Blog
There’s No Right or Wrong Way to Write Fiction
Pantsers, planners, and plantsers are all welcome and getting it done.
When it comes to writing, especially fiction, there’s endless debate about how to do it right. Beyond things like word counts, time spent daily, and other considerations, there’s also the process you work by.
I’ve written about this before, but I think it’s worth taking a fresh look. When you sit down to write fiction, there is no right way, nor a wrong way. Got an idea? Have a story from your imagination you desire to share with the world? Put it on the page or screen however you can.
While there are lots and lots of ways to do this, there are three primary ideas for how to put your ideas onto the page or screen. These include writing as a pantser, a planner, or a plantser. (For the record, I made up none of these names. They’re commonly known among the writing community.)
None of these represents the One True Way™. That’s because there is no One True Way™. There is no right or wrong way to write fiction (or, when you get down to it, anything at all). But when you analyze how it gets done, and the idea becomes words, then sentences, then paragraphs, pages, chapters, and ultimately stories, the how tends to follow one of these ideas.
So, let’s take a look at these three ways to write fiction.
You can write as a Pantser
In my experience, nearly everyone starts as a pantser. An idea pops into your head, and you start to write it. Once you begin, however, you might or might not move in the direction of a planner. More on that later.
The pantser writes by the seat of their pants. Hence, pantser. They sit at the page or screen and write what comes to them. Before long, they might have something moving toward a creative work. That might or might not be a chapter in a book, a more detailed idea for something, or random notions and scenes that will take form later.
The pantser writes. This was how I wrote my unfinished fantasy series, The Source Chronicles, as well as the first 4 of the 5 Void Incursion novels. The first chapter of Seeker, which only appears in part as a flashback now, was written while I was bored at my job in 1998 or so.
Writing as a pantser is also referred to as being a discovery writer. You do the work and discover the story along the way. Maybe you have most of the idea in your head. Or it might be just a concept you’ll work out as you write. This tends to be relatively formless and super free.
That drives some writers crazy. The freeform write-as-you-go without a plan can feel disjointed, directionless, and wild. For those writers, there’s another option.
You can write fiction as a planner
For a long time, I thought that writing as a planner had to be incredibly stifling. How could you plot out so much of your work and still flow when you sat down to do it?
Turns out, I had the wrong impression of what being a planner looks like. First, how much you plan is variable. Some planners only plan the primary plot. Others plan primary, secondary, and tertiary plots, maybe themes, and other generalities for their story. Some who write fiction as a planner develop a chapter-by-chapter plan for their book.
This level of planning can still be mostly a detailed overview. The basic ideas for what will occur in the chapter, maybe which character’s perspective it’ll be told from, and other important bits. This can, however, take an even deeper dive.
Some planners include sentences and dialogue that come to them as they plan inside the plan. Then, when they write the story itself, they have aspects of it done but simply in need of placement.
Again, there’s no right or wrong way to do this. Planners work with whatever degree of detail makes the most sense for them and the story they’re telling.
I began writing as a planner when I created my Forgotten Fodder clone, crime, and conspiracy sci-fi series. Why? Because I had the basic notion of post-war clones being second-class citizens, and as I started to build that reality, I found a desire to plan it before I wrote it.
Rather than stifle or limit the creativity I had writing a pantser, I found writing as a planner allowed me to form a clearer plot, focus on themes, and drive the story with fewer meandering bits.
Not feeling like these fit you? Let’s address the hybrid option.
You can write as a plantser
Given that most extremes exist with a vast, wide, and deep middle between them, it probably comes as no surprise that such exists between writing as a pantser and writing as a planner. This is often referred to as a plantser.
Some planners find that if they stray from their plan along the way, they need to go back and replan. When you write fiction or nonfiction, if you lose the point or take a side-quest, that can happen. In fiction more than nonfiction, characters and situations might not go exactly where you envisioned them to. The plantser goes with this, and even relishes in it.
Before you know it, the plan gets altered. The character that was going to do “X” unexpectedly does “Y”. Your big bad turns out to be something else, and you craft a new one. A subplot emerges that you didn’t plan for but feel a burning desire to pursue.
The plantser not only accepts that the plan is merely a guideline, but embraces it. A plantser might create a relatively detailed plan, but deviation from it excites and drives them rather than scares and halts their work.
Given that there is no One True Way™ to write fiction (or most anything, really), it’s good to see that all of these are flexible and none are set in stone.
What if you’re not sure about any of these and how they fit you, and still desire to write? Don’t let that stop you.
Driven to write fiction? Go for it!
For some people, the act of sitting down at the screen or page is daunting. Planner, pantser, plantser, it doesn’t matter. The how of moving the idea from your imagination to a tangible medium has stymied many a would-be author from becoming a published writer.
When I previously wrote about creating the discipline to write, I explored setting time and word counts that both a full-time and part-time writer can employ. But since, once again, there’s no One True Way™ to write fiction, it all comes down to making the time to sit at your page or screen and get the words out of your head.
Even as a full-time writer, with a plan in place, there are days when this is not easy. I sit here, staring at my screen, and allow any distraction that comes to mind interrupt me. Oh, I should play with the cat. Hey, I gotta pee. While I’m up, I’ll do that thing I meant to do but didn’t. Is that my stomach growling and the fridge calling my name? When was the last time I checked my email, Discord, or Messenger?
Pantser, planner, or plantser, the challenge is the same. Make the time, do the work, be a creative force. Imagination takes different forms for different people, and how you express yours might vary wildly from how I share mine. But if you write fiction, the first and most important step is to create the time and space to write.
Looking for support on your ongoing or not-yet-begun journey? I might have some suggestions for that here.
Thanks for reading. As I share my creative journey with you every week, please consider this: How are you inspired and empowered to be your own authentic creator, whatever form that takes?
You must be logged in to post a comment.