Susan and John Ruff, Fantasy Authors

When John and I go on a driving vacation, I tend to prepare for the trip in detail. I know precisely where we are going to stay each night and usually make the resevations in advance. I research what to see in each area and check for interesting local restaurants.

But many years ago, on my birthday weekend, we decided to go on a vacation of discovery. We packed our bags, got into the car with no particular destination in mind, and started driving to see where the road would take us.

It ended up taking us to an expensive jacuzzi-suite of a motel on the first night of our trip, because that was the only available room left by the time we pulled into town. But it was my birthday, so we didn’t mind the extra expense, and we had a great time on the trip.

Both planned and unplanned types of travel are valid, and both can lead to fun and memorable adventures.

When you’re an author, people often ask you whether you are a “plotter” or a “pantster.” Plotters are people who outline their books in advance, while “pantsters” (also spelled “pantsers”) invent the story as they write.

These days, many authors prefer the term “discovery writer” instead of “pantster” because it better describes how they write — they discover the story as they are writing, instead of having it plotted from the beginning. One successful mystery writer I know prefers to be a discovery writer for a very important reason — once she knows whodunit, writing the book isn’t as exciting for her any more.

When I’m asked the plotter/pantster question, I usually refer to myself as a “plantster.” That’s somewhere in between a plotter and a panster. When John and I write a novel, I have to know how the main plot will resolve before I start, but I seldom draft a detailed outline past the first few chapters. Usually, by the time I finish writing those chapters, I am ready to outline the next few.

That practice came back to bite me when I participated in NaNoWriMo in 2021. I was writing so fast, that my plantster brain did not have time to figure out where to go next. Fortunately, John was able to help me whenever I would panic about what to write the next day. Together, we would outline the next two or three chapters, so I could keep writing.

Because I am partly a discovery writer, the story will often surprise me. A couple of the scenes in Desserts for the Deserter were unplanned when we started writing the book. I don’t want to give any spoilers here, but if you’ve read the books, feel free to send me an email and I’ll tell you which ones were unplanned. A couple of them may surprise you.

To sum up my writing style, I think I can best be described as a discovery writer with a road map. I know the destination and the basic route to get there, but I don’t mind taking an interesting detour along the way. Those detours can be a lot of fun in both travel and writing.

-Susan 4/3/2026

There’s still time to pre-order Herbs for the Apprentice. You can pre-order here.