A “pantser” is a person who writes by the seat of their pants. He writes with little to no advance planning of plot, characters, and so on. A “planner” does just the opposite. He/she plans out the plot, the scenes, the character arc—all of it—in advance. 

I suppose you could call me  a “hybrid.” I have a definite beginning and ending in mind for my books. I even have a rough idea of how I am going to get there. However, as my characters develop, I really do listen to them. If they can argue a good case for any given action, I can be swayed.

I am always willing to use the delete key any time they bring a better idea forward.

Case in point: In Runaways: The Long Journey Home, Charlie and Claire convinced me to allow them to remain at the “Summer House” longer than I had anticipated. They had valid reasons why this would be essential to the plot.

I caved. They stayed.

In Will’s Last Testament, I allowed Will to remain healthy longer than I originally had written because he defended his reasoning so well. The resulting timeline is much more satisfying.

I also listen to my critique partner and writing group. If they say they are confused by a scene or they don’t understand a character’s motivation, for instance, I reread my submission to myself and usually decide they are absolutely right. They are my “voices of reason” when I get so caught up in the story and so close to the characters that I cannot be impartial.

I’m a self-professed hybrid: a “plantser.” How about you?