C. Britt's Blog - Posts Tagged "pantsers"
Pantsers or Planners?
So, if you're an author or you're interested in writing at all, you may have run across the terms "panster" and "planner." Or maybe even some variation, like "plotter" or "plantser" or "plotster." You may be wondering who in the world came up with those words and what they have to do with writing.
Well, I couldn't tell you who came up with those, but maybe I can at least shed some light on what they mean.
A planner (or sometimes they'll be called a plotter) is an author who plans (or plots) a significant portion of the story before they actually start writing. (I mean... You probably figured that out on your own, but I wanna feel special, so just pretend like you couldn't. Okay?)
Now, the term pantser might not be quite as obvious. They're basically the opposite of a planner, though. The pantser "flies by the seat of their pants," so to speak. They're the free spirits of the writing world. They want to just figure it out as they go and just see what happens.
Lastly, there's the plantster (AKA plotster). They fall somewhere in between the planner and the pantser. They're the hybrids. They plan a bit, but they allow some room for spontaneity.
Where do you draw the line between each of these categories? Well, it's pretty subjective. Someone I might look at as a "plantster" might consider themselves a pure "pantser." Another person might consider that same writer as a "planner."
Is any particular style better than any other? Not necessarily. (Although, for me personally, I definitely lean more planner/plantster... I can't even imagine trying to be a true pantser. And I've really gotta wrap this up because I've used these planner/planster/pantser terms so much they're starting to lose all meaning and look fake... So, yeah...)
So, that wraps up my brief lesson on the three different categories of author. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to start plantsing my next blog post.
Well, I couldn't tell you who came up with those, but maybe I can at least shed some light on what they mean.
A planner (or sometimes they'll be called a plotter) is an author who plans (or plots) a significant portion of the story before they actually start writing. (I mean... You probably figured that out on your own, but I wanna feel special, so just pretend like you couldn't. Okay?)
Now, the term pantser might not be quite as obvious. They're basically the opposite of a planner, though. The pantser "flies by the seat of their pants," so to speak. They're the free spirits of the writing world. They want to just figure it out as they go and just see what happens.
Lastly, there's the plantster (AKA plotster). They fall somewhere in between the planner and the pantser. They're the hybrids. They plan a bit, but they allow some room for spontaneity.
Where do you draw the line between each of these categories? Well, it's pretty subjective. Someone I might look at as a "plantster" might consider themselves a pure "pantser." Another person might consider that same writer as a "planner."
Is any particular style better than any other? Not necessarily. (Although, for me personally, I definitely lean more planner/plantster... I can't even imagine trying to be a true pantser. And I've really gotta wrap this up because I've used these planner/planster/pantser terms so much they're starting to lose all meaning and look fake... So, yeah...)
So, that wraps up my brief lesson on the three different categories of author. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to start plantsing my next blog post.
