Q: Are you a PANTSTER or a PLOTTER?
A: For those of you unfamiliar with these terms, writers identifying as pantsters write “by the seat of their pants”, while plotters plan everything before putting proverbial pen to paper. I’m a little of both, a plantser, if you will. Which makes sense, I’m primarily an historical fiction writer.
For the history narrative in my stories, I don’t deviate from well-known dates and facts. I research, then I create a timeline of dates and events, including essential locations and people, before I ever start the first draft. In this regard, I’m a plotter.
But I write fiction! For this, I just let my mind roam into the crevices of the primary documents, and find the stories and characters hidden within the facts. I listen to the voices, hear the dialogues, take notes on the personal tells and jealousies. While I do adhere to my historical timeline for well-known dates, I fudge dates that are more speculation than fact. When writing the fictional component of my stories, I’m a pantser on the first draft. Key: first draft.
The revisions, multiple drafts, require me to be a plantser. I need to keep the fictional component the focus while staying true to the history. Because of this, some lesser known dates and events may be compressed to adjust for pacing. Or an event may be eliminated because it serves no purpose in my story. And that’s my right as the author, as well as how true to the history I wish to remain. But I become a true plotter with editing. I have a plan of action with deadlines and spreadsheets. I create a character bible for all main, and some secondary, characters; I map out scenes and chapters to eliminate redundancy and maintain pacing; I track details from scenes to establish consistency. (I’m very much a Chekov’s Gun type writer.) I may be a creative, but I’m also a stickler for details and historical accuracy, both as a writer and reader. For these reasons, I’m a plantser.