As an author, are you a pantser or a plotter? I define the two as follows:

Pantser: A writer who gets a story idea, sits down, and starts writing without an outline, character, or plot details. S/he develops the story as s/he writes it, often surprising even him/herself at the twists and turns the plot takes, the entry of new characters, or what happens to the characters... when and how to kill off one or more, for example.

Plotter: A writer who gets a story idea, sits down and writes out an outline, complete with all three acts, defines and details every character, scene, and action sequence, and sticks to that outline, no matter what!

As a hobby race car driver in my younger days, I experienced the sensation of driving by the “seat of your pants”... that is, you’re in tune with the machine and the track through the sensations of the drive expressed by your buttocks and hand contact with the car seat and steering wheel. When I started writing, I carried that “sensation” forward. It never occurred to me to write an outline or to develop every character from date of birth to body type complete with blemishes, hair color, and whether the toe next to the big toe is longer, equal to, or shorter than the big toe. If ever there was a way to frustrate my writing… an outline would be it! No, I wanted that thrill I had when racing... reacting to changes in the book, the characters, and the “feel” of the story as it flowed onto the page.

That is not to say, I’m scornful of plotter writers. Not by a long shot. I think fantasy and high-tech science fiction writers in particular would not succeed without an outline. There are simply too many details, too many vital reference points to keep track of. A pantser would never be able to design a complete new world, new language, or the myriad of unusual characters necessary to establish that all-important sense of reality in the story. No, in these cases an outline is paramount to success. That’s why I don’t write fantasy or high-tech science fiction!

I write paranormal, conspiratorial thrillers, and horror. I think books in these genres need the thrill of a pantser writer, flexible and driven to keep up the pace with unexpected events and character actions. Plotting these would, I believe, lessen the impact. But there are also problems associated with either form. A pantser often adds, subtracts, or changes something that requires a rewrite of previous or future chapters and scenes and looks forward to it; albeit, in a long book, these changes are sometimes hard to find and harder to revise. Conversely, a plotter is stuck to the original plan. Changes would, most likely, create far more havoc than they're worth.

The bottom line is both methods have their unique, associated madness. It becomes a personal preference for the author to decide, and I think that decision rests partly with the genre of the story and the individual traits that each author brings to the table.