There’s the Plotter and the Pantser

And then there's the plotting pantser, who does both. As Ray Bradbury says, you need to surprise yourself with what you write. It's all about the surprise. But I like a general goal, or idea. Like, stories will be playing in my mind for years, sometimes, and then just get put down on the paper one day, when I've collected enough material to write it.

I usually make outlines of many stories, or sometimes I pants them. But, I always have a general goal of where I want it to go. But, sometimes I don't. I incorporate all disciplines into my writing routine. A lot of essay, a lot of poetry, and some short stories or novels. Like I'm all about the idea; making the audience think. And all about Metaphor and packing as much thought into each line as I can. A lot like George Eliot or Adam Smith, but not quite as dense as them. Like, they're on a whole other level. Like Adam Smith or George Eliot could hit thirty extremely dense ideas in two paragraphs. Every line was poetry.