The Pantser, The Plotter, The Explorer: What Kind of Writer Are You?

I never really thought about what kind of writer I am. As a matter of fact I always felt guilty for not being a good planner, or plotter. I just put my fingers onto the keyboard and transferred the story that was in my head onto the screen. Come to find out . . . I am the Pantser: the one who writes by the seat of her pants. I like it.

The whole planning thing doesn't come that easy to me. Outline? What's an outline? Everytime I do manage to plot it out I seem to veer from my storyline. I feel very restricted when I plan the story though I'm sure there's a little bit of planning going on.

In any case, take a look once again at Terri Main's blog, Education Wants to be Free, where she gives us an indepth explanation of the three different types of writers; The Pantser, the Plotter, the Explorer. Which one are you?

*****

The Pantser's Strengths

The main strength of the pantser is spontaneity. Sometimes writing down a plot outline can limit your creativity. You get a better idea when you are writing, but that means changing the plot outline and shifting around your carefully outlined scenes, so you stay with the original idea and ignore what might be a better approach. Even for explorers, this can be the case. I know where my plot has to get to in a few pages and this would throw off that plan.

Another strength is character-driven fiction. Frequently, "well plotted" novels focus on the action over the character. By that I mean, that the author is thinking mostly about what the characters need to do to make the story work out. The story can easily be forced down the throats of the characters.

Read more . . .

*****