Are You a Plotter, Pantser, or Something Else Entirely?
I’m in the nightmare stage of revision. Upon receiving the manuscript from my Developmental Editor, I’ve hit the resistance stage of digging in and making the revisions needed. So I wanted to take time to really try to understand why I’m moving so slow through this stage.
We’ve looked at what happens when you reach that final 25 percent of your draft, why an imperfect ending is still an important accomplishment, and why giving your manuscript some time to cool before you start revising can be so helpful.
We’ve also talked about changing your mindset around that first draft and learning how to read your own work without immediately deciding that everything needs to be rewritten.
If you’ve been working through these steps with me, you may be starting to feel a little more prepared for revision. Before we go another step further, I want to explore one more thing that I think snuck up on me and made me run into this block.
It has to do with the way you naturally approach writing in the first place.
You’ve probably heard the terms plotter and pantser before. Writers have been debating the merits of each approach for years. One writer swears by a detailed outline while another proudly tells you they had no idea what was going to happen until they sat down and started writing.
And honestly, I think both can work.
The more I’ve written and talked with other writers, the more I believe that the better question isn’t whether plotting or pantsing is the “right” way to write. The better question is: What kind of writer are you?
If You’re a Plotter
Let’s start with the plotters.
If you’re a plotter, you probably enjoy having a plan before you begin. You may have a general idea of your story, a detailed outline, character profiles, a timeline, scene notes, or perhaps an entire system you’ve developed to keep track of everything.
You like knowing where you’re headed.
There is nothing wrong with that. In fact, having that structure can make sitting down to write much easier. You aren’t staring at a blank page wondering what happens next because you’ve already thought through the possibilities.
But that same strength can sometimes show up differently during revision.
If you’ve spent a great deal of time creating your outline, it can be difficult when the story doesn’t cooperate with it. Maybe a character takes the story in a direction you didn’t expect. Maybe the middle isn’t working the way you planned. Maybe you discover that the ending you had in mind six months ago isn’t actually the best ending for the story you’ve written.
That can be frustrating when you’ve invested so much time in the original plan.
For a plotter, one of the challenges during revision may be learning when to trust the plan and when to give yourself permission to change it.
If You’re a Pantser
Then there are the pantsers.
You may begin with a character, an idea, a situation, or perhaps just the opening scene. You don’t necessarily know where the story is going to take you, and that’s part of what makes writing fun.
You discover the story as you write it.
Your characters may surprise you. A minor character may suddenly become important. A scene you thought would take up a few pages might turn into an entire chapter. You may sit down with one idea and end up somewhere completely different by the time you’ve finished your writing session.
There is a lot of creativity in that process.
It can also make revision a little more complicated.
When you’ve discovered the story along the way, you may finish your draft and realize there are a few things to untangle. Perhaps you have plot threads that never went anywhere, characters who changed along the way, or scenes that made sense when you wrote them but don’t quite fit anymore.
That’s not necessarily a sign that you did something wrong.
It’s simply part of the process you chose.
For a pantser, revision may involve figuring out what story actually emerged from all that discovery and then shaping it into the story you want to tell.
Maybe You’re Somewhere in Between
And then there are the writers who don’t really fit either description.
Maybe you like having a basic outline but don’t want to know every detail. Maybe you know the beginning and the ending but discover the middle as you go. Maybe you carefully plan one book and completely wing the next one.
Your process may even change as you become more experienced.
I think this is where the plotter-versus-pantser conversation can become a little too limiting. We like categories because they’re easy to understand, but writers are rarely that simple.
The way you write is often a combination of your personality, your experience, the type of story you’re telling, and what helps you stay engaged in the process.
And that matters when you get to revision.
Your Writing Style Affects Your Revision Style
Think about the examples above.
If you are a detailed plotter, you may naturally want to begin revision by comparing your manuscript to your original outline. You might be looking for missing pieces, inconsistencies, or places where the story wandered away from the plan.
If you’re a discovery writer, you may need to approach revision differently. You might need to read the entire manuscript first and figure out what is actually working before you decide what needs to change.
Neither approach is better.
They’re simply different starting points.
This is one reason I think writers sometimes become frustrated with writing advice. We hear that we should outline, or that we shouldn’t outline. We hear that we need to write every day, that we need a certain word count, or that we need to know our ending before we begin.
But what works beautifully for one writer may make another writer feel completely stuck. Instead of asking, “What is the correct way to write a novel?” it may be more helpful to ask, “What helps me write a novel?”
Pay Attention to How You Naturally Work
So, as you continue working on your own manuscript, start paying attention to your habits.
When you have a new story idea, do you immediately start making notes and organizing your thoughts? Do you want to know where the story is going before you begin?
Or do you prefer to open a blank document and see what happens?
When your characters surprise you, do you stop and adjust your plan, or do you follow them and figure things out later?
When you reach revision, do you want a checklist and a clear order of operations, or do you bounce around trying to focus on different aspects of the revision process to get a feel for the bigger picture?
There aren’t any wrong answers here.
In fact, you may find that your answers aren’t always the same.
That’s okay, too.
The goal isn’t to put yourself into a box and decide that this is simply “who I am as a writer.” Understanding your natural tendencies is useful because it gives you another tool to work with. Once you know what comes naturally to you, you can also recognize where you may need a little more structure, flexibility, or support.
And that can be especially helpful during revision.
Because revision isn’t just about fixing what’s wrong with a manuscript. It’s about understanding the story you’ve written and figuring out what it needs next.
The way you naturally approach writing can give you some pretty good clues about how to get there.
So, are you a plotter? A pantser? Somewhere in between?
Or perhaps you’re something else entirely. For now, just start noticing.
You might be surprised by what you learn about the way you write.