Plotting vs. Pantsing: Pros and Cons

Note: This post originally appeared on MetaStellar’s Writing Advice of the Week column.

One of the biggest age-old debates among writers is, ultimately, how much planning you need to do before you start writing a novel. Some writers greatly enjoy plotting, which typically involves outlining most or all of the major details of a story before getting started. Others enjoy pantsing, which is a term for getting some details done but then mostly jumping into writing and seeing where they end up. The question is: which is better?

The truth is that there are pros and cons for each. And there isn’t one type of successful writer. Some writers find it easier to plot everything, while others find it easier to go for it. I’m not here to explain which method is best. However, if you want to learn which method would work best for you, check out the pros and cons of both plotting and pantsing below.

Plotting: Pros and Cons

Let’s first look at plotting. If you look up plotting and what is involved with it in writing, Google might tell you that plotting involves outlining everything extensively. Usually, writers will plot everything from the beginning, middle, to the end, sometimes even scene by scene. This also includes doing background research for building the world and outlining the characters’ personalities. For example, Frank Herbert spent around six years doing environmental research before he started writing Dune.

Writers also use the time to outline and structure their entire novel. This includes using a three-act structure or a “Save the Cat” plot line. It’s also not uncommon for writers to plot everything down to the scenes while also focusing on character traits and the overall development of the plot. But here’s where we get into the pros and cons of plotting. First major con:

1. Plotting too much, or so much so that you don’t allow yourself to deviate from your outline. It’s not a bad thing to outline everything, but if you end up stressing yourself out by trying to stick to the outline, you end up restricting yourself and losing sight of your true goal (making a novel you’re really proud of).

Second major con:

1. Getting stuck when you run into a plot hole. If you’re halfway through your novel and you discover a plot hole, you’ll need to redo the rest of your outline to make up for it. This sets you back because you then spend more time planning rather than writing.

And lastly:

1. Planning so much you don’t write. Some writers plan their world and story so much that they never sit down to write. It’s good to have a plan, but refusing to take the leap means all your work goes to waste. Don’t be afraid to get some details figured out until later.

However, there are also plenty of pros to plotting rather than pantsing, including:

1. Understanding your structure. If you have a good handle on what you want your plot structure to look like from the beginning, then you have a better chance of staying on track and keeping yourself from focusing too much on what’s not important. You get the plot beats down, making it easier to create your full novel.
2. Understanding your characters and setting right away. If you also plot down the details of what your characters are like and also put down some descriptions of your settings, then that helps bring everything together by the time you start writing.

Of course, there is also your other option: pantsing. We talked about the pros and cons of plotting; now it’s time for pantsing and what good and bad can come from that.

Pantsing: Pros and Cons

To start off, I don’t like to think of pantsing as the opposite of plotting. Instead, I think of it more as another way to develop the beginning of your novel. This way might work better for you as a writer, and if you happen to prefer this method over the other, that doesn’t mean you’re “less” of a writer for doing less before you begin.

I do, however, want to start with some cons to pantsing. Like plotting, pantsing comes with some drawbacks if you do too much of it. And by that, I mean when you don’t do enough at all. Let me explain with some cons to pantsing. First con:

1. Not doing any development before you start writing. Like too much plotting, too much pantsing keeps you from gaining a good start to your writing process. You might have an idea put in place, but if you go in without any characters in mind or any vague direction of where you want your novel to go, you’ll risk not going anywhere with the story.

Also, with pantsing, you risk having to go back and fix more aspects of your story when you begin your second draft. Your first draft will be filled with the beginnings of ideas you could have developed more fully if you had plotted a bit more. The second draft then becomes an issue of taking care of all the problems that arose in your first draft. So in this case, pantsing becomes your enemy because it becomes more time-consuming.

However, there are some pros to pantsing, including:

1. Giving yourself a chance to be more creative! If you don’t stick to a strict outline, you give yourself the chance to go in slightly different directions that further develop the story.
2. Less stress when it comes to story development. If you’re prone to pantsing, you are also developing a method that keeps a lot of the stress from plotting away. Some writers find plotting more stressful than others, so going the pantsing route is more suitable in the long run.

When developing your writing process, it’s good to know whether you’re more of a plotter or a pantser. There are pros and cons to both, but finding out which method is best for you will help your writing process loads in the long run.

Happy writing!

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