(Image by Michael Whelan)
Are you a plotter or a “panster”? A gardener or an architect?
The question comes up frequently in the fiction and fantasy writing community and relates to how an author approaches writing a book.
The simple breakdown of these categories goes something like this: A plotter works with an outline and strongly developed sense of where a plot is leading; A “pantser” works by discovery, writing without an outline so that they can “discover” where the story want to go. Pantsers are also commonly called discovery writers.
A good example follows. Tolkien was best described as a plotter, spending years developing complex Elvish grammars and mythologies, fully fleshing out a world and a detailed plot before embarking on what would become the Lord of the Rings.