There is no wrong way to write a story, friends! We talk about that a lot here at Go Teen Writers. And while there is a lot of advice out there on how to plot out your novel, I find great joy in discovering my story as I write.
So let’s talk about it. How do you even begin to write a story without establishing a plan or outline in advance? I’d like to give you a peek into my process.
In the early days of toying with an idea, I jot down every idea that pops into my head about a particular story concept. I keep those ideas in a notebook that I haul with me when running errands or sitting in the school parking lot waiting for my kids. Itās not fancy. Itās just a cheap notebook with ideas arranged in no particular order. But I make sure to keep it at my elbow when Iām sitting down to write.Ā
To begin the process of discovering who the appropriate narrator is for my story, I peruse the thoughts Iāve jotted down, the possible story directions, and I zero in on a thought that can be transformed into a scene on the page. The scene I choose is not particularly important, but Iāve noticed that I have a tendency to choose a point in time that could feasibly be worked into an opening chapter. Itās just the way I seem to work.
Once I have my moment selected, I give myself two maybe three minutes to think about what might happen and where the scene might be headed, and then I set a timer for fifteen minutes and I donāt stop writing until the timer goes off. This tool is called a Word Sprint, and I draft large portions of my novels this way. Word Sprints are how I capture my first thoughts on any given moment.
After fifteen minutes of writing, I do one of two things. I either set the timer for another fifteen minutes and keep going, or I allow myself to read back what Iāve written, typos and all. I might let myself embellish some, or toy with an idea for a moment, but then I set the timer and go again.
I do this for as long as it takes to answer these two questions:
Who is my narrator? And do I like my protagonist?
Things I want to discover about my narrator during these early writing sessions:
Point of view: Who is telling my story? Will there be one narrator or several? Is my narrator the protagonist of the story or is someone else describing events as they happen? If so, is this someone else an all-knowing, all-seeing omniscient narrator or are they another character? In any case, how much knowledge, experience, and education does my narrator have?
Tense: When is my story taking place? Is my story taking place in the past? If so, is it the recent past or the distant past? Maybe my story is taking place in the present?
When I first did this exercise for the book Iām working on now, I hated the way my first thoughts fell onto the page. I didnāt like the narrator (omniscient, btw) at all. But what I learned when I read my words back was that I loved my protagonist. I liked her story as I was beginning to piece it together in my head, and I wanted to examine it further.
When I came back to the page, I chose a different moment from my notebook to zero in on and I began in first person, present tense. During this fifteen minute sprint, I didnāt deviate from first person, present. I stayed with my hero in that moment until the fifteen minutes were up.
When I started the timer over again, I chose another moment from my notebook, an earlier moment in my heroās life, and though I stayed in first person, I switched to past tense.
After those fifteen minutes were up, I realized how much I liked this format, moving back and forth between my heroās current struggle and her past life. It was an eye-opening half hour for me, and though it took two different writing sessions to figure it out, I now know everything I need to know about the point of view and tense of my work-in-progress, and Iāve discovered that I do really like my protagonist. I want to know more about her. More than that, I think weāll get along well enough for me to allow her to rent space in my head for the better part of a year.
Things I want to discover about my protagonist during these early writing sessions:
Once Iāve sorted out my narrator and protagonist, itās time to breathe some life into the character weāll be following through the story. While some writers fill out character worksheets, I rarely stop to flesh my protagonist out. I make some very basic decisions on her behalf relating to her place in the world and what her goals are, and then, for the most part, I discover her intricacies as I write the story.
Like everything else, I wonāt know who she is until sheās there on the page.
As I continue my word sprints, here are some things I need to discover about my protagonist:
What does my protagonist want? This is a loaded question of course, because at any given time you and I want several things. But while I may discover some interesting tidbits as I write, there are two very important wants that I am keeping an eye out for:
These two things will drive my hero and my readers from the very beginning of my story to the end. If I want to carry them all with me, itās important that I discover the answer to these two questions fairly early on in my drafting process.
Why isnāt my protagonist equal to the task? The problem facing my main character must be large. Insurmountable even. And because showing character growth is so critical, my protagonist must somehow appear unequal to the challenge.
