Now, what do I mean by a pantser when I say you could be a plotter or a pantser?

Pantser is a term we use in the writing industry for a person who flies by the seat of their pants—or are, as I like to call them, a discovery writer. They discover the story while they're writing it, not before.

The Discovery Writer's Process

Here are some traits of discovery writers and how the process works for them.

This writer just starts writing…with nothing but an idea for a character, cool setting detail, or interesting plot event. Pantsers often have no idea how the story will end or even what the next scene will include.

This writer may use some of the plotting methods I mentioned earlier during the revision process to fix the structure or add structure to the story.

Advantages to Being a Discovery Writer

You have the freedom to just be creative and see where the story and characters will take you.

Discovery writers also can just start writing as soon as an idea forms.

Disadvantages to Being a Discovery Writer

You'll likely have more to do during the revision process, because parts of the story might not work, or you might have to refine the plot and make connections that you didn't make during the discovery-writing process.

You may need to throw away entire scenes or sections that don't fit anymore. The plot can change on you at any moment when you're discovery-writing, so something you wrote earlier might not even work.

You'll probably have to do more rewriting—scrapping entire scenes or completely reworking others.

The story may wander or meander without a satisfying conclusion.

You may lose track of subplots or complete plot threads.

You may end up devoting too much space to a less-important thread in the story.

Character transformations may not work or be sufficiently supported by other events in the story. For example, in the revision process, if you discover that your character's transformation involves overcoming a fear, but you didn't foreshadow that fear or show the character dealing with it earlier in the story, you'll have to go back in and add those things.

It can be difficult to foreshadow when you don't know what will happen later.

Just a quick note on foreshadowing: Plotters and discovery writers alike will often have to go back and insert foreshadowing during the revision process, because we can't always know we need it upfront. Even if we plot the story, we might not necessarily know some aspects of what will happen, so this can be true for either type of writing process.

Are You a Discovery Writer?

How do you know if you're a discovery writer (pantser)?

This could be you if you enjoy revision, like taking a stone that is roughhewn and forming it into a detailed sculpture.

You might be thinking, well, yeah, but I have traits of both of these. Sometimes, I like to plot pieces of the story, and then I like to discovery-write within that. So, which am I?

You're probably a hybrid writer. In fact, most of us are.

I'm definitely a hybrid writer, but I sort of lean a little more heavily toward the plotting side of things.

The Hybrid Writer's Process

Let's look at how a hybrid writer's process might work.

This type of writer might plot parts or certain aspects of the story, then write, then add to the plot. Or they may plot only a little, then discovery-write the rest of the story. For example, you might plot the major story beats and discovery-write everything in between. Or you might plot your inciting incident and climax, and then discovery-write the rest.

You may plan the plot and discovery-write the characters. Bestselling author Brandon Sanderson talks about this being his method. He uses a detailed outlining process for his plot, but as far as characters go, he might have a vague idea of their motivations and such at the beginning, but he really has to write scenes from their perspective in order to learn who they are. So, he'll fill that part in on his outline as he writes.

You may start with a basic plot or character arc, then discovery-write until you get stuck, then plot to get unstuck and write some more.

Example: My Process

What I will often do when I have a new story idea—whether it’s an interesting character, a strange setting, a cool plot event, or some combination of those—I'll jot down notes and get the idea out of my head and onto the page. Then, I'll start making a vague list of random events or elements that I think might need to occur in the story. This could be three to five events or more. They're not in any particular order, unless I know the order of certain pieces upfront.

Then, I may start writing scenes from the main character's perspective or parts of certain events that I listed earlier. After writing a scene or two, I may stop and try to plot more in-depth. I don't always plan story beats in advance, though I have started trying to do so—to figure out what the inciting incident is, the turning point, the main character's All-Is-Lost moment, etc. (For more on the seven most essential story beats, check out this post.)

Hybrid writers may approach the writing process in many ways.

Advantages to Being a Hybrid Writer

You get the best of both worlds. Plot only what you need to know. Be creative and free within that framework, then plot more as you need it.

It gives you the ability to do as much or little of each type as suits you best.

You may feel you have more flexibility within the plot framework than you would if you were a strict plotter.

This process keeps the story on-track to minimize throwaway scenes and allows for more organic character growth.

Disadvantages to Being a Hybrid Writer

It may be hard at first to decide how much or what parts to plan and what to discovery-write. That's really the only disadvantage I can think of for this type of writing process. You may not know how much you want or need to plot ahead of time, so you just have to wing it.

Are You a Hybrid Writer?

How do you know if you're a hybrid writer?