by Ramona Richards @RamonaRichards

I’m about to write something that may be a bit controversial, and you are free to disagree with me. But if I hear the question that every writer gets, usually from other writers, again, I may become violent.

“You write? Are you a plotter or a pantser?”

My answer: “Neither. I’m a writer.”

I would like to posit for you to consider that there is no “plotter vs. pantser” process of working. Those are arbitrary labels for the way we construct our stories, and they are detrimental to your identification as a writer. They attempt to prescribe what you do, and if you adopt one, you can find that it limits your freedom to work.

Here’s why. We are storytellers. First and foremost. Nonfiction or fiction, doesn’t matter. If you have a drive to write, if you crave getting words on paper, then you are a storyteller. And stories come to us in a million ways. We find them in dreams, in abandoned cars, in garbage bins, family conflicts, news reports, science projects. In Bible studies, poetry, memes. Sometimes they appear in our heads fully formed, other times piecemeal, with one incident at a time coming to us in the shower or at a red light.

And they all start with the big question: what if?… What if…you found a body in your backseat when you came out to go to work? What if…your sister’s illness had taken a different direction? What if…that insight into Paul’s writing really is new?

A work that comes to you in its entirety might be better scribbled down as fast as possible, writing organically (a word I prefer to “pantser” anyway), the events tumbling out of your head as fast as you can type. One that is centered on a larger “what if?” (especially with nonfiction) might be better outlined, with index cards, Post-it Notes, or an Excel spreadsheet, mostly because all the “connective tissue” of the book isn’t in place in your head yet.

In other words, your method should match the story, not the person.

I have talked to far too many “organic” writers who have stalled out in a story because they never learned to or grew comfortable with plotting. I’ve known “plotters” who get all their big scenes worked out, then they lose the drive for the tale because…well…the story’s now been told. They don’t have a sense of the organic to go back and let the connective tissue grow and flow around the scenes.

And I’ve experienced both. For many years, I claimed the “pantser” label, and I stalled out in many a tale, especially before I learned how to edit fiction. I tried detailed plotting but found I had no impetus at all to continue writing once the story was told. Because one of the publishers I write for demands a lengthy, detailed synopsis, I found myself working with a combination of the two “labels.” Now I start with a type of annotated outline (also known as a synopsis), but not so detailed that I lose the story craving. I don’t “plot,” per se, but I know a great more about where I’m going with the tale…enough that I catch those painted corners before they come around.

Which has led me to having some intimate, whispered conversations with authors unwilling to claim one of those prescribed labels. Which is why I’m now in the mood to start a revolution.

You are not a plotter. You do not write organically. You’re a writer. Period. You have spent years studying your craft. You understand goal, motivation, conflict; plot points; denouement. You read extensively, in every genre. You know the expectations and basic elements of your own genre. You have developed an almost intuitive feel for the language. You are disciplined and determined to succeed. You claim that inner beast that pushes you to put words into sentences, nurturing and embracing it. You are flexible enough to let the process fit the story that is tumbling out of your heart.

You cannot…canNOT…summarize that with a single label about the process of creating a book.

You are a storyteller. You are a writer. Embrace and acknowledge all that entails.

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Blog post is an excerpt from Tracked Changes: One Editor’s Advice to Inspirational Fiction Authors.

Ramona Richards is, according to her publisher, a “veteran of Christian publishing,” which hopefully makes her sound older than she is. She’s the author or contributor to a bunch of books, including her latest novel, Burying Daisy Doe, and Tracking Changes: One’s Editor’s Advice to Inspirational Fiction Authors.