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| Credit images: Wisegeek.com, Theskichannel.com and Dreamstime.com |
Happy Friday! Well, maybe not so happy for me as I’m sneezing, sniffling, stuffed up and coughing. What a way to end my first week of blog posts on Unicorn Bell.
Anyways, there are different types of writers. Not only in what they write but also in how they write their stories. Whether it’s romances, fantasies, science fiction, historical fiction, memoirs or literary fiction. And no matter if it’s middle grade, young adult, new adult or adult. We all have a preferred writing process to the stories we write. And they’re happen to be three process categories fall into.
If you’re a plotter, then you’re architect type. From beginning to end, plotters know how their story will progress. They have outlined and pre-plotted everything. They’ve laid the foundations for which to build their story from. On the downside, it leaves little room for flexibility. And if they happen to get stuck, they return to the drawing board (their outline) and might start anew.
You’re not a plotter? Then you might be on the other side of the spectrum, a pantser. If a plotter is the architect, then the pantser is a daredevil. They sit in front of a computer or a blank page and fly. They dive in head first, letting their imagination splash across the pages. They do not outline. They prefer their characters, scenes, storyline, etc. to unfold before their eyes. Unfortunately, a pantser’s downside is that the story can run amok. With no guideposts to keep the story on track.
You’re not a plotter but don’t think you’re a pantser either? Then you might be like me, who straddle the best of both worlds, a plantser. A plantser outlines and pre-plots yet only have a general idea of how the story begins, climaxes and ends. Like the plotter, they’ll have character profiles/dossiers. Like the pantser, they let their characters have free reign over the story. The writer doesn’t know where the story is going as they take a back seat. And release control to let their characters fuel the story forward. Trusting them in telling their story as it unfolds. And oftentimes, they’d stray away from the outline. For example, the heroine in my current WIP, changed her older brother into her younger brother.
So, which team are you on? Are you a plotter, pantser or plantser? What do you like about being either? Have you ever changed teams before?
