It's the first question new fantasy writers ask about him, because his books feel so engineered. The honest answer is both, though he leans hard toward one side, and the way he splits the difference is worth copying.
Architect First
In the old gardener-versus-architect split, Sanderson sits firmly on the architect side. He wants to know where a story is going before he starts, and he feels lost without a climax in mind. His outlines run detailed, especially for plot, and his magic systems get worked out with almost scientific rigor so that every payoff feels earned rather than convenient. That upfront engineering is why his big set pieces land the way they do.
He's put it about as directly as a writer can.
I'm (usually) an architect. I have to know where I'm going before I start.
Brandon Sanderson, brandonsanderson.com FAQ
But the Outline Breathes
The word architect can make the process sound rigid, and it isn't. Sanderson treats an outline as a living document he'll gut and rebuild whenever the story needs it, and he says he does that often. Too much rigidity actually works against him, because he can't make clever connections or find the surprising turn when every beat is locked down. So he builds a strong frame, then leaves himself room inside it to discover.
Character is where he leaves the most room. Sanderson tends to plan plot and setting ahead of time while letting his characters reveal themselves as he writes, which is why he'll describe himself as an outliner for plot and a discovery writer for people. The structure holds the book up. The characters grow inside it.
His practical method has a name he uses in his lectures: writing toward points on the map. He sets the major landmarks a story has to reach, the big turns and the ending, then gives himself freedom in how he travels between them. That keeps the organization of an outline without killing the spontaneity that makes drafting fun. He teaches all of this in his BYU creative writing lectures, which he's posted free on YouTube for anyone to watch.
To see how the planning connects to his daily hours and word count, read the full Brandon Sanderson writing routine.
What You Can Steal
- Outline the plot, discover the people. Plan where the story goes, then let the characters surprise you inside the frame.
- Know your ending first. A fixed climax gives every scene something to aim at.
- Keep the outline editable. Treat it as a draft you can tear up and rebuild.
- Aim for landmarks over turn-by-turn directions. Points on the map give structure without smothering discovery.