Are You A Pantser Or A Plotter?
Pick Of The Week — 12th June 2025
This series is a curated cornucopia featuring some of the best of Medium and Substack, and the wider world, rumoured to exist outside of these platforms. Please note that in view of the impact of AI on the writing community, Eco has a stringent “No AI-content” policy, and will seek to actively avoid any articles we consider to be partly or fully generated by AI, and not feature authors believed to be using it in this way again. We are fully supportive of diversity, equity and inclusion. In support of our aims and objectives, 10% of earnings from this series will be donated to Greenpeace.🌈
Sponsors – a link to donors and paying Substack subscribers 🦄 will appear here:
Ecosia; The Environmental Transport Association; Mary Grindeland
Pick of Medium – (advisory allergy note – may contain poetry)
Kay Flanagan is pantsing it, with some advice on writing your novel:
https://medium.com/never-stop-writing/why-pantsing-a-book-is-hard-ce53c7a6a093
Rodney Lacroix has an authenticity problem:
https://muddyum.net/multi-factor-authentication-is-ruining-my-life-85ba8daaab84
Bette A Ludwig reflects on good leadership:
Gino Cosme comments on the evolution of Pride:
https://medium.com/prismnpen/how-pride-went-global-and-got-hijacked-by-corporations-0d0ad11ff16e
Murphy’s Law explores the dilemmas of direct action and political protest:
Pallvi reflects on equality in the workplace:
Adela Valcikova takes aim at perfectionism:
https://medium.com/@adelavalcikova/the-titles-not-ready-yet-it-has-to-be-perfect-cdf41f8b54ce
Geerthika discovers wellness in the kitchen:
https://medium.com/@geerthi17/wellness-was-in-our-kitchens-all-along-cef07443f37e
Keep focus, urges Bin Jiang:
https://medium.com/write-a-catalyst/how-to-stay-focus-even-when-you-are-getting-0-reads-a7d65f3ead4b
Ethics still matter in the digital age, argues Rajesh:
Adrienne Beaumont shares a song that takes her back:
https://medium.com/the-challenged/i-started-a-joke-bb462a73c02d
Barry Robinson has one of those weeks:
https://medium.com/the-pub/last-week-was-a-strange-week-e9ed1da5787c
Tip of the week –
Mohab A Karim shares the secret behind rapid progress:
https://medium.com/write-a-catalyst/i-reached-3k-followers-in-only-2-months-0a69a0eb5672
Pick of Substack:
Füsun Aydın publishes the prologue of a memoir: “Sea Glass In The Womb”
https://substack.com/@fusunaydin/p-165477830
The wider world:
A major climate website is likely to be shut down after US government funding cuts:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/11/climate-website-shut-down-noaa
Political News
This article reports on the shameful and craven withdrawal by much of corporate America from Pride event sponsorship:
Entrepreneur’s Corner
Mohab A Karim considers Substack to be the best platform for writers:
Life Hack of the Week – balance
Find balance urges Ripton Green:
https://medium.com/@ripton/finding-balance-the-key-to-a-fulfilling-life-f25a7e5cbcc5
Quote of the Week:
“Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence in society.” Mark Twain
Jokes of the Week:
(Health warning — swallow coffee before reading)
Once you get past my charm, good looks, intelligence, and my sense of humour, I think it’s my modesty that stands out.
Wanted: someone to brush my teeth — because dentists say that brushing alone is not enough. No weirdos.
“What do you call the fanciest punctuation? An a-posh-trophe.”-
Year 5 pupils at Riverley Primary School in Leyton, East London
'A-posh-trophe' joke wins London school pupils a posh trophy
Did you know?
Ernest Hemingway survived two plane crashes in two consecutive days while on safari in Africa in 1954. The first crash happened when their sightseeing plane hit a telegraph wire and crashed in the Ugandan wilderness. They were rescued the next day by another small plane — which then promptly crashed on takeoff, bursting into flames. Hemingway had to ram open the stuck door with his shoulder to escape.
The world’s newspapers actually reported that he had died in the crashes, so Hemingway had the surreal experience of reading his own obituaries while nursing his injuries (which included a concussion, internal bleeding, and burns). He reportedly said it was one of the most entertaining experiences of his life, getting to see what people really thought of him!
Word of the Week:
snaccident — the accidental consumption of an entire packet of biscuits, something a few of us on Medium may be able to relate to.
Clip of the Week:
As always, thank you for reading, and enjoy your day.
“The Medium Story — The Ultimate Guide to the Medium Publishing Platform”
Editor’s comment: It is noted that the authors featured above have not consented in advance to their inclusion — I have assumed that authors appreciate a mention and sharing of your work — but if you do not wish to be featured please let me know and apologies.
100% pantser and proud. LOL
It works so much better for me. When I plan, think, and execute a story, I fail miserably.
Besides, I heard pantsers live a longer life (much less stress). :)
A panster. 🙂