In truth, there are probably as many plotting methods as there are writers on the planet. Still, I believe there are five major boxes within which most writers fit. I’ve talked about some of them here on the blog before.
Plotter
Many writers prefer to think through the entire story before they start writing. They may write character bios, do a lot of research, create extensive worldbuilding, and lay out the plot from start to finish in some sort of outline. Here’s how one writer plots.
Pantser
Seat-of-the-pants writers prefer to be surprised as they write. They figure if they know the whole story in advance, there’s little appeal to writing it all down. They write to discover what happens.
Others say that pantsing is an elaborate form of plotting. Instead of piecing together small bits of information to create a whole, pantsers write out everything they know. Their first draft acts as a very detailed outline from which they can write the next draft, adding, subtracting, and tweaking scenes as required.
Tweener
Some writers fall in between plotting and pantsing, and do a simplified amount of plotting before turning their muse loose to fill in the blanks during first draft. Different writers will find differing amounts of plotting useful, depending on where they are in the plotting-to-pantsing spectrum.
Tweening (tweenering?) is my method as described here. Note that I didn’t choose this method—it chose me.
Headlighter
Writing by your headlights simply means that you plan the first part of your story then write it. When you get that section written, you’ll be able to see what happens next and can plot out the next few scenes or chapters. Once you’ve written those, you’ll be able to determine what comes next, section by section, all the way to the end.
Looking back, I wrote my first novel this way. I’d done some planning, but quickly realized I didn’t have enough plot to run for 80-100K (the length of an average novel). Once I ran out of plot, I thought up some more stuff to happen then wrote it. Rinse and repeat.
Because I never had a good grip on the end result, I felt as though the whole story was a failure (other than achieving my word count goal, no mean feat in itself). And therefore the method was a failure for me. Since then I’ve discovered that with a few minor (tweener) modifications, this is exactly my best process. It took me ten more novels to figure that out, much longer than it needed to.
E. L. Doctorow summarized the headlighting method this way: “It’s like driving a car at night. You never see further than your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.”
Tweetables
- FIVE plotting methods for fiction? And you thought if you weren’t a plotter, you were a pantser. click to tweet
- What do these have in common? Plotter, pantser, tweener, headlighter, polisher? click to tweet
Polisher
Although I believe few writers land in this camp, it’s a valid method for those who need it. It’s doubtless the slowest method of getting to the end of a first draft but, in theory, subsequent drafts are quick and relatively painfree.
A polisher tests the story with every step. Unlike a pantser who gives over to the freedom to write whatever comes to mind or a plotter who decides it all ahead of time, a polisher will write a scene then analyze it. Is it good enough? Does it work with the previous scene(s)? How can it be made better? What needs adding or changing in previous chapters to facilitate this new revelation? Only when everything previously written is polished and perfect is this writer ready to move to the next scene.
At a glance, it seems this type of writer is a perfectionist and may be keeping their intuitive right brain on a short leash. However, all directions remain viable at any given time, so the polisher can move the story wherever feels right on the solid foundation she’s already built. It’s a more methodical way of pantsing, with fewer big issues to deal with at the other end. An editing pass, and it’s probably good to go.
Embrace the way that seems to work for you and tweak it rather than throwing out the entire plotting method and experimenting with its opposite. You can learn to write effectively with fewer wasted novels than I did.
What is your plotting method? Does this list open your eyes to new possibilities?
I am SO a polisher, but had never heard the term until I read this. Suddenly, I feel validated. LOL! Great article here.
Validation: that’s what we’re all about! ;)
Me too! I felt so insecure about my method! Thank you so much!
You’re welcome. I know it’s freeing to know there is no “one true way” to write fiction. Nor even only two true ways. Whatever works… works.
I agree with the other commenter. You’ve stated so eloquently what I’ve never had a term to describe. Polisher.
This probably sounds like a cop-out, but I don’t think I am one of these at all – I think I am all of them. Depending on the story I am writing, along with my familiarity with the character traits, setting, and plot dynamics I may be working with, I could see myself in any five of these at any given time. Of course, I am with the other commenters, I feel much better about my need to be a polisher on occasion. This doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that I part Polish, right? :-) Thanks for sharing and best wishes for an inspired day!
That’s a great take-away, Dave. I think the biggest point I was trying to make is that we’re not all just plotter or just pantser. There are other ways to get a first draft, and they’re equally valid, so long as they work… for you… this time!
I’m finding I write more as a polisher lately than I used to.
Hahah I’m a polisher. I’m having trouble with my own story, but with my fanfiction, I write and edit six chapters during the week (one for each of my current works) and then post them all at once on saturday.