Panster or Plotter: Which One Are You?

3 Step Exercise to Learn Your Writing Style (And What They Don’t Tell You)

Hello and welcome!

If you clicked on this page, chances are you don't know whether you are a Pantser, or a Plotter.

I should start by telling you that these terms are in reference to writing. If that does not appeal to you, then you may not get the same value out of this post.

All are welcome, though, and- writer or not- you may be interested in learning about the subject.

Maybe, if you are a new writer, you don’t know what it means either.

In any case, I hope to answer all of your questions regarding the topic in this post!

First, I’ll explain what each of these terms means.

Second, I’ll tell you why I think it's important to know where you are on that scale.

Third, I'll tell you my story, and how I came to this conclusion.

Fourth, I'll explain some steps you can take toward finding out which best describes you.

I hope you enjoy!

Pantser: Margaret Atwood

"When I'm writing a novel, what comes first is an image, scene, or voice. Something fairly small. Sometimes that seed is contained in a poem I've already written. The structure or design gets worked out in the course of the writing. I couldn't write the other way round, with structure first. It would be too much like paint-by-numbers."

Plotter: John Grisham

"I don't start a novel until I have lived with the story for awhile to the point of actually writing an outline and after a number of books I've learned that the more time I spend on the outline the easier the book is to write. And if I cheat on the outline I get in trouble with the book."

What is a Pantser?

A Pantser is one term that refers to writers who plan their story as they write it, because they, "Fly by the seat of their pants".

Another way to describe these writers is Gardener, since they let their plot grow on its own.

The last term I will mention here is my personal favorite. That is: Discovery Writer. It takes longer to say Discovery Writer, but it is the most self-explanatory name, in my humble opinion.

Oftentimes, Pantsers find outlining throws off their groove, or otherwise inhibits their process.

Forcing an outline can be detrimental to writers of this mind.

Famous examples: Stephen King, George R. R. Martin, Isaac Asimov, Mark Twain, Earnest Hemingway, Niel Gaiman, Dean Koontz

What is a Plotter?

A Plotter is a writer who has to know where their story is going before they can start on a draft.

The counter term for Gardener which describes a Plotter is an Architect. That’s because they build a framework in the form of an outline, then the draft is filled in from there.

As you may have guessed, my favorite term for this kind of writer is an Outliner, for obvious reasons.

These writers find drafting without a direction to be difficult or impossible to accomplish.

These outlines can get very in-depth, and they carry all the detail the writer needs to feel comfortable going forward.

Famous examples: J. K. Rowling, R. L. Stine, John Grisham, James Patterson, William Faulkner, Sylvia Plath, Arthur Miller

If you’re familiar with the terms already…

You may know all of this already since it has been spoken of often and in many circles. What you may not know, however, is how to find out which one you are.

That is what brings us here today, and I hope I can help you to answer that very question!

Sadly, the answer to the question of which kind of writer you are does not lie in the easy format of a quiz.

Well, that is, it might. But only if you’re a lot more self-aware of your writing habits than I was.

I believe, as a new writer, there’s only one way to find out how you work best: trial and error.

I will try to help you speed that process up, though, with the steps found below.

How does this help?

If you’re anything like me, then discovering your writing style can be the key to unlocking your productivity.

I have written on and off for years, but I've only recently been able to complete the projects I set out to do.

While that may seem like a me problem, I have come to the conclusion that it all boils down to understanding how my brain works best.

If you have tried to write before, but couldn’t seem to get very far, maybe this self-awareness can help you, too.

How finding my writing style helped me.

I was told over and over again that I needed to start with an outline if I was ever going to write a novel.

Of course, I tried to do that, since I had no experience.

And the people who did have experience said that this was the only way!

I started outline after outline, only to scrap the project as soon as I got held up in planning my stories.

This went on all throughout my teenage and early adult years. I couldn’t finish a fleshed-out outline to save my life!

To make up for my failures, I turned to shorter projects, like poems, songs, and short stories.

I loved it!

I could write them all in one sitting, and I didn’t have to worry about an outline, because there was nothing to remember, apart from the initial idea.

That was my focus for a couple of years.

I even went back to the novels a few times, but it never went very far.

I made excuses to myself about not having the time, even though I knew it was a lie. I figured I was just lazy.

Finally, I had had enough.

I had a growing list of ideas that I felt needed to be told in the form of a longer book.

So I knew that I had to push through whatever was holding me back, or else give up on the dreams that I had held onto since I could talk.

That was when I started researching all that I could about how to actually write a novel.

What I discovered was that outlining was not the only answer.

That filled me with such relief, although I still didn’t fully understand why.

Then, I learned about Pantsers and Plotters from Authortube (Authors on youtube, of which there are many).

