Why I Discovery Write | 9 Ways It's Made My Writing Better! 

I feel the same way about all of this! Love the way you articulate the benefits. Sometimes it's so hard to articulately explain.

“if i see math, i want to pass out” this is what describes my life right now

When I "discovery" write, I feel as if I'm simultaneously reading and writing the story; as a reader, I'm excited to find out what happens next, as a writer I can make things happen any way I want them to. But plotting also works when 1) I know all the major plot points (and there aren't that many of them), and 2) I approach it as if writing the story, concentrating on just the essentials. Essentially like a very rough draft.

I feel like I fall somewhere smack dab between being a discovery writer and a plotter because I need the major plot points and ending before I go in to have something to work toward and because plot is my weakest element. And I also need to do enough world-building to pin down the sort of world these characters exist in because I mainly write fantasy. But once I have those major plot points and world-building elements, all the rest is filled in by discovery writing. This process makes it easier for me as someone who hates writing chronologically. Knowing just enough about my story let’s me jump around, but not knowing everything keeps drafting exciting and allows me to be super open to changing aspects of the story and just going where the characters pull me.

So in tune with you. I can't outline. I change my mind too much. I prefer to let my characters lead me and discover as I go along.

That elitism is definitely there, even for somebody like me who only writes for myself. I felt bad for not being able to do stuff "on purpose" or like I was too unfocused or bad at a craft that I only picked up to bring myself joy. I have a lot of trouble with having the whole story laid out right in front of me; it's too much pressure to have everything figured out before I can even really get started.

I went on a writing course and they were furious that I didn't do an outline and they made me feel like I was never going to be a succeed as a writer because I was doing it wrong. Thank you so much for this video

Underwriting! That's exactly what happens most of the time I've tried plotting. As a discovery writer, I have much more success. I guess I'm not rushing scenes when I let what happens next grow organically.

I found out in the very very hard way that outlining kills the story for me. I've killed one. Started writing, then decided to be all Organised and In Control. Once I made the outline, my brain decided "Ok, work done, no more imagining new stuff for you" and I was left with a handful of scenes and a skeleton of a story that I could not fill in. And when I tried, it was seriously some BAD writing. And it was exhausting. So what I do is allow my brain to show me as many possible scenes as I can catch and write them down. Once caught and typed, I give them order/logical flow and THEN see if there is stuff missing in between. I mark missing scenes to be written and work on them in whatever order my brain allows me to. BUT if it turns out some of them go a bit awry... I let them. Then I edit, edit, edit. Yes, it requires redoing a lot, because maybe one scene opens with something that isn't linked to how the previous one ended. But I can do that. Multiple edit runs are OK, because they give me a finished product, which is readable and, dare I say, GOOD. While making an outline would give me... an outline. And no book at all. (and yeah, I've heard people going HOW CAN YOU JUST WRITE...!?!?!?)

I write like a potter. I make a sketch. A good story concept fits in one sentence. That sentence is my clay. From there I just start adding detail to it until it is super detailed. Then I go over it and cut out things that drag the plot out and I am left with some shards that are really good on their own, but need fitting together. After many long nights of a lot of coffee and nature ASMR the shards stick together and make a coherent story.

I never thought about this thing you said, that you see the story in tiny bits and details more than from a zoomed out position. I do exactly the same, and it was so obvious when I tried outlining, cause I ended up changing a LOT of crucial parts when writing, cause they didn't fit in the little ideas I had lol

bruh when you started talking about previously established character motivations no longer working because the character has changed so much....... i felt so SEEN,,, great video btw, you've definitely been a great help in assuaging the squirmy guilt i used to get whenever I heard somebody talk about the NECESSITY of outlining

“In real life there is no outline…” Spot on! And such a liberation it is… Loved that one.

Every writer has their own style.

This describes me exactly. I've always been told I NEED to outline. Outlining completely destroys my ability to create or think about my story. So I just stopped writing altogether. I don't know why I never just tried to discovery write again, but this video was so validating to hear! Thank you!

I'm an incorrigible planner-out - and I'm impressed with your discovery method, too! I would like to do that but I flounder without a plan.