I saw a video once featuring an inspiring little boy. He was at the park with his mother and sister and he wanted to climb up the stairs of a jungle gym and go down the slide. And, no, he didnāt want his mamaās help. Not a huge goal, not even all that admirable. Until you realize this little boy was born with no arms and no legs.
Iām a weeper and I had no desire to cry off my makeup that morning, but two things kept me watching the computer screen: the boyās determination and the impossibility of the task. I watched as this beautiful little boy used his entire body, face-included, to inch his way up the stairs and then roll to the slide where he victoriously slid down.
What an accomplishment! If we can pair a compelling hero with overwhelming odds, we just might have a story worth writing.
Is my protagonist compelling? Note that I didnāt say likeable. Likeability isnāt a must, but I certainly want a hero the reader will willingly root for. Some of the best protagonists are prickly characters, but thereās something about every great main characterās nature or actions that readers find compelling, desirous, or relatable. I want my hero to be someone that is welcomed, not only into my head, but into the readerās.
Where does my protagonist fit in the world around her? As Iām noodling away at scenes, other characters will inevitably crop up. Some of them arenāt surprises; theyāre characters Iāve chewed on a bit, but many of them are new. With my current work in progress, I recently discovered that my protagonist has three brothers. Two of them are older and one is the baby of the family. I didnāt plan that, but it begins to define my heroās place in her family, and it gives me a dynamic I can work with. Similar developments will arrive when I place my protagonist into her friend group and into her classroom. Each scene that unfolds teaches me about my lead, and with every word I put on the page, I learn more and more about who my character is and who she isnāt.
The more I write, the more Iāll discover about the story as a whole, and the closer Iāll get to creating a hero worth following from those opening chapters all the way to THE END.
Tell me, do you enjoy the process of discovery writing, or do you prefer to plan out your story first?
Shannon Dittemore is an author and speaker. Her books include theĀ Angel Eyes trilogy, a supernatural foray into the realm of angels and demons, as well as the fantastical adventure novelĀ Winter, White and Wicked. Its sequel, Rebel, Brave and Brutal is due out January 10, 2023.
Shannonās stories feature strong female leads grappling with fear and faith as they venture into the wilds of the unknown. Sheās often wondered if sheās writing her own quest for bravery again and again.
Itās a choice she values highly. Bravery. And sheās never more inspired than when young people ball up their fist and punch fear in the face.
To that end, Shannon takes great joy in working with young writers, both in person and online at Go Teen Writers, an instructional blog recognized by Writerās Digest four years running as a ā101 Best Websites for Writersā selection.
For more about Shannon and her books, please visit her website, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
I love discovery writing. I often have to rewrite my whole novel before it’s worth editing though. My first draft is my outline of sorts, definitely not readable by anyone else.
Love this post! Discovery writing is the only thing that works for me – I don’t have the patience for outlining. My current WIP started off as just a tiny seed of an idea that I couldn’t quite put my finger on, but as soon as I started writing, it really started developing! I write Christian fiction, and I once read that the Christian fiction writer Francine Rivers says her ideas start with a question she has in my faith walk, and the answer is revealed to her through her characters’ journeys as she writes. I thought that was great advice, so that’s what I do. And I love that little boy’s perseverance! That’s awesome.
I am very much a discovery writer, but I’ve learned to appreciate outlining as well (mainly for middles and endings). I have found that free-writing backstories really helps me flesh out my characters, and doesn’t mess up my draft!
This is really helpful! I am worldbuilding and re-plotting my series out at the same time, and this will be nice to keep in the front of my mind as I write. Thanks for another great post!
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Thank you for the excellent post! I will give this technique a try, it sounds like it will keep me from overthinking how to transition, which is something I always have to clean up in the editing anyway.
I am a bit of both, I suppose. I have a rough idea of some scenes that NEED to happen, but most of my character discovery happens as I go. My planner is constantly shifting; scenes I once thought necessary replaced or removed, new characters calling out for attention, old characters making decisions I didn’t ask of them, etc. I like to go in with a broad concept idea of the characters and sometimes plot, then let them show me the rest.
