"A mind is like a parachute. It doesn’t work if it is not open." - Frank Zappa.
I'd never heard of being a "pantser," until I was asked in an interview if I was "a pantser or a plotter?". Turned out pantsers write off the cuff, planning little before they start their novel. Plotters plan out everything ahead of time, and only then start to write.
I am 100% pantser. I start a book with little more in mind than a general theme.
I was working on my lastest mystery, when it hit me how beneficial it was to be a pantser. Because I don't plot ahead of time, I start with only a vague idea of who the killer will be. When I started this latest book, "Bob" (I'll use fake names to keep from revealing spoilers!) was going to be the killer, and I knew his reasons. But a third of the way in, I decided it made more sense for "Frank" to be the murderer. By the end, it was someone else altogether!
But, throughout this shifting process, I'd dropped hints and red herrings BASED on who I thought the killer was at the time. So when I went back to read through it, I thought I HAD made Bob the killer, then Frank... I was almost as surprised to find out who did it in the end as I hope my readers will be!
What a great way to keep my readers in the dark --- put myself in the dark!!
So if you're a hardcore plotter, consider giving yourself some breathing room. You never know what wonderful things might happen!
