There’s a moment every writer faces: the blank page stares back, and you have to decide—do you plan this thing out, or do you dive in and figure it out as you go? The eternal debate of pantsing vs. plotting is older than NaNoWriMo itself, and like most writing advice, the right answer depends on you, your process, and your brain’s wiring.
Let’s talk about what each approach really means, how to know which one fits your creative flow, and what happens when you mix them.
What Is “Pantsing”?
“Pantsing” comes from the phrase writing by the seat of your pants. It’s all about instinct—discovering the story as you write it. Pantsers love the thrill of not knowing what’s next. They write to find out what happens.
If you’re a pantser, you might:
- Feel bored if you already know the ending.
- Hear your characters talking in your head and follow their lead.
- Get lost in momentum and write 3,000 words before breakfast.
- Occasionally hit a wall because you wrote yourself into a corner.
It’s messy, emotional, and exhilarating. But it can also leave you with tangled timelines, contradictory details, and a need for heavy editing later.
What Is “Plotting”?
Plotters, on the other hand, map out their stories before writing. They create outlines, scene lists, beat sheets, or even full story bibles.
If you’re a plotter, you might:
- Love structure and hate surprises.
- Need to see the story’s bones before adding flesh.
- Work best when you know your character arcs and turning points.
- Get paralyzed by over-planning and never start writing.
Plotting gives you clarity, but too much of it can kill spontaneity. It’s like knowing how a magic trick works before you get to perform it.
Which Is Better: Pantsing or Plotting?
Neither.
Both.
It’s not a moral question—it’s a mechanical one. The best method is whichever one keeps you writing.
If you need to feel your way through the first draft, pants it. If you crave direction and hate wasting time on dead ends, outline. And if you’re like most writers, you’ll end up doing a little of both.
Even Stephen King, a famous pantser, revises heavily in later drafts to impose structure. Meanwhile, plotters like Brandon Sanderson leave room for discovery scenes where characters go off-script.
The Hybrid Approach: Plantser Life
Most writers are “plantsers”—they outline just enough to keep from getting lost, but not so much that it kills their creativity. Think of it like using a road map but leaving space for detours.
Try these hybrid tricks:
- Outline after the first draft. Write freely, then reverse-engineer the structure.
- Use loose beats. Sketch out emotional beats and plot milestones, but don’t script every scene.
- Storyboard visually. Use index cards or a digital tool (like Milanote or Plottr) to shuffle ideas as the story grows.
- Ask questions, not answers. Instead of deciding “what happens next,” ask “what would my character do next?”
This keeps your creative brain engaged while giving your logical brain something to chew on.
How to Find Your Writing Style
If you’re still not sure which way you lean, ask yourself:
- Do I get overwhelmed by too many unknowns? → Try plotting.
- Do I lose motivation once everything is planned? → Try pantsing.
- Do I crave both structure and surprise? → Go hybrid.
You can even test it: write one short story as a pantser, one as a plotter, and one as a mix. Notice which one felt better—not which was faster or neater, but which felt alive.
Final Thought: The Only Wrong Way Is Not Writing
Your method will probably evolve over time. The writer who pantsed their first novel might crave an outline for their second. The plotter who once planned everything might learn to trust their instincts more.
What matters is that you get words on the page. Writing is a process of discovery no matter how you start. Whether your map is a color-coded spreadsheet or a gut feeling, you’ll still end up finding your way home—to the story that only you can tell.