There's a long-running debate in writing circles between “plotters” and “pantsers.” Plotters outline their stories in advance. Pantsers fly by the seat of their pants, discovering the story as they write.
Having both pantsed and plotted, I have come to the conclusion that pantsing is just writing a very long, expensive outline.
When you pants a novel, you're essentially drafting to discover your story. You write pages and pages to figure out who your characters are, what they want, and where the plot should go. Then — inevitably — you rewrite extensively because much of what you discovered early on was wrong or underdeveloped.
In fairness, many excellent writers work this way. But I would argue that with time and practice, most excellent writers get a feel for the plot at a subconscious level. If you're new to writing, you don't have that, so your writing is inefficient. You're doing your outlining in the prose itself, at a very high cost in time and words.
Planning doesn't mean knowing every detail in advance. It means doing some of your discovery work before you commit to full prose when changes are cheap.
An outline you throw away costs you hours. A draft you throw away costs you months.
Why this matters more in SFF
Science fiction and fantasy add particular challenges that make planning essential.
Worldbuilding consistency
If your magic system works one way in chapter three and a different way in chapter twenty, readers will notice. Keeping track of invented rules without planning is extremely difficult.
Foreshadowing
Good SFF rewards attentive readers with clues that pay off later. This is much easier when you know where you're going.
Complexity management
Multiple POV characters, interweaving plotlines, intricate worlds — holding all of this in your head while pantsing is a recipe for structural chaos.
The real question
The plotter-pantser divide is a false dichotomy. In practice, everyone does both. Even the most detailed outliner discovers things while drafting. Even the most committed pantser has some sense of where they're going.
The real question isn't whether to plan — it's how much and when.
At minimum, know your ending. If you don't know the destination, every scene becomes a guess. You write a lot of material that doesn't lead anywhere. Knowing roughly where you're heading gives you a compass. You can still discover along the way.
The outline is a tool, not a prison. Use it.
My new book The Silly Shirt Manifesto covers practical plotting approaches in depth.