Are you a plunger or a planner?

When I did a TAFE writing and editing course last year I learnt about the Snowflake method of writing long fiction. The basic premise is your centre and you add layer upon layer until you have a full working draft. I loved the idea of it working from the very core outwards to create your piece, but as I sat studiously down at my computer each day to write my one liner, my one paragraph, my full page synopsis, my four page synopsis etc, I felt that my inspiration was being constrained.

I had all these ideas for sub plots and quirky characters but the limitations of the process did not allow me to sufficiently flesh them out. The format of the Snowflake was keeping me too rigid.

So, then I wrote a short story for a closed group forum competition and had many suggestions to use it as a longer piece. Could I do a snowflake for this one?  Hell no! I plunged in and am already enjoying the many twists and turns that my new work has taken me on.

What do you do?