Welcome to another edition of Tackle it Tuesday, the day in which I talk about thoughtful subjects like writing and blogging, or social media. Pretty much whatever comes to my mind. This week we’re talking about the Cautious Commuter, as the final part of the Writer Types series.

While the Free Spirit works for a lot of people, there are some personality types that just can’t abide with the “take a toothbrush and drive” philosophy. I call these people the Cautious Commuters. They need to plan everything out. They need to annotate the map to include rest stops, dining, and the time in which they will arrive at each point. They have a master plan.

The writers like this are extensive plotters. They might agree that boldly going where no one has ever gone before sounds fantastic, as long as you’ve got a GPS, a cell phone, and a full tank of gas. They aren’t going to be that person who suggests a road trip to see the Grand Canyon just because. There will be a rhyme and a reason for everything they do. Stepping off into the unknown can be scary. If you don’t know where you’re going, then how are you going to get there?

I can’t write too much on this type, because I lean towards the Free Spirit side. Trying to dissect how a Cautious Commuter thinks is insanely difficult when your own thought process is nothing like it. But believe me, I do see many benefits of being a Cautious Commuter. Having that road map for your story is handy. You know where you’re headed. There aren’t any surprises. No weird twists and turns to screw up your story.

On the other hand, there’s no surprises, no weird twists and turns. Sometimes getting lost is half the fun. Taking a wrong turn because you just want to, and map be damned. You may be headed to the Grand Canyon, but what if you decided to take a different exit and ended up at Mount Rushmore instead? Is that trip any less exciting or memorable than the one you would have had if you’d gone on to the Grand Canyon?

Unlike the Cautious Commuter, the Free Spirit thinks you’ll get there when you get there. Surprises are okay. Why plan things and suck the fun out of life? But… What if you get lost? Well, sometimes, getting lost isn’t so bad. You could always ask for directions. Consult your road map, find out where you got off track and head back. Or… just keep going to the next highway that is going where you’re headed. An alternate route can be just as fun.