Plotter, Pantser, or Plantser? Find the Best Way to Outline Your Book
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When planning to write a book, how do you begin? Many writing coaches would advise: with an outline! But depending on your writing style, what outlining looks like to you may vary.
The important thing to keep in mind is there is no one right way to plan out your books. But there is a wrong way: and that’s trying to force yourself to adhere to a method that kills your motivation and stops your writing in its tracks.
We don’t want that, so first things first: how do you naturally generate ideas? Writers generally fall into one of following three groups:
Exploratory Writers—also called “pantsers” or “gardeners”—discover the shape of their story and the nature of their characters through the act of writing. The “what happens next?” is their biggest motivation to write. They often feel their muse drives them and that they have little control over what their characters choose to say or do. They tackle research as it comes up, and will clean up plot holes or inconsistencies in the editing phase.
Middle Way Writers—sometimes called “plantsers” (as a cross between “pantser” and “plotter”)—need enough room to explore but at least some structure to guide them. They leap-frog between solid points into the exciting unknown, and then use the next signpost to lead them onward. They need to know where the story is going, but the journey along the way is where the magic lies. Their drafts are typically fairly close to their goals, but may need revision for pacing or tension.
Plotters—also called “architects”—need to have elaborate blueprints before they can write their first word. They do all the researching, brainstorming, and planning up front, often building out point-form guidelines or repeatable structures that tell them not only where the story is going, but the connective tissue between every plot beat, and sometimes even how many words it will take to get to the end. Their drafts are typically very clean, but may need a bit more emotional resonance infused during editing.
Now that you know the general approach you use to write, let’s explore what productive outlining might look like for you!
A Sandbox for the Exploratory Writer
Welcome to the sandbox! Since you need a lot of room to try things out, play with character dynamics, and try different points of view (POVs) or narrative voice, too much structure will box you in and suffocate you.
Instead, your outline may be more focused on gathering themes, moods, tropes, or “vibes.” You might keep Pinterest moodboards, themed music playlists, character illustrations and bios, recipe cards with moments you want to incorporate somewhere, and inspirational media (often non-book sources like video games, movies, musicals, anime, and that one specific Wikipedia article that captured your attention). These are wells you can return to when you need a boost of creativity. They can help you keep a consistent tone for the project or target a specific readership with similar interests.
While writing in your story document, you might also keep additional files for reference that you build as you go. This might include jotting down places you’ve established, timeline details, family connections/history, worldbuilding notes, clues (and solutions), and cut material that you liked but that no longer worked as you drafted further.
You might try keeping a notes document on your phone for when ideas strike you in the grocery store line or late at night. Or, try dictation software to talk your ideas out in real time. It might help to switch your interface; try brainstorming in analogue with your favourite notebook and fountain pen. Since mood is often linked with this creativity style, you might need to curate your writing environment with music, lighting, or beverage choices that get you into the right mindset. You might channel a bad day into a tense scene in your book, and jump back to sweeter scenes when the weather is sunnier.
Because your drafting is likely to be sprawling and meandering, it can be too much to keep in your head all at once. You might go well over word count guidelines and need to cut back. Since you can’t keep everything in your head, you might also find it helpful to build an organic style sheet to keep track of details that will be helpful later when you’re ready for editing, such as spellings for people, places, and terminology, style choices (including capitalization and emphasis), or resources you relied on while writing so you can confirm details later.
Resources
Writing Craft Books: Rather than books that dig deep into specific story structures, you might find it more helpful to read generalist writing craft books. These dig into the mechanics of strong prose, without being too prescriptive. Some options include:
Bird by Bird by Anne Lemott: Part autobiography, part writing habit tips, this self-deprecating and humorous look at being a writer shines a light on how normal the unpleasant parts are so you don’t get discouraged.
The Emotion Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi: A deep dive into character experience and motivation.
How Fiction Works by James Wood: A brief but insightful exploration of why certain writing rules work so you can actively employ them for best effect.
The Kick-Ass Writer by Chuck Wendig: Best practices for improving your understanding of your genre and finding your own writerly voice.
Sin & Syntax: How to Craft Wickedly Good Prose by Constance Hale: Honing your writing skill at the sentence level.
Wonderbook by Jeff VanderMeer: An artistic look at inspiration, creativity, and curiosity.
Writing Prompts: While there’s no single source for writing prompts, you can find lots of options to keep you inspired. There are printed collections if it helps to switch from digital to analogue writing. There are also lots of flash fiction, short story, and warm-up writing prompts available online that can allow you to play with ideas or styles. You might also have a local writing group that you can join where you can participate in writing sprints or writing prompts to keep you motivated.
Zero Drafting: Zero Drafting is the act of telling yourself the story. This is a less-structured way to outline while still enabling an exploratory writer to figure out where their story is going and (hopefully) prevent themselves from getting written into a corner. It can be as brief or as elaborate as you like, and can weave in and out of narrative and point-form notes. For instance, it might include “planning” like the following:
“I’d never do that!” she protested [[[and then have her slip up and reveal a secret TBD]]].
