You’ll find it on Twitter. Facebook. Writing Sites. The most common argument in the world of writers. Are you a Pantser or a Plotter?
Full Disclosure: I’m a plotter. For one thing, my brain just can’t help but analyze everything to death. But possibly more significant? You can’t work in the movie business as long as I did without having a mastery of story structure beaten into you. It becomes part of your DNA.
However: A true artist needs to tap in to all the angles. Take one of my favorites, Wolf Kahn. He speaks of “Control and Release.” In the construction of a painting, you need both. Look at his free use of color. Look at those lively brushstrokes. And yet, there is a structure underlying everything.
And so it is with writing. Many of my authors use morning pages as a way to start every day. They write by hand and keep the pen moving until they have three solid pages of work. All my writers turn out elegant phrases and gorgeous descriptions. Those are my Pantsers.
And the Plotters? The ones who can articulate the whole story in one sentence? The ones who can send in a Beat Sheet with all the act breaks and all the turning points clearly marked? I only have one— a screenwriter.
The truth is, a writer can’t just tap in to one side of the brain. A writer has to be all things— a plotter AND a pantser. A writer has to understand the “Control and Release” principle.
Be like Wolf Kahn.
Here’s a free resource to help you map out your story.
Whatever you do, keep writing!