Hello, my name is Meredith Mansfield and I’m a discovery writer.
And, no, I’m not looking for a twelve-step program. I like it just the way it is, thank you.
Some writers–many very successful writers–fully outline a story before they start. I know writers who have every scene mapped before they put “Chapter One” at the top of a page. More power to them. If I outlined in that detail, I would never write the story. What would be the point? I’d already have told it.
For some of us, the more often we tell the story (and outlining is telling the story, just in a boring way), the less enthusiasm we have for it. We have to be free to find things out as we go along. We’re discovery writers or sometimes pantsers (because we write by the seat of our pants).
I set up a basic structure for my novel, so I know where I’m going. It helps to keep me from veering off into the weeds (too much). And then I start. I generally sort of outline about a chapter ahead as I go.
The fun part is, I’m learning parts of the story at the same time I’m writing the first draft. Yes, that means that I’ll have things I need to go back and add, change, or delete in the second draft. That’s okay. I make a note and move on.
But as I get really into a story, as I’m into SEVEN STARS right now, new things come into my head and I get to explore them, turn them around and look at them from the other side, and decide whether or not to put them in the story. It grows. It gets better. Things that were hazy when I wrote that proto synopsis come into focus. How to get the characters from A to B or how to accomplish that important plot point becomes clear. They’re still new and exciting and I get to write them while that excitement is fresh.
And I’m willing to bet discovery writers have more fun.
Hello devoted hatracker, thought I’d check out your blog. Like you, I guess I’m half way in between a pantser and a…Outliner. My last (and I think best work) was mostly Pantsesque in terms of the world. I made almost no rules about it, but I did find after a year or so that I was like “what is this story even about? Where is it going?” I didn’t even know who the villain was until the last couple months.
Having learned from that, I do a basic outline. Where the story ends, some key but floating events that have to happen. Then when I get stuck I just go the the event I think happens next and work it backwards.
I defintely seckon the dread of retelling a story =)
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Yes. I find a basic sort of outline helps keep things on track.
If you read some of my other posts, you’ll discover this story (SEVEN STARS) doesn’t even have an antagonist. But it’s working pretty well, anyway. There are definitely forces in opposition to my characters. Just not ones that have a single face. Well, perhaps later in the book. But that’ll be part of the climax, I think.
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🙂 I’m doing a PhD on discovery writing. Just found your blog, liked it, and bookmarked it. It’s interesting that you set up a structure and then write. I’m interviewing writers and finding that lots of discoverers tend to have some idea of their story, but then enjoy fleshing it out and finding new bits as they write.
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Yes, but the structure I use is very basic. I’d like to know the main points of the story. The inciting incident (well, you almost have to know that), the first and second try/fail cycles, and the climax. That’s it. In a pinch, I’ll settle for just the inciting incident and the climax.
And I’m still willing to just fly by the seat of my pants with a short story and see where it goes.
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[…] posted before about being a (modified) discovery writer here and here among others. I’m perfectly willing to embark on a short story on the basis of an idea and […]
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