I really love your thoughts on how to find a story in your random ideas! I’m about to start a new book, and pretty much all I have is a couple character. I have a feeling Word Sprints and I are going to become good friends as I begin this journey!
This method of starting a story seems really fun. I’ll have to try it with my next project.
Normally, I think I’m sort of a combination planner and discovery writer. I feel compelled to have a guideline in place for me to follow, but I end up surprising myself along the way. Then again, my WIP is the first book I ever really dedicated myself to, so my process will probably evolve as I get more books under my belt and work with new ideas. Can’t wait to see where that journey takes me!
This is a really encouraging post for me right now, so thank you. I’ve been trying to discovery write with my current project and I’ve never used this approach on something I’m serious about working on & finishing, so it’s been a bit of a struggle. Your words on the subject inspire me!
I’ve always been quite a discovery writer, but it makes it really hard to continue past the first couple chapters (enter my innumerable story ideas which only proceeded to Chapter 4). Lately I’ve been trying to outline more. This process seems like it may be the perfect between for me– especially since it seems as if I’ve already begun it. I currently have a notebook full of random scribbles– song lyrics, place names, character relationships– which I’m using to slowly build my story. I’ll have to try writing a scene soon!
I’m more of a plan things out kind of girl, otherwise my story just wanders around and I get bored if I don’t have at least some idea what I want to happen. But I don’t outline super in-depth most of the time, and this is an interesting way of discovering. I’d like to try it out. Thank you!
I enjoy discovering my story as I go. I find that if I do too much plotting ahead of time that it kills my enjoyment and momentum with my story.
I rarely do the discovery part, but I always plan things out in an outline, I leave parts of my outline open for spontaneous game-changing twists. I love outlines because they give me a sense of where Iām going and what to do next. It also probably helps that I enjoy making lists, and thus some of that emotion leeks into my outline writing!
I’m a mix between a planner and discovery writer. Alot of times I’ll plan things out a little, start writing, keep writing until I’m out of ideas – ones I’ve written down, and ones I’ve come up with as I go – and then once I get super stuck, I plan a bit more. I’ll have to try this method! Thanks for the great ideas! ?
I’m not exactly a discovery writer, but I’m definitely not a plotter. For the 100-for-100, I’ve figured out a really weird system. I build a daily jigsaw puzzle online, and whatever the picture is of, I have to incorporate it into my book. The puzzle for today was a sunset. I decided I would have Snow White and the dwarfs to sit outside watching the sunset, and once Snow has tucked the dwarfs into bed, the evil stepmother shows up. I think it’s going to be a really interesting twist of events. Also, I’m discovering that Snow might actually be insane, making for a potentially great unreliable narrator.
This is an awesome post! I definitely do a lot of discovery writing. There are some things in my story that I never would have seen coming just a few weeks ago. I love the idea of Word sprints and I’m definitely going to try them out. I find that in my first draft I don’t really think too much, I just sit down and write and everything just kinda flows onto the page!
Thanks for this awesome advice!!!
Oh yeah, discovery writing is one of my favorite parts of writing. I like getting to know my characters and telling their story. I hate having to cut out parts that don’t further the story though, especially when I really like them.
I like to write by the seat of my pants, and I do a lot of Word Sprinting (although I call it Free Writing). But I also like exploring and coming to understanding of my character(s) some before I start the writing process. Thanks for the post, Shannon! As I was reading, some things I’ve been questioning about my story started to form part-way together in my head! Yay! š
I tend to do a mix of both. I haven’t done enough long projects to be fully settled into a method, but what I’m discovering with my current WIP is that I work well if I aim for the middle of the spectrum.
I need to know where I’m headed in the end, or my brain doesn’t know where it should channel its creativity and nothing gets written. But I’ve also learned that my writing is too short and flat if I try to outline too carefully. So what I do right now is have a master file with my main characters’ arcs and important events that happen in the story, and I outline a handful of chapters ahead (of where I’m at), but I don’t plot out the whole story. That way I have room to explore and use the full potential of the character dynamics and situations, but I know what I’m doing with the story, and I know what’s going to happen in the immediate next chapter or three.