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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/26841
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

In a comment to [an answer of mine](https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/26822/5645) Mark Baker has suggested that the common, dichotomous view of writers as either "plotters" or "pantsers" or something of both might not be complete and that there are other types of writers.

In their extreme forms, plotters, or outliners, as they are sometimes called, construct the plot, develop the characters, and/or build their fictional world before they begin to write and during writing follow this preconceived plan, while pantsers, or discovery writers, simply sit down with no more than a seed of an idea or even no idea at all and let the story, characters, and world unfold in the process of writing. Most writers fall somewhere in between these two extremes, outlining or developing a bit and discovering the rest.

But does this description cover all kinds of writers? Is it feasible, as I did, to group worldbuilders and plotters together, or are they fundamentally different in their approach?

# What other kinds of writers are there besides plotters and pantsers?

### Is there a better classification of writers that that dichotomous one?

_I would appreciate answers that give real life examples of writers who have described their writing process, or that cite established sources such as scholars that have studied the writing process. Please do not post mere speculation or (only) your own experience in an answer._

Original score: 13