Are you a Plotter or Pantser?

I’m both. I dutifully outlined my first book, An Unexpected Death, because that was what I thought I should do. But when the characters were developed and decided to take over and change the plot lines, my outline became obsolete, and I became a Pantser.

What’s the difference? A Plotter is someone who outlines the entire book, which provides them with a road map of how the story will flow. A Pantser is someone who hovers their fingers over the keyboard (or has pen and paper at hand), and just starts writing, letting the words, characters and plot lines develop.

For my second book, Fatal Dose, just released, I decided to be a Pantser. When I had a couple of plot ideas and character bios written, I sat down and typed.

It didn’t work. I spent too much time going places with the book that resulted in dead ends. I had to backtrack, cut out a lot of text, and start in another direction. It was very frustrating and cost me a lot of time.

In starting the third Caitlyn Jamison mystery, I am back to being a plotter. The outline is in three acts, with scenes within each act. Each character action is delineated by a bullet point. I am able to move the characters through time and actions in order to get a good flow for the story. As I drill down into the scenes, I’m able to move things around if they no longer fit. If I need more information about something I put that issue in bold font within brackets. At the end of the document I made notes about the plot lines and characters. One issue I need to work on is to give Caitlyn’s mother a stronger personality. She was never fully developed in the first two books.

Every writer has to try different ways to be organized. I’m glad I tried both and sometimes it is a combination of ways that fits. Whichever way you decide to write, enjoy the process.