Writing a story can often feel like walking a tightrope between two mindsets: chaos and control. For some, it's about planting seeds and watching characters grow in surprising directions; for others, it's about sketching a complete blueprint before the first sentence is written. In the writing world, these approaches have names: the gardener and the planner.

According to George R.R. Martin-who popularized the terms-planners are architects. They outline everything meticulously before they build. Gardeners, by contrast, plant a seed of an idea and tend to it, letting the story grow naturally. Neither method is better, but both have their pitfalls. Over-planning can choke spontaneity and creativity. Pure discovery can lead to narrative dead ends. The best stories, many seasoned writers agree, often emerge from a blend of the two.

The Game of Story Crafting

Combining the planner's roadmap with the gardener's improvisation can actually be fun. In fact, it can feel like a game. If you approach each writing session with a mission-a scene to write, a conflict to expose, or a character moment to explore-you can remain grounded in your narrative goals while giving yourself the freedom to "unlock" surprises and character discoveries along the way.

Here's how you turn outlining into a game: treat your story like a puzzle that's missing a few pieces. You know the shape the final image is meant to take, but you don't know exactly where every piece fits until you start assembling. What's more, there are rules to this puzzle-rules that, rather than limit creativity, make it more rewarding.

Let's break down the core rules that make plotting playful, structured, and deeply satisfying.

Rule #1: Story Events Must Make Sense in the World You've Built

The golden rule of plotting is causality. What happens in your story must happen because of what came before. If you're writing a detective novel and your sleuth solves the case thanks to a last-minute, never-before-seen clue-say, a surveillance tape that suddenly appears-it will feel cheap. Readers hate that.

However, if the clue was planted early, even subtly-say, a smear of blood on a fence in chapter one that's later revealed to be the killer's-that's satisfying. Why? Because it obeys the internal logic of your world. It rewards attentive reading and builds trust between reader and writer.

Even in fantasy, where magic and miracles are part of the setting, there must be consistency. Deus ex machina-god-from-the-machine-should be treated with caution. If you're going to resolve a plot with a divine intervention, it must be set up, justified, and ideally tied into the emotional or thematic fabric of your story. For example, Gandalf showing up with the eagles in The Hobbit works because readers already accept his mysterious powers, and the eagles have been part of the narrative fabric since earlier in the book.

Ask yourself: Could this moment have happened with no prior setup? If the answer is yes, revise it. That's not playing fair.

Rule #2: Each Scene Must Serve the Story

Here's a challenge: go through your draft, chapter by chapter, and ask yourself if each scene meets at least one of the following four goals:

• Raises the emotional stakes
• Provides insight into character
• Develops the themes of the story
• Moves the plot forward

If a scene does all four? Jackpot. But if it does none of them, it's probably just wish fulfillment. That's not always a bad thing-after all, writers should enjoy what they're creating-but you need to ask: Is this scene helping my story, or is it slowing it down?

There's a simple test. Step away from your manuscript for a while. Come back fresh. As you reread, pay attention to your emotional and cognitive flow. If a scene makes you pause-not in a good way, but in a "why did we go here?" way-that's a red flag. It's your brain telling you something doesn't quite work.

It's not always a cut-and-delete situation. Sometimes a scene just needs to do more. Maybe you love that banter between your characters in a tavern, but nothing happens. So layer in a plot beat: a mysterious figure listening nearby, or a sudden revelation in conversation. Now the scene earns its place.

Rule #3: Events Should Be Driven by Character Actions

A good story isn't a sequence of things happening to people-it's a chain of things people do, and the consequences that follow. This principle is called proactivity, and it's essential to keeping readers engaged.

Characters must behave in ways that feel true to who they are. A calculating hitman won't break down sobbing over a dead bird unless we've spent time seeing the side of him that's sensitive or broken. A manipulative queen won't suddenly sacrifice everything for love unless we've seen the seeds of vulnerability sown earlier.

That's where the game gets really interesting. When you approach a scene, ask yourself: What does each character want right now? What do they fear? What action would they naturally take to move closer to-or avoid-that outcome?

And remember: good character choices don't always have to be expected. In fact, the best ones often aren't. But they do need to be believable in hindsight. Think of Walter White in Breaking Bad. His descent into darkness surprises us at first-but as we reflect on his pride, resentment, and bitterness, it all makes perfect sense. That's the kind of plotting that feels like watching someone complete a Rubik's Cube with one hand behind their back: precise, masterful, and undeniably thrilling.

Bonus Mode: Turn Each Chapter Into a Level

If you're the type of writer who loves games-video games, tabletop, escape rooms-then you're already primed for this approach. Think of each chapter as a level with specific objectives.

• Primary Objective: What must happen by the end of the scene? (Reveal a clue, confront a secret, deepen a bond.)
• Secondary Objectives: What optional moments could enrich the story? (Subtle foreshadowing, a thematic metaphor, character humor.)
• Challenges: What makes the level hard for your character? (A betrayal, an inner doubt, an external threat.)

Reward yourself for clever solutions. If you find a way for your character to solve a problem that also reinforces the theme and reveals something about who they are-congrats, that's a combo move.

The Endgame: Story as Discovery, Structure as Strategy

Here's the best part: once you start thinking about story like a game, your own curiosity becomes part of the fuel. You're not just writing a story. You're solving a narrative puzzle, mastering character AI, testing your world for plot integrity.

And readers can tell when you're having fun. They feel it in the flow. They notice when things click, when a surprise makes perfect sense, when a callback hits emotionally because the groundwork was laid three chapters earlier.

That's the magic: combining gardener discovery and planner discipline to make writing something you look forward to. You become both player and game designer. And each draft is a new high score.

Let's Hear From You!

Have you tried gamifying your writing process? Are you more of a gardener, a planner-or somewhere in between? What tricks have helped you make story planning more enjoyable and effective?

Let's keep the conversation going. Follow and share us on Facebook, X, and Instagram, and tell us how you play the writing game!