Is there any advantage to not planning?

[elyss]

I'm pro plan because it gives you the beginning, middle, and end. I write out the whole story and then go back and edit. By doing this, I can add a new layer of ideas knowing what will happen in the future to buff up the impact of events. For example, my story now has new characters and events that would never have happened if I'd gone straight in with what I initially had in mind, and there would have been some plot holes as well.

I think planning gets a bad rep for being too rigid when in fact, I feel it's more flexible and freeing than not planning.

[WillisAuthor]

It really comes back to the idea some people need to do another of studying before a test and others who can fly by the seat of their pants. On the same note, some folks get too wrapped up into plotting or even kill their mojo trying.

It also depends on the genre. Historical fiction can't avoid at least research diving as they go or some prep before. Whereas a romance comedy at a small town cafe you can sit down and have fun pantsing since you live in the same world as the characters.

Regardless, I plan and plot mine, but my characters always take me down paths I didn't see coming and I let those Sparks fly even if I have to rework the initial plot. Being g flexible is best.

[ISNEKO]

As a writer who plans almost nothing, I couldn't actually find a worthwhile benefit. I could only come up with why I hate planning, lol.

[Kann]

I have done some planning but also left myself some space to improvise here and there. I wouldn't go far without not planning at least the beginning and the end, but there were moments where I would get stuck If I were to strictly follow my plan. Most of my dialogue is pure improvisation but what needed to be said according to the plan was said. xD

[moop]

I think it largely depends on what kind of writer you are and what kind of story you’re writing. I come from a screenwriting background so I love to plan because I feel with a solid plan I’m able to tighten up the writing while actually being able to add more of what I want. Also I think it’s also good for plot heavy comics that only update once in a while so that every time you do update you’re furthering the story.

If you’re making a more episodic comic or something that’s more dialogue driven/about character interactions than anything then I can see how not planning might help you be more creative and let you write as the characters develop.

[McAmps]

Both have their pros and cons. Planning makes getting lost and writer's block less of issue, but then you can get bored since you already know what will happen.

Pantsing can be fun and exciting, but things can get messy. You might go on pointless tangents or write yourself into a corner. Revising might also be more of a pain.

I personally plan. I tried to pants a NaNoWriMo and wrote 50k of mostly filler. Idk if it's possible to pants a comic though. Now I'm curious, does anyone do that?

[amortelito]

I think that the lack of a formal plan is particularly beneficial when you are new at something and you don't know much about what you are dealing with.
When I started my comic I thought I had everything figured out. I had 3 episodes drawn in advance prior to publishing for the first time and planned other 6 episodes ahead.

As soon as I uploaded the first pages I noticed crucial things that were not going to work, for example, the rhythm, having a long arch, black and white pages, expect readers to remember things...

I threw everything to the trash and started over. I have a defined story and specific goals in each chapter but I prefer to improvise and wait for feedback and listen to the readers too.

[Wumbl]

It's possible to make an unplanned story / half-planned story work, but you must first be able to do it with a plan.
Your plan is like the framework for your project. You will want to use planning at first, to get a hang of story creation within the safer guides.

After you've done it enough times, though, you can make more improvisational projects and even make works that have almost no planning at all. (Although that depends on the work you're creating - it's easier to create something simplistic and light-hearted without a plan, but more serious or mature works need a lot more attention to detail and framework)

A good balance can be worked out - you don't want to over-plan everything after all, or you might lose the big picture. A good way to do it is to plan the main plot but improvise all the sub plots, filler and individual chapters/scenes to give yourself a bit more freedom.

TL;DR it depends on what you're making and how much experience you already have.

[LCT_m_a_d]

I feel like over-planning leads to burnout. When you plan less its easier to focus more on what you have and where you are currently progressing as opposed to treating it like it's just another job. If you work for a studio under contract thats a bigger deal but if your taking a more indie route over-planning usually creates more problems than it solves.

[TJSchongar]

A measure of planning is necessary, if only to keep building steam. Having a landmark to reach is important. But over planning can kill the possibility of something brilliant coming up and throwing you in a new direction.

[colinmooredraws]

I have no idea what a "pantser" is, but having absolutely no plan what so ever is an excellent way to set yourself up for failure. Maybe in a really short story, it would be okay. But in a really big project, no planning usually ends up with a pile of nonsense that goes nowhere. If you don't know what you're end goal is, and at least the highlights you need to hit along the way....how are you going to make a story that makes sense?

[Minerva_Matues]

I'm new to posting and sharing stories. I started my first novel today and shared two parts. I will be honest. I only planned a small thing and that was just a cemetery that my family owns and its on any map and always wrote other stories with it but I never shared a single piece. After sharing my first two parts today, I'm nervous no one will find them as I also don't know what to mark as Mature or not but just marked it all as Mature cause it will be a bit mental later on. That much I know. I don't know how. But I just know I want it to be and its not something that younger readers should be engulfed into. I'm basing some of the experiences by knowledge and some random things just off the top of my head. I'm one person NEVER to really "Plan" I just always been one to go with the flow since I always have things running in my head.

Please do check out my story Cemetery Solitude. I hate sounding desperate but... I just want to know peoples opinion on how I write and if it's okay.

