5 Misconceptions About So-Called “Pantsers” (And How To Get Past Them)
Have you classified yourself, been labeled by others, or labeled someone as a “pantser”? Have you bought into the concept of that otherworldly writer who supposedly writes by the seat of her pants without direction, plot, or plan?
If so, consider what value judgment you may place on the notion that the writer in question is a pantser. Do you believe the writer’s creative process needs to be fixed or changed by having that writer (or yourself) adopt the plotting techniques and writing process of a plotter?
Well, I’m going to toss out a radical notion here: a true “pantser” doesn’t exist in the author community.
What? Yes. You read that right. Before you decide I’m a complete flake and disregard my premise, please read on.
Just because an author does not plot her works linearly, in a detailed (or even semi-detailed) outline or story map, does NOT make an author a pantser. Consider the possibility that the author may be right-brained and therefore visualizes her developing story in pictures. This is a good thing if you are a right-brained writer.
In my opinion, the mythical pantser generally misunderstood by the writing community never becomes an “author,” because she will never finish a book or finish a book cohesive enough to be a quality read. When I hear the term pantser applied to a would-be writer, it’s usually coupled with the notion that the writer has neither a plot nor a vision for her story so she writes helter-skelter.
Consider each of the following:
Misconception #1: Pantsers Do Not Plot Their Novels
Of course they do. They may simply plot them subconsciously–or consciously–in their heads. While being a plotter or pantser actually occurs on a spectrum (one may be more one or the other or somewhere inbetween), a lot of pantsers are visual thinkers. So for them, “seeing” the story in their heads like a movie, or intuiting where the story will go, is as good as writing out an outline (whether simple or detailed). The outline is superfluous and maybe even dangerous (see Misconception #2).
Misconception #2: Writing A Novel the Pantser Way Is Harder
Not if you’re a pantser! In fact, this may be the best well to tell your story. For many of us, trying to outline a story when this isn’t our muse’s natural generative style will stall us. For others, it may ruin the storytelling completely. For this latter group, outlining the story to the end makes us feel as if that story has been told (or finished). Accordingly, we’ll have no more desire to flesh it into a full manuscript. Our muse has moved on.
Misconception #3: Pantsers Will Get Stuck or Leave Lots of Plot Holes
Pantsers (or scene writers or intuitives) do not leave any more plot holes than plotters do. Plot holes may happen, but they’ll be no more the result of how the story creation was approached than writing a book that doesn’t sell because the market didn’t embrace it. Ugh! Dirty words, I know. But suffice it to say, writing a story is a process. And the best way to avoid story issues, including plot holes, is to embrace your unique creation process and hone your craft in a way that nurtures your natural style.
Misconception #4: Being A Pantser Is Not As Good As Being A Plotter
Value judgments about the superiority of one writing style over another are misplaced and can be damaging to a writer’s personal and professional development. It stifles the creative flow and fosters a sense of unworthiness that often leads to an attempt to embrace writing techniques that not only don’t work but also make the struggling writer feel something is wrong with them as a person because the attempt to write the “acceptable” or “plotter” way doesn’t work for them.
This misconception leads to the fifth, and I believe the most disastrous misconception for scene or intuitive writers:
Misconception #5: Pantsers Need to Learn to Plot Their Novels Like Plotters Do
No. No. A thousand times, no! While some pantsers may engage in some form of plotting while in the midst of writing or evaluating certain scenes or movement between acts, becoming a full-on plotter is not necessary or even recommended.
So if you’re a pantser, embrace your visual style. In fact, cultivate it and improve upon it. Not only will your writing flourish, but so will your plot development.
