Thread: Pantser, Planner or both

Title says it all in regards to writing and plotting a story. Do you plan it all out, do you make it up as you go along or do you do both?

I sorta do both. I write the outlines for each chapter while making things up as I go alone and when I'm done with the entire story, I'll type up the final draft.

Please explain your own methods if you would.

I do a lot of planning. That said, my plan is not set in stone--it can be added to, deleted from, or rearranged at any time

I try to stay flexible, and not think about things too much.

If I'm not flexible in my writing, it can suffer because I can't work in any new ideas I might have.

If I overthink things, I get bored and drop the story.

I keep a notebook full of ideas, outlines, and plans, but I don't necessarily follow them. It's crazy how much my plans for Stainless Steel changed during its run.

If anyone I know comes along and sees this post, they will most certainly agree that I'm a planner. I've spent 4 years planning out a fanverse, the Travelsverse. That's how obsessive I am with planning :L

I like to have a good idea of the storyline before I start writing. Once I begin, I gradually work in all the small details. I've been keeping track of all my ideas for my current piece in a composition book... I'll have to get a new one soon.

Hybrid.

The basic plotline is planned and the general progression of a chapter is usually planned. However, the pathways are done right then and there.

What do you think of doing a set of pilot chapters (three at most for example) before working out the rest of the story?

I get kinda ashamed when people say they plan for ages. When I get a good idea I have it in my head and just start writing.

I'm a master planner.

This really started when I began a weekly webcomic, there had to be a place and role for everything that happened. As the full year would be covered and a rich, deep story would emerge for the faithful readers, while jump ins could get a one-off treat without being left dazed and confused. So I like to plan. I like to have a comprehensive view of the road and events that will transpire along that path. Everything I do in my writing is for a reason, and I believe that leaves the readers having felt they experienced a deeper story than it really was, or even could have been, because of restraints in time or length.

And that attitude has carried over into prose; nuggets of details and information that eventually comes back, and since that nugget had been planted and planned, the reader will already have it growing subconsciously in their minds, leaving the reveal or detail as established foreshadowing. It's just cool and fun, and that happens because of master planning.

I write down a list of goals for each section of my story. Beneath each goal, I write the obstacles to that goal. Beneath each obstacle, I try to think of how it would affected either of my protagonists and write that down. Afterward I'm good to start writing; I've got a bit more flex room. A story written from a master plot outline--an indepth one--can be a thrilling read. Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen fits under that category. I've attempted to use a master outline; however if I accidentally close off any reasonable paths to a piece of the outline, I get stalled. I started pulling my hair and gnashing my teeth. So I'm not ready for a master outline just yet.

When I make a story I usually plan the basic things out. Mostly I plan out the beginning, the end and special plot important moments that I want to reach in between. Of course I also plan the characters but everything else is something that I do as I go, even the things that are planned out from the start tend to change so I'm more of a pantser type for some things and a planner for others.