Are you a plotter or a pantser? In case these terms are new to you, let me list the definitions.

A plotter is someone who plans their novel before they write it. Outlining their novel before writing is extremely important to these writers.

The term pantser describes someone who “flies by the seat of their pants,” meaning they don’t plan out anything in their story, or plan very little.

At a conference years ago, I was sitting near one of my writer friends, Theresa. When the presenter asked if anyone in the audience would consider themselves a pantser, she immediately raised her hand and pointed to me.

I was not familiar with the term, but she was insistent that it was me.

Reading more into this new term, I agreed she was correct; that is how I wrote at the time.

At that point, I was not familiar with the term, but she was insistent that it was me.

Reading more into this new term, I agreed she was correct; that is how I wrote at the time.

According to a web search, a pantser is a writer who creates their story without a detailed plan or outline, hence the flying by the seat of their pants moniker. This approach allows for spontaneity and creativity, but can also lead to challenges like writer’s block or plot holes.

I have moved on from this terminology to the term plantsers.

This means they follow a little of both the plotter and pantser approach. In reality, most people are plantsers, but some tend to lean heavily to one side or the other.

To be honest, I was not familiar with the term “planters”. If I had come across this term a few years ago, I would still be saying I was a pantser. But as time went on and things changed, I moved toward a hybrid of both.

So there are options on how you write your manuscript. There are pros and cons to both.

Without diving into each in greater detail, where do you feel you fall?

Whatever works for you works for you—just another great topic to discuss among other writers.