Are You a Plantser?

I don’t know if this is a term but it’s how i describe my writing approach. Aside from absorbing all I could from staple advice on the trade, from such authors as James Scott Bell, Jessica Brody, KM Weiland and others, it’s taken me a few years to develop my approach to the point that I can easily write all my books under this process.

The term plantser for me stands for Planner and Pantser. After I get an idea that is viable enough to fill a novel, I begin creating a timeline based on the percentages I need to hit for each section of my book (to learn more about these percentages check out KM Weiland’s blog on the secrets of structuring your novel at Helping Writers Become Authors.) For this timeline I write a brief description of what I need to happen at each plot point; being as specific as I can. Once I have this created and completed, I spend some time thinking about my characters, what they want, who they are and their world. When I am comfortable enough with where I am taking them, I begin to write, being careful to stay WITHIN THE PARAMETERS OF MY PLAN. This gives me the freedom to ‘pants’ – meaning let the story go where it wants – but within limits. That way I don’t allow my characters to go off somewhere into left field as they are wont to do. I get the story written faster because I know where I am going, and I can also enjoy the ride, not knowing exactly how it’s going to play out, if that makes sense.

Tell me, are you a plantser, too?