There are essentially two types of writers: plotters and pantsers. Those who outline their plot beforehand, and those who write from the seat of their pants (AKA go in blind and make everything up as they go along). I said in the past that I was an outliner, but I now outline less than I used to. 

Outlines make it easier to know where you have to go in the plot. But one benefit of writing from the seat of your pants is that you are motivated to write more often and faster because you want to know what happens next. If the full story is thoroughly outlined, writing can become more of a tedious transcription-like process with little surprise for the writer. Less planning can create more fun, though I don’t know if I would recommend that approach to someone who doesn’t have sufficient writing experience. 

After writing multiple novels, screenplays, and dozens of short stories, I can navigate my way through a plot while writing—without outlining my path beforehand. I was normally very pro-outline, but as I’ve gained experience I’ve been planning less and less. I still take a lot of notes and have a vague idea of where I want to go, (plus I always visualize the story in my mind) but it is exhilarating to discover what happens just as your characters do. Writing this way may even make for a better reading experience because you’re always on the same page as your readers (both literally and figuratively). 

In the past, I would sometimes leave certain necessary details out of a draft, assuming the audience already knew that information because I knew it (because I’d thoroughly outlined it). After months or years of working on a project, it becomes difficult to see the story with fresh eyes. You forget what the audience does and doesn’t know at which point in the story, which is especially tricky with intricate mystery plots. 

Writing from the seat of your pants keeps you at the same level as the audience. You learn information as you write it, so your audience inevitably knows what you know too. This is especially useful for mysteries. You can always go back in subsequent drafts to add in clues, red herrings, foreshadowing, and seal up plot holes. 

However, writing without an outline presents its own set of problems, making potential plot holes more prevalent. You might write yourself into a corner that could have been prevented with proper planning. Then the rewrites to fix that mistake might end up causing more work than if you had just outlined the basic plot before starting. (Though AI can help with such pitfalls.)

With enough experience writing and finishing stories, the mechanics of storytelling will become intuitive. You’ll inherently know how to structure a story, so you’ll be able to “wing” your way through it without planning all the necessary plot points beforehand. Relying less on formula and more on intuition can also help make your fiction less algorithmic. (Then again, ChatGPT is the ultimate pantser: all it does is predict the next word based on the previous word. AI has difficulty envisioning the plot of a long story in whole.)

I still plan and outline, but only minimally. The amount of planning will vary based on the projected length of the project. A novel will require serious forethought, months or even years of incubating ideas which snowball over time. A short story only needs a vague vision with some modest notes. And I can jump into a flash fiction piece right away.

For me, the non-writing incubation period where I simply think about the story is more important than physically outlining the plot on paper. Pre-visualization of the story (like Tesla) is essential. Ultimately, I would say I use a combination of plotting and pantsing. Before starting a draft I’ll write down a basic beginning, middle, and end with some worldbuilding tidbits, then fill in the rest of the details as I go along. With years of experience, I’ve learned how to write more from the seat of my pants without falling off track.