[punkarsenic]

I have no idea what a "pantser" is,

its a term for someone who works 'by the seat of their pants' - ie, with little to no planning

personally im a meticulous planner - i like order, i like knowing whats coming, i like feeling in control. but for shorter, more experimental projects, having less planning can definitely lead you down some unexpected paths. when im stuck or slow to get started i like to do either a freewrite (no plans, just a prompt and ten minutes to go hogwild) or a freedraw (ive come to really like reduction monoprinting for this. i do plan them a bit but theyre very instinctive) - when youre feeling caged in your style and skill level, doing something spontaneous can be a great exploration tool to find the way forward

[JRHoch]

I've done planning and pantsing. Planning makes for a more cohesive story but also a greater commitment of time. If you're not sure what your level of interest is going to be over the long run, pantsing isn't so bad. It's perfect if you just want to experiment.

[Allyx]

I agree with what's been said already: you have more freedom to change the plot midway if you find something better, and you're less likely to get bored writing it because you feel the tension too, if you don't always know what will happen less.

You said that even pansters seem to have rough outlines, so their story isn't going to be completely "pansted." They will still have an idea of where they are going and the end goal, but will have more creative freedom with how their characters make it to the end.

[Rage_The_Dragoon]

I 'd say, stick somewhere in the middle

Both underplanning and overplanning can restrict a writing process.

overplanning can take the joy and spontanious nature out of writing because your path is so solid it doesn't leave room for any exploration.

and underplanning can have devastating effects later on with the most classic example being an overpowered villain that basicly can't be stopped because due to underplanning we was written way to powerful. resulting in the ever treacherious "dues ex machina" or "magic mcguffin" to solve the problem.

What I noticed is that it's better to have a few loose elements with some set rules and keep the details blurry to give yourself some wiggleroom. Once you write your characters and set their "rules"; by that I mean their "personality traits and motivations, pro's con's etc" The most important thing is that want your characters to be believable. You want to let those traits determine the path of whatever journey they face, and not trough some forceful outside push on the writers end.

This also count for the rules of your world and other aspects. like a magic system, government etc.
make some foundations for these and fill out the blurry lines when you reach them in your story.

[LordLacroix]

Having a plan doesn't really means you are stuck to it. Write is some kind of magical experience. Sometimes the characters chose what they want to do. Plan is only to organize things. But never to be thought as a straightjacket. It is simply amazing how your novel can diverge from a plan or add new things to it. Do plan but make it flexible and do not get too caged by it.

[desenlacediario]

I don't think there is, unless you are talking about some one-shot thing.
I will speak not from an actual writter point of view, but from an academic one. Scientifc papers are even harder to make interesting to your audience than novels, and to write them is always super hard, because you know that if the person reading don't know exact what they may expect by line two, they will just ditch you.
And a good way to work around it is to plan check points. Instead of planning the whole paper or to structure the entire thing, I just plan what is has to happen (the code that I used, the result of that one experiment) and write around it. By doing this, I don't end up putting stuff that should not be there not do I have to come and try to close open points that I did just for the sake of it, without any actual goal.
The same thinking go into story-telling. If you don't know neither were you are going not were you should check in, you - and the reader - will just get lost.

[colinmooredraws]

I've been informed that "Pantser" as a term comes out of things like NaNoWriMo. There as little planning as possible makes sense.

But outside of a strict deadline like that, choosing to not planning at all is just a bad idea. It's way, way worse than over planning.

When you first set out on a project, whether comic or novel, there are no deadlines. It's one of the rare times you have the true luxury of time. So why wouldn't you take advantage of it while you have it? Choosing to not plan is squandering a massive opportunity.

Planning isn't restricting yourself. It's making a map and setting up most of your supplies before you start creating. It's like when you're making a big, complicated meal. If you go in trying to remember the recipe off the top of your head (that you read once but never made before), and grabbing your ingredients out of the pantry only as you need them, it all goes wrong. You didn't have one thing so you had to substitute something you THINK might be right. But while you were searching, your food started to burn and you forgot to preheat the oven.

Where as if you do just a little planning.... You have the recipe there. You lay out your ingredients so they're easy to grab--going to the store to get what you're missing. You chop things up first, so it's all ready to go. And it all goes much more smoothly. Now it just depends on your skill to execute it, not your ability to do everything all at once.

In making comics, your recipe is an outline. Your ingredients are your cast. Chopping things is character designs for at least your main cast. Missing ingredients is research that needs to be done. And like with cooking, you can still improvise and go off-book when you need to. But at least you know what your next steps are.

And far too often, people don't want to stop in the middle of writing to do a bit of research to make sure they have their facts right. So they just make it up with what they remember and it really, REALLY shows.

[monotone_ink]

It's good for experimentation (especially with shorter works), and can lead to some very interesting results.

Going into this at a deeper level, forcing yourself to make a coherent piece of work within a strict time frame--driving you insane in the process--can potentially help with understanding yourself better, both as a creator and a person.

I can certainly say that after forcing myself to write a novella under 24 hours, I have a better idea of what kind of writing I'd want to pursue.

Lisa Lee Kills the Witch | Tapas

With a very large project though, of course you'll have to plan.

If you're prototyping a small boat design by freestyling boards of wood together and hoping it will float, it's totally reasonable to go in without a plan.

However, building a freight ship without blueprints would be a very big disaster.