Planner or Pantser?

Some time ago before this website and the Two Sides podcast started, I was visiting a friend who lives in Calvert County, Maryland and noticed an impressive looking building close to the restaurant where we were having lunch. I was surprised when she told me the building was their local library branch. It was a beautiful building from the outside, so after lunch I went inside to take a quick look.

The branch was just as beautiful on the inside as it was outside. Lots of big windows, tall ceilings, and an open concept between the first and second floor made the size of the library even more impressive and the sun shining in made it comfortable and inviting. I especially liked that the second floor was mostly dedicated to children’s books; providing some separation between older and younger book enthusiasts, and a fun view looking down to the first floor for the kiddos.

The library had a book sale underway during my visit so I spent some time browsing the deals. Always a great opportunity to find some good books at a reasonable price, I picked up several treasures. I don’t recall all the books I bought that day, but one was for Ted, a book called Storytelling for Pantsers by Annalisa Parent.

It was the right book at the right time. Ted and I had been writing a book together, and we were finding big differences in how we approached the project. I am a planner. Ted is not, at least not when it comes to writing. Our book project had taken some interesting turns because of those differences and this book helped to identify that more clearly. It put a label on Ted’s approach. As the title of the book suggests, Ted is a Pantser.

Whether it is relating to your reading or writing, curious to know how many of our readers/listeners are planners or pantsers? Would love to hear from you regarding your approach to reading and writing. Send us an email to share and listen to hear more about the topic on related episodes of our podcast.