[[[Put a fight scene here. Bloody, but not gory, and Cameron comes out on top. Some romantic tension??]]]
[[[Research the specifics for the gene splicing process during the early 2000s.]]]
The goal of this style of drafting is to keep enthusiasm high and to not let sticking points slow you down or keep you from writing. It works best for writers who need to get the idea down so it doesn’t erode, writers who like jumping around within the narrative, or writers who like to flesh things out after the fact.
Loose Structures for the Middle Way
When you’re a Middle Way writer, you need enough freedom and flexibility to be pleasantly surprised by where the writing is going while still being able to gauge how much progress you’re making. This means a loose structure will often be most helpful, though how loose will vary from writer to writer (and sometimes from book to book!). You’ll likely be able to use many of the approaches and tools from the Exploratory style, but you might also find you need a bit more framework to keep you motivated (especially through the “soggy middle” of your book!).
Depending on your genre and topic(s), a beat sheet might be helpful. This can be as simple as a series of plot points you want to hit, like:
Inciting Incident ► First Conflict ► Rising Action ► Climax ► Denouement.
It can also be character focused, like:
Who?
What do they want?
What/Who is standing in their way?
What’s at stake?
How can they overcome their challenge?
How do they change by the end?
You can even have a list like this for each main character and villain.
With either of these loose guidelines, you have the ability to brainstorm both forward and backward. You can look at what the repercussions might be from a choice or action your characters take. You can also look at a later plot point (for example, a character needs to get to a new location, find a specific tool, or meet a certain person), and ask what needs to happen in order for the character to be ready for that beat. That can help you find solutions of how to progress your story in more organic ways.
When you’re losing steam or getting stuck, it’s likely because you need to solve a problem in your plot. This could be when you need to try different solutions in a separate document to help grease the wheels. You can also look to some of your favourite books in the same genre to see how other authors handled a similar transition. You can also look ahead in your plot points and work on a different section that you already know clearly, and return once you’ve worked it out.
Try keeping a checklist, either based on the stages of the writing process (act 1, act 2, etc.) or by chapter. You can also try setting yourself acceptable word-count ranges for your chapters to ensure you’re reaching the key points you need to hit without getting too side-tracked. It might help to leave yourself bullet point notes in each chapter or section for the key moments, information, or emotional beats that should be covered at that point in the story; this allows for flexibility if the points take two chapters to cover instead of the initial one you planned for. Conversely, you may find that you can condense your initial trajectory if you’re able to cover more points than anticipated—especially if you’re able to easily shuffle around your scenes or chapters if you realize a better flowthrough while drafting.
Resources
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Writing Craft Tips: You likely want to understand the general patterns in books without adhering too strictly to a full outline. You might like mashing up different genres, or like learning the rules of writing so you can consciously break them.
The Anatomy of Genres: How Story Forms Explain the Way the World Works by John Truby: A dive into how different techniques work better (or worse) depending on the genre expectations and intended audience.
On Writing; How Not to be Boring by Delilah S. Dawson: A tongue-in-cheek blog post with general tips for working through a novel from start to finish.
Steering the Craft by Ursula K. Le Guin: A masterful and non-prescriptive look at how to hone your approach to storytelling in all kinds of writing.
Motivational Tools: You likely need a bit more structure in your planning materials, rather than in your manuscript. Here are some helpful ways to keep your ideas organized while writing.
Dabble Writer: A flexible cloud-based writing tool that enables you to store your inspirations, planning, and writing projects in one easy-to-access interface.
Focus Friend: An app to prevent you from getting too distracted on research stints.
Aeon Timeline: A simple tool to help you plot the sequence of events in your story.
Trackbear: A tool that enables you to track your writing progress over a customizable span of time by hours worked, chapters completed, or words written. You can also invite fellow writers to gently compete and so hold each other accountable.
Trello: A tool that enables you to create checklists, labels, store images, text, etc. Can be a great supportive tool for story brainstorming details or tracking progress.
Process Methods: Consider these beat structures and organizational techniques that can be applied to any genre.
The MICE Quotient by Orson Scott Card (explained by Mary Robinette Kowal): A simple breakdown of the 4 types of story (Millieu, Inquiry, Character, Event), now to nest them for satisfying results, and a simple equation to give you the general length for your chapter/story.
The Pixar Story Spine: An 8-step plot progression that is flexible enough to fit any genre or length of book. While this is based on animation, the technique also works as a starting point for books.
The Story Circle by Dan Harmon: An 8-stage cyclical structure that enables you to technically start your story from any point, so long as you finish it back at the point you started from.
The Snowflake Method by Randy Ingermanson: A brainstorming technique that starts at a core concept and follows a series of what-if questions to expand out the possibilities and connections of your disparate plot points.
