Planning Ahead vs The Thrill of Discovery

A few Newsposts from our contributors have mentioned plotting or planning vs the pantsing or 'discovery' approach to writing.

Plotting, which is obviously building some kind of plan or outline, is an approach many writers swear by, at least to some degree. It might be a vague plan, with a few bullet points and a roughed-out direction for the story, or it might be a complete breakdown of almost everything, including the ending, character arcs, sequel hooks, and even bits of dialogue. I've heard some writers say they can't even write unless they know the ending. Others have cautioned that starting with no plan runs the risk of hitting a dead end halfway through, leaving you with no clue where to go from there.

But I've also heard a few writers (even very accomplished ones) insist that "discovery" writing, meaning you start writing and discovery your story along the way, is the only way to go. If you figure out the whole story ahead of time, they say, what's the point of writing it?


For my part, as far as individual stories go, I've always figured out my ending first. I like to know where I'm going! I'd like to try jumping into a story and seeing what happens, but I always hesitate to do that. I worry about wasting all that time and having a story that goes nowhere. So I figure out my ending, and a few important scenes throughout, then start writing towards it.

However, I will say that while I'm outlining, and again while I'm pondering the story, and AGAIN while I'm writing, that ending will almost always change, at least a little bit. Usually a lot.

On the other hand, my series as a whole has no planned plot outline or ending. I thought of one or two possible rough endings here and there, but eventually I let go of those plans. My standalone episodes have planned endings, but the series is pretty much about the combination of characters. That's where I do my 'discovery writing': in the characters and their relationships.

So how far ahead did you plan your webcomics? Which parts did you plan out and which bits did you leave to figure out later? Has it worked out okay?

Have a fine day,

Banes