How to Write a Novel as a Pantser (Without Getting Stuck)

One common question writers often ask each other (other than “why?”) is “Are you a plotter or a pantser?”

If you’re drawn to pantsing, trying to figure out if it works for you, or keep getting stuck when you try it, this guide will help you understand what pantsing is and how to use it to write your book.

In today’s post, we’ll look at:

1. What is pantsing?

2. Why write using this method?

3. When pantsing doesn’t work?

4. What to do about it?

Let’s dive in.

What is a Plotter or a Pantser?

Plotters are the writers who come up with the plot before they sit down to write their novel. They plan it, map it, and get a detailed or at least a general idea of what they’re going to write in advance.

Pantsers is the term describing writers who, as they say, “Write by the seam of their pants” (sometimes “by the seat of their pants”, I’ve heard both).

These writers apply zero to minimal planning to their literary work, either starting with a vague idea or just going with the flow of imagination and letting the characters and scenes come to them on their own. Some call it Discovery Writing, but that’s just being pretentious (also, what do you have against pants?)

Benefits of Pantsing for Writers

Planning, a process that requires some time and thought, usually precedes writing. Which means that if you skip it, you can go straight to the good part, and that is one of the biggest benefits of the pantsing approach.

We usually set to writing because we were struck by inspiration—it could come in the form of a general guideline (the goblin queendom discovers space-time travel), a bright scene (in which you see the goblin queen putting a pair of sunglasses on as she’s closing the door of a miniature spaceship), an intriguing premise (a goblin mad scientist preparing to go to the palace and present his work to the goblin queen) or the perfect ending (the goblin army riding on dinosaurs on the way to battle the forces of evil).

And once you’re hit with that spark of inspiration, the urge to write is great.

Having to tell that urge to chill and postpone the very thing you want to do in favor of planning can feel like a serious buzzkill.

When Pantsing Doesn’t Work

But writing by the seam of your pants isn’t all fun and games. It has downsides too. One of them is that you are likely to get stuck.

Say you’ve started writing with excitement. You finish the premise in which you introduce your brilliant, yet slightly unstable, goblin scientist, and get her to the important meeting at the green and glorious goblin palace, and just as the goblin queen enters the great hall, you realize that you have no idea what happens next. And… you stop writing.

Inspiration is a powerful force, but at times it can only take you so far, and while improvising might get your plot moving forward, you still might end up sitting there before a blank page, not sure what to write next.

Another problem pantsing can cause is a tangled plot line, jumping from one idea to another, full of plot holes, and changing course three times.

When you’re deep in the weeds of your story, it is easy to lose sight of the main point, instead focusing on the characters, their intricate relationships, and their everyday lives. You might end up focusing on the wrong things, changing the topic or the subject in the middle of the story, or going on an entirely new direction (like, instead of focusing on the goblin queen’s time travel, you end up spending half the book on the impossible love between the mad inventress and the palace janitor).

How to Make Pantsing Work

If you’re stuck and not sure what to write next, some planning could help you out. But it doesn’t have to mean a full-blown plotting session. There is another way—planning only one chapter or scene at a time.

Classic plotting asks you to lay out your entire plot and make sure it flows from the beginning to the end with some level of detail. This means you’ll have to answer a lot of questions and fill in missing details. But it’s also possible to start spontaneously, to discover as you go, and to pause and do some planning when you get stuck. Not sure how the goblin queen’s journey to the future will result in the goblin nation harnessing the power of dinosaurs? You won’t need to worry about it until chapter 40, and you can cross that bridge when you get there.

Final Thoughts

The art of pantsing is a spontaneous, whimsical art, where you let inspiration propel you to action. This can be fun and exciting, but it can also mean that you’re not sure what you’re doing, often getting stuck or losing the thread, and increasing the chance you might give up on your story altogether.

An approach that might help writers who want to try pantsing but are afraid of getting stuck is planning only when you need to or only one chapter or scene at a time.

This way, you’re harnessing the power of both approaches, not postponing the fun part (the writing) while maintaining some structure and getting clarity when you find yourself stuck.

I actually wrote a book on how to do that here.

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