Why most writers are actually plantsers…

 

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Most writers pick a side. But I think the real answer is messier and more nuanced. In this video, I break down the gardening vs. architecting spectrum from a fantasy and sci-fi writer’s perspective.

Whether you’re writing flash fiction or a 10-book epic series, your approach to outlining needs to match your story’s scope, your voice, and how your creative brain actually works.

I share the hybrid system I used across two series of epic fiction, including the four-act structure I mapped out for each volume of the Torth series.

Here’s why a meticulous outline can fall apart mid-draft when a new character shows up, and why my series skeleton is a work in progress even 390,000 words in.

Timestamps:

  • 0:00 Gardening vs. Architecting (the real plotter/pantser debate)
  • 0:26 Why story scope and format change everything
  • 0:58 What discovery writing actually looks like
  • 1:57 The case for writing to a formula (and why I don’t)
  • 2:51 My four-act structure and the Torth series
  • 3:47 The house of cards problem, 390,000 words in
  • 5:28 My hybrid approach: the Hanging Gardens of Babylon method

 

Crafting an epic novel (or series of them) is like building a house of cards. The foundational layers are crucial and difficult to change. The upper layers are malleable and in flux.