Still, even though I had this knowledge, it didn’t help me to intrinsically know where I fell on the spectrum.

But it was a start.

From there, I decided that I would give novel writing one more try, without using an outline this time!

I started in August, while on vacation.

This allowed me the time when I didn’t have work to worry about, and I even had help watching the kids!

I started writing a totally new story idea, that I hadn’t gotten the chance to get bored with yet.

Within three weeks, I had about 25,000 words!

That was more than I had ever written in one project before!

I finished the next 25,000 words in the next two months, after getting back home and to real life.

I was ecstatic!

I had completed my very first-ever novel-length project!

And I'd discovered important truths about my writing style.

Now, the actual writing was terrible, but at least I had words on the page for the first time!

That wasn’t the end of this story. I still wasn’t sure yet just how much I needed to not plan my stories. (Can you tell I’m not too quick on the uptake?)

That was solidified when I attempted to draft another novel for NaNoWriMo.

But that’s a story for another time.

Giving up on outlines was the first step to finding out how I can get writing done, even after years of abandoned projects.

In sharing this story (and the advice below) with you, I’m hoping that you can avoid wasting your time the way I wasted mine.

So, without further ado, I present to you some steps to complete which may help determine which writing style fits you best.

Step 1

Start with an idea.

It doesn’t have to be good, It just has to be in your brain.

It can come from a story prompt, a song on the radio, some other external inspiration, or whatever pops into your head.

Here’s a story prompt to help you get started:

"The grass grows blue on this side of the mountain- the side where my dog won’t go."

You don’t have to use my prompt!

It is only here if you don’t have anything else which sparks your interest.

I should mention that you should have enough of an interest in the idea that it will give you something to write about.

But that’s really all that matters at this point.

You don’t need to have much of a clue about where you’re going with it.

In fact, for the purposes of this test, the less of a clue you have, the better!

Before you have a chance to think about the idea too much, move straight into step 2!

Step 2

Start writing.

You can choose different types of projects, depending on where your comfort lies, but I recommend a short story.

That way, you have a linear story to follow, but it will (hopefully) not take too much of your time.

Now, this is where you can start to analyze the way you work.

If you can start writing straight from idea to paper, that’s a sign of being a Pantser.

If the rest of the story starts coming into your mind as you write, there’s a good chance of that being the case.

Or, even if you can only get a little written, but after stepping away, the next scene comes to mind.

But probably not much more than one scene, since Pantsers tend to prefer not thinking too far ahead.

If you can write that straight down, then your answer is the same, for now.

But, if this idea seems too overwhelming to you, you may have to consider that you are a Plotter.

Maybe you have vague ideas, but nothing concrete enough to be put into words.

You have to mull it over for a while and figure out several scenes, jotting down notes as you go.

Or, maybe, you have even figured out the end, but you can’t write any of it until you know what is going to happen in the middle.

If you feel the need to piece together the story ahead of time, then plotting is your strong suit.

So you have an idea of where you stand, that’s the test, right?

But, we’re not done yet!

Whether you can or can’t seem to get anything written, try moving on to step number 3.

Step 3

Make an outline.

I know, I know. I said if you can write without an outline, then do it, and if you can’t, then you know who you are.

But that’s not the be all, end all.

Because for as many different writers as are in the world, there are different writing styles.

That’s right.

Pantsing and Plotting are not where it ends.

There are hybrids of the two, ranging all over the spectrum of writing styles.

Maybe you find that you have a broader idea of what you want to do with the whole story, but you’d rather just write to figure out the smaller details.

Then, you’re a Plantser.

Or, maybe you start by just winging it, but you find that your next step is to arrange all these pieces into a beautiful outline before the next draft.

Then, you’re a Pottser.

This exercise is not meant to place you on one end of the spectrum or the other.

It is meant to help you figure out what methods work best for you.

That’s why I say, whether you already have a draft, or whether you couldn’t seem to get one down, try writing an outline.

If you have a draft, great!

Outline that.

If not, then outline every aspect of your work that you have in your mind.

If this is the answer to pushing through your writer’s block, then congratulations, you’re a plotter!

If this helps you, even though you already figured out most of your story through the first draft, then you may fit into another category altogether….

Behold, the Hybrid!

Famous example: Brandon Sanderson, and many more.

Conclusion:

You are the only one who knows what works best for you.

Stepping out of your comfort zone can either kill your motivation, or it can open your eyes to new possibilities!

Because this exercise is meant to be a relaxed, quick project, hopefully you didn’t have any external stress skewing your results.

That doesn’t mean that you won’t feel differently at some point in the future than how you do now.

For some, the methods they use vary from project to project.

For others, a strict routine is best.

Maybe you’ll want to experiment some more with your writing until you find your groove.

In any case, you won’t know until you write.

Thanks for stopping by!