There are lots of ways to sort writers and one of our favorite ways is to plant our flag along the “plotter versus pantser” continuum. Are you a writer who sits at the keyboard with a ghost of an idea and lets their subconscious take control of the rest, just typing what comes to you? That makes you someone who writes by the seat of their pants, or “pantser” for short. Instead, if you’re a writer who fills notebooks with character profiles, setting descriptions, and story beats for each act, chapter, and scene then you are a plotter. In the wild you can identify the extreme examples of each. The pantser is banging away at the keys in a beret with a cigarette holder clamped between their teeth while the plotter is surrounded by timelines, sticky notes, and maps all color coded by act, character, a major/minor subplot thread.
Which One is Right?
Many writers say there is no best way to write a novel and each approach is equally valid but those people are either pantsers or plotters afraid of catching rabies.
Anyone who knows me will tell you I’m into order and logic. Mr. Spock is my sprit animal. I am solidly Team Plotter and have the spreadsheets, storyboards, and outlines to prove it. Without order, my story mind would bounce between shiny object ideas as the story unfolded and lose cohesion or worse, beach itself in the rough draft phase with no way forward.
I think my characters are wired the same way. I write heroes and villains that think things through, and it’s probably telling that any irrational choices they make tend to come when under the influence of mind-altering drugs or magical spells. (ref: Jasmine in the hareem and Tatiana on the trip to Paradise City) It makes me wonder if I have an impulsive character inside somewhere, just waiting for the right story to show themselves. What would that character look like?
I could use some help. Who are some of your favorite impulsive characters?