Structured Outlines for Plotters
And now we get to you, our diligent Plotters! Plotters need to be highly organized and prepared to feel able to dive into writing. Nothing gives you writer’s block faster than not knowing what happens next. You simply can’t skip ahead if you don’t know how the dots connect, the cause-and-effect, and the ways the character feels or has evolved by that point in the story. You want a roadmap to follow, and you want all the beats along the way slotted in for maximum effect.
Whether writing a genre that requires a great deal of research (like historical fiction, hard scifi, or technological heist) or working in a genre with strict audience expectations (like romance, mystery, or early reader), the structure of your book can likely be broken down to a tried and true formula. By understanding that formula, you jump-start your ability to write the necessary beats, like the “meet-cute” or the “third-act break-up.”
While some Plotters want to know absolutely everything before they start writing, running into a block doesn’t need to be cause for panic. Try backing up and rereading the last bit you wrote to pick up the thread, or check your outline for what needs to come next. Once you’re oriented, you’ll have an easier time tackling the current scene. Assessing your writing for repetition, tension, pacing, or dialogue can help you reorganize, condense, or cut scenes that you know for a fact aren’t working.
Making major changes to the outline late into the writing process can cause big domino effects, but the Plotter can often follow those interconnected threads more easily by having your manuscript tagged for key themes or characters.
Using tools that enable you to track the number of appearances of certain characters, the frequency of certain POVs, word-count trackers for the ideal length of each chapter, or ensuring the ways your chapters start and stop has enough variance will help transform a formulaic plan into a living and breathing book that feels complete. You might find you write through your outline in layers: starting with point form descriptions of scenes, then adding in setting details, then adding in dialogue, then adding in emotional beats. You might find you work on all of the POVs of a specific character first to keep that narrative voice and character progression cohesive before going back and filling out scenes from a different POV. You might find it easier to start with the solution and work backwards. Once you know where every scene needs to slot in, you can more easily work out of order with an outline robust enough to keep you on track.
Resources
Structured Plot Outline Books: These resources tout specific structures that can be replicated time and again. Some are genre specific, so be sure the formula you use fits the needs of your genre conventions and audience expectations.
The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell: A traditional assessment of the “classic hero’s journey” and how these character archetypes and story beats show up across Western literature.
The Heroine’s Journey by Maureen Murdock: An answer to the male-focused hero’s journey, Mudock explores how these storytelling modalities can be better applied to the role of women in stories and as protagonists.
On Writing by Stephen King: A mix of autobiography and writing habits, this prescriptive writing advice from a master of his genre has been a go-to resource for decades of writers.
Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes: If writing romance or romance subplots in other genres, this book takes you through the formula readers will demand if you label your book a capital-R Romance.
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody: Based on the screenwriting book, Save the Cat! by Blake Snyder, here Brody translates the tips for catching reader interest from the first page, developing relatability with the narrator, and how to set up satisfying challenges.
Story Structure Architect by Victoria Lynn Schmidt: An overview of classic story structures from across a wide spread of stories, digging into what makes compelling characters and satisfying conflicts.
Tools: You may need a more complex drafting tool than a default word processor.
Conspiracy Boards: The analogue corkboard with post-it notes and red string has been used by Mystery plotters for decades for a reason. Seeing the ways relationships connect, who had access, was present, or influences certain outcomes can help you not only understand motivations, but also work out tangled timing issues in your plot.
Plottr: An outlining tool to enable you to track multiple plotlines simultaneously.
Scrivener: A robust drafting tool that enables you to tag character appearances, motifs and themes, chapter openers/closes, section length, and link everything to a plotting structure to make intelligent reorganization.
The Slow Knife: While a tabletop game for 2–4 players, it can be worked through with a co-author (or solo) and is designed to explore cause and effect in the Crime genre (with subgenres including historical fiction and scifi) of working backwards from a wronged protagonist to all the people who contributed to their downfall. It can be a great brainstorming tool for working out complex dynamics between your cast.
At the end of the day, a Plotter might find some of the tips for Middle Way or Exploratory writing helpful — and vice-versa. Use whichever tools work for you to tackle your draft. And if, after mashing your fingers into the keyboard, you feel like you still need some help to figure out your manuscript’s shape or content, consider working with a book coach to help you reach the finish line.
You can always work with others to hone your draft into the shape you intended, but first you need to get it written down. To quote Scott Adams: “Ideas are worthless. Execution is everything.” So, lean into the level of outlining that works best for you, and write your book.
Astra Crompton (she/they) is an eclectic writer, editor, and illustrator with over twenty-five years of publishing experience. Her work has been published in anthologies, table-top RPG books, magazines, and in several novels. They have also successfully completed NaNoWriMo six times and counting. Astra is currently the Editing & Illustrations Coordinator at FriesenPress, where they manage, coordinate, and vet FriesenPress’s industry-leading editing and illustrations teams.
