To Outline or not to Outline? Pantser (Blitzer) versus Plotter

Writers can be divided into two categories: those who outline and those who do not. The internet likes to call them plotters and pantsers, respectively.

Quick related aside, I always thought the term pantser was strange. ‘Pantser’ is based on the idea of writing from the seat of your pants.¹ However, the first thing that comes to mind when I think of a pantser is someone who likes to pull other people’s pants down. As a writer who has never used an outline, the term ‘pantser’ feels odd and mildly inappropriate for me to be associated with. So instead of panster, I am going to coin the term ‘blitzer’ instead.

Those on the verge of embarking on writing a story might be contemplating on whether to approach the project as a plotter or blitzer. Here is a short list of the advantages and disadvantages of both approaches.

Plotter

Advantages:

• Helps you avoid and address potential plot holes and inconsistencies
• Great for organizing and structuring complex stories with a lot of characters and subplots
• Less time spent on pondering the details and general direction of scenes during writing sessions

Disadvantages:

• Long time to complete an outline
• Analysis paralysis; outlining makes you prone to overthinking which stalls decision-making and writing progress
• Outlines might restrict your creative thinking; less flexibility during writing sessions

Blitzer

Advantages:

• Greater freedom and flexibility to explore different directions and ideas
• Encourages proactive thinking while writing
• Forces you to put yourself ‘in the moment’ of the scene and ‘in the shoes’ of the character(s)
• Greater sense of discovery; you discover the story while writing it

Disadvantages:

• Risk of writing yourself into a corner and hitting writer’s block
• Story is more prone to having plot holes and inconsistencies
• Might be inclined to avoid writing stories with complex, intriguing plots in favor of easier-to-write, simpler ones

Writing as a Blitzer

I am a seasoned blitzer. For the one and a half novels, one novella, and over twenty-five short stories I have written, I did not use an outline for any of them. Like most blitzers, I revel in the adrenaline rush that comes with writing a story on the spot while finding the plot as I go along.

Stephen King and Margaret Atwood are two famous examples of blitzers. Here are two quotes from them offering insight into their creative process:

“I distrust plot for two reasons: first, because our lives are largely plotless, even when you add in all our reasonable precautions and careful planning; and second, because I believe plotting and the spontaneity of real creation aren’t compatible. It’s best that I be as clear about this as I can—I want you to understand that my basic belief about the making of stories is that they pretty much make themselves. The job of the writer is to give them a place to grow (and to transcribe them, of course). If you can see things this way (or at least try to), we can work together comfortably. If, on the other hand, you decide I’m crazy, that’s fine. You won’t be the first.”

― Stephen King

“When I’m writing a novel, what comes first is an image, scene, or voice. Something fairly small. Sometimes that seed is contained in a poem I’ve already written. The structure or design gets worked out in the course of the writing. I couldn’t write the other way round, with structure first. It would be too much like paint-by-numbers.”

― Margaret Atwood

While I cannot speak on behalf of all blitzers, for myself, I will say the process is not entirely spontaneous. Before I start writing a story, I usually have a scene or two somewhat fleshed out in my head along with a general sense of the premise, desired tone, and general themes/topics. Sometimes, I know beforehand what to write for the beginning of the story but not the end or vice versa. Or sometimes, I will have the middle of the story fleshed out while the beginning and end are still up in the air. As I sit down to think and write, however, the missing pieces seem to fall into place themselves. Not always perfectly, but they fit well enough into a coherent whole.

I will also point out that I specialize in writing short stories, for which I believe a blitzer approach is well-suited due to their brevity and simplistic nature. I am not particularly proud of the novels and novellas I wrote in the past and believe they would have benefitted from a thorough plan. As such, if I ever attempt to write longer works in the future, I will strongly consider making an outline for them beforehand.