Planner vs Pantser: A Brief Personal Look at My Writing Process.

Copyright © Mark R Kelly 2025

People who write within the sphere of storytelling, tend to do so in one of three ways, or methodologies. Not all writers share the same objectives or writing aims. For clarity, I will be talking specifically about fiction writers, not poets.

However, the writing of fiction has, within itself, multiple disciplines and formats, of which are listed below. Some writers have zero interest in creating a novel, but rather focus on short stories, whilst others prefer the faster, more dynamic flash fiction, and then you have those writing behemoths who aim for the epic, such as George R. R. Martin.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the most common fiction forms and their typical word counts:

1. Microfiction:   Under 100 words.
2. Drabble:         100 words exactly.
3. Flash Fiction: 100 - 1,000 words.
4. Short Story:    1,000 - 7,500 words.
5. Novelette:       7,500 - 17,500 words.
6. Novella:          17,500 - 40,000 words.
7. Novel:             40,000 - 120,000+ words.
8. Epic / Saga:    120,000+ words.

With that out of the way, and a better idea as to what categories of work a person/writer has before them as a means of telling a story, the next part is more curious especially as I was blissfully unaware of it until quite recently. A subject touched upon in a podcast I was listening to regarding the "craft of writing".

PLANNERS & PANTSERS:

Planners are writers who outline every beat before they start, often taking weeks, months, sometimes longer, before an actual word of the story appears on screen/page.

Pantsers are writers who dive in and figure it out along the way, almost allowing the story to 'write itself' - a better term would be to say, 'organic'.

And then there are those who live in the messy middle, that third category of writer I'd call the Planning Pantser. This is where I fall if I had to plonk a label on myself and my writing approach.

As an example, here are two famous writers that fall into each category. 

J. K. Rowling is a massive Planner and took years planning out her 'Harry Potter' world in great detail. Whereas Stephen King openly admits to being a Pantser, often stating how he'll throw a character into a situation to see how things turn out. Zero planning.

WHERE I FIT - THE PLANNING PANTSER:

As for myself, and why I place myself as a combination of the two:

1. I can be lazy. Planning smacks too much like hard work and dedication. To my mind it feels as if I'm doing double the amount of work. Being lazy is never a problem when you acknowledge it, it's when folks refuse to accept the fact they are lazy, the problems arise. Knowing your flaws and faults doesn't undermine you, but serves to make you stronger. You adapt and develop strategies to work around such issues. The individual in denial never moves past that point and will always be in denial about it.
2. I get bored easily. I need to feel momentum. Moving forward in a project keeps my mind buzzing, fresh and alert. The moment momentum gets slowed or tangled up in something technical, boredom has a danger of creeping in and I lose interest. I view it like target practice - if I only have one target I get bored. Multiple targets and my mind is afire. It thrives.
3. Days as a DM (Dungeon Master). My time running my homebrew sessions are the backbone of the writer I am today. A mix of planning - dungeons, NPCs, scenarios, story lines, plots - and the actual running of the session, which leaned heavily into that 'organic' aspect of allowing players to 'create' the game narrative with their actions and decisions.

In terms of my own writing, I've worked on stories ranging from the category list above from 1 - 5, now pushing towards my first novel. 

WHAT MY PROCESS LOOKS LIKE:

My own process draws heavily from my past DM planning experience. I have constructed a map of the story city, which has gone through multiple re-designs and re-draws, then creating the zones, districts and place names. 

I've created a book for scribbling down ideas, thoughts, sketches - technology, vehicles, buildings, weapons, etc - and even dialogue, slang, quotes and sections describing the environment, what happens there, inhabitants, quirks, law, crime, to name but a few.

That is me as a Planner. 

When it comes to the actual writing, I like to let my ideas flow. Let my characters breathe, interact and react. I delight in visualising the interactions and conversations, then giving characters free rein. It keeps my imagination and creativity fired and fuelled. 

Granted, some of the directions I traverse with them are not always ideal, and at times unexpected. And that's the gold you discover. Moments and scenes that quite literally write themselves. You become lost in the visual running through your imagination, and when it's run its course you're looking at several pages, sometimes more, of writing that you don't always recall doing.

That is me as a Pantser.

Sounds strange, I know. But how many times have you driven a familiar route and there are sections you don't even register in the journey, and before you know it you've reached your destination. Same thing, but far less dangerous.

Some writers sit down with a page count or word count in mind as their goal for their working day. I can't do that. It turns something I derive great satisfaction and pleasure from doing into a daily grind. Too much like working in a boring office grinding out file-after-file on a computer.

No way, not ever. That would shut me down in a heartbeat. If I manage five-to-ten pages, great. The thing to bear in mind, the writing format has to be double-spaced lines of text, so whatever your end-of-day page count is, realistically, halve it due to the double-spacing. Becomes a bit more sobering if you've only hit four pages in a day, and the reality is, in print, that's only two pages.

WHEN THE WORDS DON'T FLOW:

You get your good days and your not-so-good days when it comes to writing output. The trick I am slowly discovering is not to feel bad, guilty or frustrated about it. No good comes from that, and it serves no purpose.

If the words don't flow, change direction. Look to maybe drawing something from your story, be it a character, a location, or even a room layout or map of the local area. Do anything that still engages your imagination that's tied into your story. Give yourself permission for creative distraction. Hell, even take the dog for a walk - I know from my own experience that ideas pop into my head far more freely and readily when outdoors, breathing in the fresh air and stimulated by the beautiful vista of Mother Nature - the trees, meadows and running river.

But that's me, in brief, and how I am as a 'writer' - and yes, blogging is also another alternative to keeping your mind bubbling.

Feel free to share your own experiences, if any. Conversation is always welcome.

I now leave you with The Lumineers - "Ophelia". Enjoy.