Pantsers and Plotters 

I had a very interesting online discussion recently about pantsers and plotters. There were a lot more pantsers who do very little outlining or storyboarding than I thought there'd be. I'm a pantser all the way. I even wrote the outline for my research papers in college after I wrote the paper if I could get away with it. 

If I had to figure out the details of what was going to happen beforehand, I wouldn't want to write the novel after I got through with the preliminary work. I write, just like I read, to find out what happens. Oh, I know my characters well, because I've lived with them in my head for months. I also know my setting and even researched it if necessary. Most of the time, I've lived in the places I write about.

I see scenes play out in my imagination like in a movie, and these continue as I write the story. I write quickly, because it's thrilling to see what the characters say and what happens. I've written the rough draft of three of my full-length novels in one month. If I had to plot it all out first, it would take the joy and excitement out of it.

However, this doesn't mean that plotting is wrong. It depends on the author. Writers who write character-driven novels tend to be pantsers, and those with plot-driven books tend to be pre-planners. Then some types of novels, mysteries for example, take more plotting than others. You'll find most of your pantsers among romance writers. The best technique is the one that works for the author and his or her readers.

________________________________