As writers and storytellers, we’re always searching for… something.
We’re always trying to figure out new techniques to use in our writing and make it better. Or we’re looking for new and exciting ideas to use in our stories. Or we’re hunting for inspiration. Or trying to find beauty to put in a poem.
Or, simply, waiting for a peaceful moment to sit, and think, and dream, and discover something new.
Photo courtesy of: flicker
Discovery writing
Discovery is one of the integral elements of creative writing; and discovery writing has fascinated me since the beginning. It amazes me that, no matter how carefully I plan out a story, there’s always something new to discover. There’s always something about the story that surprises me.
Whether it’s a spectral violinist that I didn’t know existed before I started writing (until next time, dear intruder), or a fish that inserts itself into a story without me knowing why (to see a fish), or a little girl being the one the man loves so much (the forth gift) instead of his wife like I had originally intended…
The sudden, unexpected discovery of previously unknown story elements—little bits of information that often change the entire story, and almost always happen by accident—seems to always be there in my creative writing.
That’s because discovery is the inevitable result of creativity.
And I love it!
It’s like the adrenalin spike I feel when I ride a roller coaster or the unexpected twist in my favorite book. It might not be the only reason why I do what I do, but it makes the experience so much more enjoyable.
And, most of the time, the things that I discovered while writing these stories, actually turned out to be better for them than how I had originally worked them out in my head.
Isn’t that great?
Not only did discovery writing make my stories better, but it also made the actual act of writing fun for me (which really is an incredible feat, if you didn’t know), and it also made me look forward to my writing sessions.
The anticipation of discovering something amazing about a new story was about as addicting to me as the feeling you get in your stomach when you’re riding a roller coaster—that sort of nervous excitement that stews inside of you just before the first drop.
Sure, I loved it. Writing would have been a lot less fun for me without that feeling. Yet, despite that, I couldn’t help but feel like something was wrong with the whole situation…
It came down to this: was I really okay with the best parts of my stories coming about completely by accident?
No. No I was not.
It was great that accidental discovery writing was working out for me—I am a storyteller, after all.
My goal as a storyteller is to tell the story in my head in the best way that I know how. If I achieve that goal by accident, well, then I still achieved my goal. No problems there.
But I’m also a writer.
My goal as a writer is to purposefully craft the best story that I possibly can. Because of that, I simply can’t rely on accidental discovery to write a great story.
How am I supposed to consistently write the best story that I can, when my best writing happens by accident?
I can’t.
I guess it’s a good thing that writers are “always looking for new techniques to use in our writing and make it better.” Huh?
Photo courtesy of: flicker
I didn’t want to rely on accidental discovery to improve my writing, and I’m sure you don’t want to either. So here…
Take these three ways to on-purpose discovery write
1. Make it a point to surprise yourself.
Throw in a twist that even you didn’t see coming.
Kill a character. Destroy the world. Hand the character everything that they ever wanted on a silver platter, but attach conditions to it. Bring in another character who wants the same thing. work in some sort of betrayal.
Ask yourself: what is the least likely thing to happen? And then figure out a way to make it possible.
The key here is to make the twist as surprising as possible, but still plausible within the scope of the story. This means avoiding deus ex machina, and unrealistic twists like a jedi knight suddenly appearing in a story about an elf stealing jewels from a dwarves’ beard…
and for the love of everything holy, please no “he woke up and realized it was all a dream.” That’s not a twist, that’s a cliché.
2. Write from a different perspective…
Tell a story from a point of view that doesn’t belong to the main character or from a perspective that isn’t directly involved in the story.
How would the hero’s dog tell the story? Or his sidekick? How would the story change if the villain was the one telling it? What if both the hero and the villain are telling the story in a courtroom and you write the story from the judge’s point of view?
Or maybe tell the story through the eyes of a partially disabled AI security system that is trying to stop a thief but doesn’t have access to all of it’s resources.
There are so many ways that you can tell a story. It doesn’t always have to be as simple as “the thief entered the building, ran into some trouble, but got away with the goods anyway.”
Change it up. Have a some fun. As a result of writing from a different perspective you’ll discover certain elements of a story that you wouldn’t have seen through the eyes of the main character.
3. Create a character on the spot.
Speaking of characters…
Sometimes all that a story needs is some new blood.
If you’re writing a story and you find that it’s becoming stale or not flowing quite right, introduce another character.
Make them your main character’s new friend, or new enemy. Make them annoying, or make them useful. Have them help move the story forward, or get in the main characters way to create conflict. It depends entirely on what the story needs.
But no matter how the new character turns out, their introduction will give you new ideas and material to play with—both moving the story forward, and giving you something new to discover…
So, now I want to know… How do you feel about discovery writing? Should it be accidental, or should we be practicing ways to discover our stories on purpose?