Plotter or Pantser?

 There are two ways to write. You can plan meticulously, or you can pull up the blank page and just start writing. Plotting versus pantsing. What kind of writer are you?

It doesn't have to be one or the other, though. What kind of writer am I? I do a bit of both. I like to know where the story is going. I like to know my characters. But I don't have every intricate plot point in the chamber. Some of it emerges as I go. 

Plotting 

Do you write the method way? Character profiles and interviews. Detailed outlines. Research places and settings. Timelines. Chapter plans. Image searches. Mood boards.

Personally, I like the mood board, the character profiles and interviews, and a general outline. That's as far as I take it. I think plotting does have its merits, but it never goes as planned as I want it, and sometimes it takes something from the story when I try to force it on a path it doesn't want to go. 

Planning is fine, but not when it forces a fakeness to the plot. 

Pantser

Open the page and let's get writing. The problem is blank page syndrome. Staring at all the emptiness, a lack of words makes my mind go blank. It's too intimidating. What clears it is when I get the characters' names at the top of the page and can type out where I'm going for the scene. 

No more blank page. No more blank page syndrome. 

A Bit of Both

There's no rule that says you have to be one or the other. You can be both a plotter and a pantser. Take the parts you like from each and apply them to your writing. That's how I do it. I guess what it comes down to is finding the way that writing works for you. 

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