Plotter or Pantser? Architect or Gardener?
There are two main types of writer. But what are they?
A Plotter or Architect is a writer who meticulously plans their work before they begin to write. They usually have charts of characters personality types and features, maps and lists of the world they have created. Their plan is detailed and thorough.
On the other hand;
A Pantser or Gardener is someone who writes by the seat of their pants, or plants a seed and sees what grows. They often have a beginning and end to their work, but how their characters will get there and what of the world they will see along the way remains a mystery until their pen glides across the paper and reveals all.
As always, both approaches have pros and cons. So let's go into them.
Plotter / Architect
Pro - Cohesive Sense
Since the story is already planned out, you are less likely to have plotholes or unnecessary scenes because you will have found these in your extensive planning stage.
Pro - Less Drafts
This doesn't mean less work. Your various plans do count as drafts, but because you have planned, you will have fewer drafts of the full writing to check as plot holes and unnecessary scenes may have already been whittled out and foreshadowing written in.
Pro - Write Quicker
If you know what you're going to write, in most cases it will come quicker as you don't have to think about the content of the pages before you begin.
Con - Attachment
It's hard to let go of something you've worked so long on, and this is true for unneeded characters and scenes which you may have poured over again and again in your drafts but once written, you realise they're not needed. This is also the case when your characters could take a different route which may be better for your overall story, but then all those hours you spent planning those scenes... well... you see the dilemma. Architects / Plotters can struggle to let go, even if something is a bad idea because how bad can it be if you've spent so long working on it?
Con - Spark
We all get bored, especially if we're working none stop on the same thing. But what isn't perhaps thought about is how this can come across in your writing. If you're not excited about what is happening, why should your characters be? This boredom can come across in your narrative voice and ultimately ruin the experience for your reader.
Pantser / Gardener
Pro - Twist and Turns
There is no plan, so nothing is expected. Anything could happen, and this can lead to some surprising twists and turns. Unlike the Architect, you're not going to suffer from lack of spark.
Con - Uneven
Your story could be diluted or too long. Waffling comes to mind here. An imbalance. Because you haven't got a plan, the start and end of your book could be very different, but also the middle may meander as you're not sure what your characters will do, where they will be or why.
Con - Writers Block
We all suffer from writers' block from time to time, but if you don't have a plan, then it's far more likely to happen. It's like if you have a schedule for the day, you're more likely to get the work done, whereas if your day is free, you may allow yourself to relax a little. Relaxing is good, but the book won't write itself and writers' block requires time to get out of. This isn't to say you won't get writers' block if you have a plan, it just may happen less.
These are both two extremes of writing styles, and if we're honest, most people fall somewhere between the two.
Ultimately, do what feels right for you and your writing. Different genres can fall further one way than the other. I can't imagine the foreshadowing in Sherlock Holmes wasn't planned before Doyle began writing, but who knows. He may have been a very expert Pantser who remembered every detail as he went along, or he had a very painful editing process.
I hope you found this helpful, if you would like to see this information in video format please head to my YouTube channel.
https://www.youtube.com/user/Robynblond09
If you would like to see bookish pictures then head over to my social media pages on
Twitter - https://twitter.com/rjweightman
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/author.robyn.weightman/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/author.robyn.weightman/
Tumblr - https://author-robyn-weightman.tumblr.com/
