Are You a Pantser? I Might Just Change Your Mind.
Everyone who writes usually falls into one of three categories? Which one are you?
I’m a planster.
If you’re new to your writing journey, you might be wondering what the hell a planster is! So in a nutshell, everyone who writes usually falls into 3 categories:
· The Planner: You plan not only the entire book beforehand with an extensive outline but also write an outline for every chapter before writing a single word. You usually don’t stray from your original outline if possible.
· The Pantser: You fly by the seat of your pants and let those words just flow. An outline?? Fuck that. That will hinder creativity.
· The Planster: A hybrid. You plan to a certain extent, making an outline for your novel but not bothering with outlines for every chapter. You don’t mind straying a bit but always have your outline in the wings to help you get back on track. You stop to work on details, character development, etc., as you go along.
If you’re a pantser, I’m not here to hate on your style. You do you, babe. But as a former pantser myself, I see how much I’ve grown as a writer since I started doing (some) planning. I used to be a pantser, through and through. I’m a free spirit, I don’t like feeling boxed in by outlines and want the creativity to just flow. However, I would get overwhelmed and not finish what I started.
Over time, however, and after much research and writing myself, I learned that planning ahead, even just a little bit, can increase your productivity tenfold because you know where the narrative is going.
Your outline is your story roadmap.
Reasons why you should create an outline before you write:
1. Your outline is your roadmap. Plan your ending first to keep the end in mind and stay focused on your characters’ goals, motivations, and arcs. Without it, you’ll wander off onto all the scenic back roads that will inevitably seduce you at some point.
2. Increase your productivity. With a clear direction, you’ll be producing quality work in less amount of time since you aren’t wondering where to go.
3. It directs your research. Every genre requires research, fiction included. Having a plan ahead of time will help you stay hyperfocused on what you need to research so you don’t waste time.
4. It helps with pacing and story structure. Not planning can cause your narrative to spiral into chaos. Having an outline will help keep your story structure in order, as well as help with natural pacing.
5. No more writer’s block. With an outline, you won’t be staring at that dreaded blinking cursor and blank page.
6. It saves you time. Not only does planning help save time in the research stages, it will help you get through your first draft faster, and save tons of time in the editing stage.
Having a great outline helped me undertake an 80K word serial for Mythrill Fiction. Art by Mythrill Fiction.
Having an outline helped me write a sci-fantasy serial (previously published on Mythrill Fiction (currently unavailable as I rewrite it as a novel) and keep up with my weekly deadlines of two episodes a week. I never had to wonder what to write next, because I already knew, saving me so much time in the long run.
But outlines are not etched in stone like the Ten Commandments. About midway through my serial, I changed a huge detail that changed the entire course of the story. Did I freak out? Not at all. I just rewrote my outline and kept plugging away.
I’m still a hybrid — I write outlines before I start any big project now, and it has changed the way I work for the better. But I don’t write extensive outlines for individual chapters (maybe one day — baby steps). I just have a general idea of what each chapter is about using the 30 Chapter Outline.
A screenshot of the 30 Chapter Outline (credit below)
The 30 Chapter Outline
The 30 Chapter Outline is a lifesaver for newbie novel scribes. Writing a novel — or a serial — can feel so daunting and overwhelming at first. But the 30 Chapter Outline is what made me shift from pantser to planster. It’s a basic outline, but it’s incredibly helpful and kept me on track through a 53-episode season (around 80K words, the longest thing I’ve ever written!). *Note: All of the 30 Chapter Outline templates I have found are from Scrivener, but you don’t have to use Scrivener to be able to download it and copy and paste it into your favorite editing software.
Click here for the docx template to get started. (Original credit for this template goes to fellow Medium writer Damien Benoit-Ledoux.)
So all you pantsers out there — I hope I have convinced you to at least try outlining your next project, whether it’s a short story, novel, or anything in between.
Absolutely loathe the idea of planning? Try flash fiction! No planning required.
But no matter what — planning, not planning — you do you, babe.
Just keep writing.
2024 © H.R. Parker. All rights reserved. Originally published in The Fiction Writer’s Den, August 2023.
