Plotter or Pantser

I was in the mood for a holiday comedy. On Turner Classic Movies I found We’re No Angels (1989) starring Robert De Niro and Sean Penn, escaped convicts posing as priests until they can flee into Canada. Sounded as much like a Christmas movie as Die Hard, but I’d never seen it. Perfect. 

The film that streamed through the TV did not match. It was the 1955 version starring Humphrey Bogart. Not what I planned. I prefer vintage movies, so I stuck with it. A thief, Bogart, and two murderers, escape a prison in French Guiana on Christmas Eve. In a port city they find work with a merchant and his family who run a failing supply store. The convicts plan to steal clothing, supplies, and cash from the family and escape to France on a ship in the harbor.  

The convicts become useful in the store collecting debts from customers and making repairs. They prepare a wonderful Christmas meal for the family. When the wealthy ship owner, a relative, attempts to take over the store, the convicts intercede. One of the convicts has a pet viper that conveniently poisons the rich relative and his mercenary nephew. Bogart forges a new will so that the family inherits the shipbuilder’s wealth. The three convicts conclude prison life wasn’t so bad and head back to Devil’s Island prison sporting halos. 

Nothing in the film went as the characters had planned. Yet, everything worked out beautifully. That’s what made it entertaining. Plans gone awry are the key to the hilarity of Christmas Vacation and Home Alone, two other favorites. Who can’t identify with plans gone awry? 

I’m a planner. I’m uncomfortable letting things out of my control. Life in general goes more smoothly with a plan. But life has its own agenda. I’ve had a taste of plans that hit a wall, lead into an abyss, or disintegrate before my eyes.  

Authors who plan novels before writing are called plotters. They make an outline of the entire plot and know what will happen. Plotters know where they’re going and how they will get there. The opposite of a plotter is a pantser. Pantsers plan very little and enjoy the freedom to “fly by the seat of their pants.” Pantsers write with uninhibited creativity. They enjoy travelling without a map.  

My writing style matches my approach to life. I make an outline all the way to the conclusion, as if that is what will happen in the story. I’ve learned to be flexible because as the story unfolds, the characters take on a life of their own. The plans shift, but in the end, everything works out beautifully. 

I will make a few plans for 2024. But I’m going to keep it loose, be more of a pantser. The year that erased every plan, 2020, gifted me with cherished months I never expected to have with my son and granddaughters. Who knows what surprises await in the new year when plans go awry? 

How will you approach the new year, plotter or pantser?