But if I do pre-plan a storyline, I can have the fun of watching it go up in smoke! Obviously there's a balancing act here but I am semi-serious, I think sometimes having a plan which then must change is part of the fun.
Viewing post in Weird Fantasy 1 A Dialog with Anti-Canon comments
I haven't pre-planned a storyline since I was a teen (because its redundant at best, and anti-RPG at worst), but that doesn't mean I don't prep.
The change in perspective went from "I need to know where the story is going" to "I need tools to help me keep the story going if it ever hits a lull."
Noctis Labyrinth is a 100% about giving tools.
It's all a matter of perspective for sure. Something I've been working on putting into words is how I calibrate games to the fun that is happening and the fun that could be happening at the table I have. In terms of pre-planning, I often have notes on what players have done, said they plan to do, and how I think they'll react to things. Often tied with important things I want to build up to for later, so that I can keep track of when those things come up - and updating when new things come up in the course of play to change what seems to be important.
But in that process, sometimes what could be called a planned storyline develops, and sometimes events completely change what I'm expecting. And the times that's happened that I can remember have all been awesome. Most fun I've had running games.