotter, I don't mean I suck the life out of my stories with rigid structure. I mean I'm someone who needs to see the shape of the story before I can write it effectively. I need to know where I'm going so I can figure out how to get there in the most compelling way possible.

My plotting process usually looks like this:

Character development sheets for each major character

Scene-by-scene outlines that include emotional beats, not just plot points

Relationship arcs mapped out alongside the main plot

Research documents for anything I need to get right

Backup plans for when certain scenes aren't working

This might sound like overkill, but for me, it's freedom. When I sit down to write, I'm not staring at a blank page wondering what happens next. I'm focused entirely on how to tell the story I've already designed.

What is discovery writing (sometimes known as pantsing)? How can you write a novel with structure if you don't plot in advance? How can you build a writing career for the long-term? All this and more with Patricia McLinn.

OMG this interview was such a reassuring revelation!

Let me show you my favorite part, there’s a transcript by the way if you don’t want to listen to the interview:

Patricia: I'll tell you the truth. I had tried plotting three separate times and each time I lost a book. Well, two times. One time I finally regained the book. But it was partly I guess squirrel mind or my mind said, ‘Okay. You got a plot? You told that story. Let's go do something else.'

We know how that one turns out. And the only way I think you really learn your process is by doing, and I also think your process tweaks and grows with you. So you're constantly watching it a little bit and playing with things.

Joanna: I know what you mean as well. I think you lose the fun when you say lost a book there. I know what you mean. If I knew everything that happened, I'd be bored.

Hey everyone! It’s Abby with another writing post - today we’re talking about the different between plotting and pantsing! Let’s hop right in.

What is plotting?

Do you remember in middle and high school when your teachers placed a huge emphasis on writing out an outline for your essay before writing it? You had to have plans for the introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion, and what you would include in each. This is plotting.

When you plot, you essentially determine what happens in your story before you actually write it. People do this is all sorts of ways and in lots of different levels of depth. Some folks have a guide of a page or two, some have mini-novels for their real ones. Personally, I tend to fall within the 5-8 page range for the stories I plot.

Plotting can include decisions on things like:

Opening and closing scenes.

Major plot points.

Any scenes you want to include.

The act structure.

An order of scenes, chapters, and events.

Any details, exposition, or dialogue.

Like I mentioned, plotting can go really in-depth if you choose to take it in that direction. Plotting is the kind of tool that you can use to any extent that you’re comfortable with.

What is pantsing?

Coined from the popular phrase, “Flying by the seat of your pants,” this is exactly what it sounds like. Pantsing is the opposite of plotting in that there is no planning done before the writing.

There’s not too much more to say in this one. Writers may jot down a few ideas for things they want to include in the next couple of sessions or as a later plot point, but how they get to that spot remains to be seen.

What are the strengths and weaknesses of both?

There’s a long, long debate about whether plotting or pantsing is “better.” In truth, neither of them is really better than the other, and they both have their pros and cons. Let’s take a look at both!

Pros of Plotting

Strong choice for writers who enjoy structure.

You have the details determined before you get to them.

As you write, you just have to follow your outline instead of deciding what comes next.

Outlines can be edited to account for plot and structure errors and editing later on.

Cons of Plotting

Some writers may feel stifled when they have to follow a pre-determined story.

Doesn’t really allow for any changes or ideas the writer thinks of later without changing the whole structure.

The plotting process can take time that otherwise would have been used for writing the first draft.

Pros of Pantsing

Allows writers to work with ideas that come naturally as they write.

Some writers thrive in a more spontaneous writing environment.

Writers can decide how the past of the story affects the present in possibly surprising ways.

Cons of Pantsing

There are often plot holes and structure issues that need to be edited out later.

Writer’s block may be more common if the writer can’t think of what happens next on the fly.

Keeping consistency with plot, characters, and world-building may be more difficult.

Evidently, they both have their own strengths and weaknesses, and they appeal to different types of writers. As mentioned before, neither one is better than the other, but both will require their own adjustments and processes. If you’re a pantser, get ready to edit. If you’re a plotter, get ready to plan.

How do I know which one works for me?

Experiment! Try writing stories both with and without planning done beforehand, and see which one you enjoyed more - both in the process and in the actual content. After a while and a bit of trial and error, you’ll figure out which one works best for you.

This might take a while, and that’s 100% normal. For me personally, it took about five years and eight drafts to discover that I work best with a somewhat loose outline when I write. Now that I’ve figured out the process that works best for me, I find the writing process to be much smoother and more enjoyable. It’s all about experimentation and finding what works best for you!

If my work helps you or your writing, please consider supporting me by joining my Patreon!

It’s easy to forget little things. Especially if you’re me. If I try to go to the grocery store without a list, dude, I am fucked three ways from Sunday. I will come home with an armload of jelly beans, Swiss chard, cat food, and Clamato juice. Meanwhile, all the stuff we needed — milk, bread, eggs, uranium for my particle accelerator — is stuff we still goddamn need because I didn’t pick it up.

What the hell am I trying to say, here?

I’m saying, if I can’t remember what the hell I was supposed to do in the kitchen, if I can’t remember a band’s name or that we need to pick up milk, how the crap am I supposed to keep an entire unwritten novel straight in my head? Short answer: I’m not. And neither are you.

My name is Chuck Wendig.

Well the question is: is the constantly changing aspect of the ‘pantsing’ you experience a bad thing or a good thing in your process?

If it’s a bad thing and you don’t want it to keep happening, then you might find that your writing process requires a little bit more plotting/ planning than you’re doing.

If it’s a good thing and you find that it helps you to improve/ flesh out/ introduce better ideas without having to go stop or slow down your drafting, then keep going and just fix it later.

You don’t need to be strictly a plotter or strictly a pantser, these are just the terms that are used to describe two general, common approaches to drafting. Most people probably use some blend of the two to different degrees.

If you find you want to plan the main story, but let your character arcs get figured out on the fly, then sure, whatever works for you.

If you plan your protagonist’s emotional arc, and let the rest of the narrative work itself out around that, then sure, whatever works for you.

If you plan a few key scenes and the rest just comes out however it comes out, then sure, whatever works for you.

If you meticulously chart out the plot and characters, but figure out themes and motifs as you go, then sure, whatever works for you.

The number one most important thing is that your approach enables you to tell the story you want to tell, in the most effective and/ or satisfying way that you can tell it, and with the least amount of angst (for you, the writer. The characters, of course, may have as much angst as you feel is needed).

If the ‘things change as I go’ part bothers you, then you might consider making notes as you go, so that even if you’re not planning things out ahead of time, you can at least give yourself a quick-check for stuff that you’ve established in the story. You could give each character a page in a notebook and keep track of important things you’ve established about them, or note down at least the gist of where that subplot was intended to go.

In the end, though, the only person you’ve got to think about with this is you. What is going to make the drafting process easier for you. Don’t even worry about the ‘you’ wearing the editor’s hat just yet, because you in an editor’s hat is going to have to go through all of this later and make it work. All you’ve got to do right now is get a draft on the page.