Screenwriting : Are you a Pantser or a Plotter? by Jason Louro

Welcome! I think you can be a combination of both depending on what stage (outline, writing, reader, proofing, editing).

It's more fun to be a pantser IMO. So I plot as little as possible: inciting incident, end of Act I twist, midpoint twist, and end of Act II twist. And I don't always follow that skeletal outline. Now if I ever get any work for hire, I suspect I'll have to write a treatment, i.e., outline a great deal more thoroughly.

Jason, I'm a plotter through and through. I just don't want to type anything out until I can show I know exactly what I'm doing and can demonstrate I know what I'm talking about.

Just want to be true to the story.

Glad you're on Stage 32, Jason! All the VERY BEST to you!

I am a creeper. I start and then creep up on the story.

It can start any number of ways.

Perhaps prose or dot points in a document. Normally it will be a 20 page short script as a POC. It then grows.

I then drop dot points back into the 20 pages.

I’ll read it like that to make sure it is a movie and there is a theme to mine.

Then I’ll fill in the blanks and call that zero.

My quick answer would be: be whatever makes you write a better story and helps you write it quicker.

Ideally, you should be both and use both sides of your brain – creative and logical. I think the lead should be from your natural abilities to tell the story. Making a structure first can help you to stay on course and possibly reduce the number of rewrites (time).

Here`s a nice video on Architects vs. Gardeners: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlGJfhuno6g

Nil desperandum

Thanks for all the responses everyone!

Just about every pro writer says Film & TV corporate Employers want outlines/treatments before screenplays.

My VFX friends are working on Avatar for almost 2 years now. They didn't have scripts when they started but they had "outline/treatment/Pre-Vis board".

TV writing

Admittedly I am a total pantser. I begin with a solid opening, a loose ending and a vague mental map on how to get from A to B. The story unfolds organically in front of me. I often joke that I don't write, I take dictation from the voices in my head.

The problem with being a pantser with screenwriting is that assignments are going to require you to outline first.

Dan MaxXx That makes a lot of sense that screenwriters would lean toward plotting by necessity.

Jason Louro My cousin works for a publisher and her roster of Authors write heavy outline/synopsis before novels. Bunch of salary people want to be part of the process. Not much winging it when it’s a job

I'm trying something different with my current screenplay. First draft-just write it. Get the whole story down on paper regardless of the imperfections. Before I get to the second draft, I write down a list of the scenes in order for me to get a better idea of the story. Then I go through and figure out what needs to be changed/cut/reworked, etc. Then I get cranking on the second draft. Hopefully by the third draft, I'll be fine-tuning things and just be working on the little details.

I don't know if that puts me in the pantser or plotter category. I figured I'd at least mention to see what people thought.

Interesting categorizations. I guess you can be a bit of both, right? I had the whole story (or so I thought) beforehand as a plotter. But then I realized I had to wrap things up (tie it up nicely in a bow), and so I was a pantser putting it all together - that part was stream-of-consciousness writing.

I'm a Pantser first, and then a Plotter later. I like to write a significant amount a material to get a sense of the story, and then I start working on a plot structure.

I always remember the advice of Sean Connery in Finding Forrester when he says, "No thinking - that comes later. You must write your first draft with your heart. You rewrite with your head. The first key to writing is... to write, not to think!"

Tony Ray I like that advice!

I'm a plotter. I like to know I have a story to tell before I start writing. I compare plotting to planning a road trip. You study the map, and decide where you are going and what roads you'll take. But when you get on the road, you find there's a detour here, or some attraction you want to see three, etc. You eventually get to where you were going, but not by the route you originally planned.

Now, having said that I did not plot out my latest novel, The Fourth Rising, which comes out in May. I was working on another book that I had plotted out, but got bogged down. So, I switched to writing The Fourth Rising even though all I had was an idea for a plot. I got through it OK. Now I'm back on the other book and I'm still bogged down. (Sigh.)

I think I'm like Richard. I am a pantser until someone is interested then, I'm a plotter. I write the story then sit down to do the required marketing materials. In writing the story, I already know where the plot points have to be.

I just sit down and write - tried the outline method - doesn't work for me. Thought I was bad or something - then I saw a video featuring many working screenwriters a- although all recommended outlines about half didn't use them. I write the synopsis after I finish - so t works for me. Do what works for you.

pS - Of course I take more rewrites than an outliner and my scripts tend to veer off in uncharted waters - sometimes those aren't bad things.

I do not plot beforehand - first I see an image of a whole story as a visual (as if it is a movie) then I see the opening scene and start writing. As write the story and its characters guide me. Sometimes, I know the beginning and the end and then start my writing journey and let the characters lead me to the end. It is like in life - you can plot and plan all right but life is very unpredictable and in 90% of cases things will go in unexpected way and would need ad hoc corrections.