Discovery Writing For Every Writer

Just write.

Don’t you love this little gem of generic writing propaganda? It’s always there, ready and waiting, to be used by every “expert” as the answer to every question.

What’s truly obnoxious is that it’s right most of the time.

As writers, we aren’t usually struggling with ideas, editing, or prose. We’re struggling with our fears, imposter syndrome, and motivation.

Sometimes we really do need to sit down and just write.

No, I’m not going to tell you to do that. You’ll never find this site infected by that virus.

(I disinfect daily)

Instead, let’s talk about a real method that can be used to explore our stories, bridge gaps in our structure, and create softer transitions between our fears and finished drafts.

Discovery Writing

Discovery writing is letting your imagination roam freely around an idea. No plan, no direction, just writing whatever is in your head.

For pantsers, this is usually the default. It is the way we generate ideas and naturally expand our stories.

For planners, this can be a terrifying prospect. It can feel like a deviation from their process and the complete opposite of how they normally build a story.

There are ways for every writer to use this technique inside their process.

But first, let’s look at this method in action.

Discovery writing is for the writer, not the reader.

Discovery Writing Examples

Discovery writing doesn’t always look the way people expect it to. These are a couple of real examples of my own discovery writing.

Sometimes, it looks like prose.

“Hello, brat.” Kallen never smiled, at least not at me but I could see his amusement.

I stepped up to him, straightening my spine to tower over him. “I’m not sure you can call me that anymore. I’m not sure you ever could.”

“Of course, Your Majesty,” he said, but didn’t move away.

“What are you doing here?”

“Eldra invited me. I do business with Baswan and she wanted my perspective on future trade.”

“You know Eldra of Baswan?”

“I know the Goddess Chosen too.” He smiled for Aliria and she smiled back. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to greet my host.”

And sometimes, it looks like this:

There’s a man with piercing blue eyes, no, grey eyes and dark hair. He’s watching this woman from across the room. He can't take his eyes off her. They know each other but he’s done something to disrupt their relationship. I don’t know what yet, but something and he’s desperate to find his way back to her.

Both are useful and valid. Neither are draft ready. They don’t have to be.

Discovery writing is for the writer, not the reader.

These are for my eyes only (and now yours, I guess).

No matter what you need to explore, the words can get you there. How you write those words is irrelevant because no one is going to see them anyway. (Unless you add them to your very public online articles)

The difference in format comes from where I wrote these examples inside my writing process. It’s less about perfection and more about the writing providing what I need at the time.

How you apply your discovery writing is up to you but here are some examples of how I use it from planning to drafting.

Writing Visions

The man staring at a woman across a room is a vision. He’s what I see. Not a plot. Not an outline. Just a glimpse into a world I didn't know existed until he arrived.

What I’m actually picturing is a moment.

Stories are written in moments.

The encounter. The kiss. The battle.

I’m willing to bet you envision moments as well.

Now I’m going to say something to you as gently as possible - Write. Them. Down.

Write them before you outline. Write them in the middle of planning. Write them while you’re drafting something else.

Get the parts you see out of your head in any format necessary. They may be nothing – but they may also be something. Don’t let them get away.

Discovery Writing Inside Containers

The conversation piece is an example of how I plot a novel – by discovering inside a container. In this case, it’s a B Story Scene that introduces a new character. It’s not the entire scene. It’s the mood, the tension, the hint of backstory and jealousy.

When I return to expand this scene, I’ll know my destination. That’s all I needed at this stage of the process.

FYI, this is how I plan a novel. I plot and discovery write at the same time inside a pre-built structure with containers. I have articles on Magical containers as well as my hybrid plantsing method coming soon.

Discovery Writing In Layers

Maybe you noticed that there’s zero description in those examples. My character-driven mind doesn’t care about the color of the walls. So one layer of my drafting becomes discovering those details in a scene by scene pass.

Do I insert my rambles about wallpaper into my draft? Absolutely not. I cherry pick what I need. The discovery writing provides the details – I decide which ones to use.

This layering technique can be extremely effective if you struggle with one aspect of a story. Struggling with dialogue? Strip it out of the scene. Forget about dialogue tags (don’t get me started on dialogue tags). Write the conversation in a simple texting style without worrying about the rest of the scene. Add it back to the scene once you’re comfortable with it.

Thanks to this section, an entire article on Writing in Layers is coming soon. I’ll update with a link when it’s available.

Discovery Write For Yourself

Discovery writing is for you, my little writer. It’s not something you have to do. It’s not something that requires rules and formats. It’s a tool that can be applied as you need it inside your process. Use it. Enjoy it even. Let it work for you.