I love outlining stories but I hate writing stories that I've outlined, so I end up not writing them at all. That's why I also prefer to discovery write. Great video as always, Shaelin :)

21:00 "I know you hate outlining, that it's no fun to you but this isn't about having fun; writing is art!" I too hate when people think like that. Art is about meaning and emotion. If one doesn't feel right doing it, it's going to disturb their creative process. One of the most common advice I give to people with Writer's Block is that if they can't make themselves write, if something doesn't feel right, they should try to connect with their work again and get rid of what doesn't feel right. Feelings are immensely powerful tools, use them wisely. Even a lightsaber left on a shelf can't do shit.

im always so impressed by people who can discovery write! i need a super detailed outline to start writing or i end up running out of ideas or backing myself into a corner, and i feel like i can actually enjoy playing around with the writing once i've outlined the plot. i really enjoyed hearing your perspective as someone who has a totally different experience!

i also found that outlining sometimes made me come up with really convoluted and prescriptive motivations for my characters. i think because i was trying to make things a little too logical? Too basic? I mean i was too concerned about making things look good on paper because I was literally writing all this subtext out on paper. Plus i wasn't experiencing any emotion because I wasn't in the character's headspace, so I couldn't even tell how superficial I was being

I thought I absolutely could not write a novel without having an extremely detailed, chapter by chapter outline and full character profiles, life stories, the works. But I was constantly hitting brick walls with my novel. I watched this and decided to try just discovery writing it and seeing what happened, and wow. What a world of difference. The plot is coming together so much easier now, the world and characters feel more real, and I'm just having so much more fun with it. It definitely feels more immersive which I love! I have a vague idea of the arcs for each main character and the overall direction of the plot, but I'm discovering how to get there through actually writing it rather than planning. I can't tell you how glad I am that I watched this video and gave it a shot. Thank you!

I resonate so much with observant writing! There's just something fundamentally different about vague would-be plot points vs writing in the moment in the scene :D

the first point is SO relatable. Whenever I go in a direction that won't work my brain lets me know near immediately and until I retry a certain scene or moment I simply cannot go forward. In a way I'm happy about it because I can never go too far without feeling like something needs to go differently, and when I can finally pass I feel really good about what I have for that part. I think the way I write is that I have these certain plot points but what happens in them and how they get to an outcome or what that outcome is is completely procedural. For example, over the first four chapters of my novel I had a mystery playing out that goes right up to the inciting incident. How that mystery unfolded? I had no clue until I got to each chapter. I knew what I wanted to come of the inciting incident but how it got there? I couldn't have told you. And sometimes while I'm writing I end up taking myself on a completely different ride and adapt what happens next from that instead.

9:30 "The plot moves based on what the characters want". That's so accurate! I like plotting a story trajectory at the beginning, it's like a safety net. But my characters often stray from the outline as they grow. I'm not the best at reading people so it takes a while for me to understand who a character really is. The sooner they diverge from the plan, the greater the impact on the rest of the story. The structure doesn't change drastically but the motivations along the way certainly do. I'm sure many employ a blend of discovery writing and outlining.

This is such an apt description of exactly how I feel. Once I outline I’m no longer invested in the story. It’s like the story has already been birthed.

I love this video and totally agree with all you said. I love just jumping in and seeing where it goes. I do start with a "superficial" outline, like artsy girl meets skater boy and they fall in love, and by the end it's like a gymnast on her way to the olympics gets hurt in a trampoline accident and pushes through her grief by painting. One of her pieces is selected to be printed on shirts by a skateboarding company executive who falls in love with the girl, teaches her to skate, and she goes on to win an Olympic gold medal in skateboarding...see on the spot, just like that, so much fun 😂💕

So true, I love to write intuitively as well it's just much more enjoyable to see what the work wants to become instead of having a rigid framework imo, the creative process is a fluid one

Thank you for explaining so thoroughly exactly why I've been struggling. I always had thin extraneous useless scenes...and it took me seven drafts (all of which were first drafts because I chucked each one out and started over). Going to discovery write my next novel.

You legit just spoke my entire thought process! Ive been worried that i was doing it wrong because I recently realized I'm a discovery writer and I've watched SO many videos of other writers basically bashing on it and saying that the characters and plot would all fall flat etc... but this definitely reassured me!

When you said "experiencing" vs "remembering" I was sold and subscribed! Keep up the good work.

I also think it's so important to WRITE the story to truly understand the characters and how they act/react/are. So most of the time I'll just start writing (pantsing) to get a feel for the characters and the environment, and THEN I'll go back and flesh out an outline knowing what I now know.

Thank you so much! I didn't realise I needed this video, but after watching and listening to your thoughts on discovery writing I think it is totally my method! I've been writing this way without proper understanding of such fact. And yeah, I'm learning not to rush, slow down a bit and just enjoy writing, because that's why I started. Thank you very, very much!🌸💖

Shaelin I love you, this just made me so inspired! (Your videos always do) Your rediscovering of discovery writing has made me realize that I prefer to write that way too and it’s brought my projects back to life! Thank you for everything, I look forward to the next time we hear from you!

Whenever I try to outline I just get bored and start pantsing. I feel like it sucks the fun out of writing if I'm constantly planning out everything

This is so refreshing to hear! I have always tried to outline, but it's left me feeling drained and exactly like you said - "a pane of glass" between me and the characters. I feel like so much of planning-writing happens in a different part of my brain/body than the actual writing.

I am so glad I clicked on this video. I've been watching you for years. I think my journey as a writer started off as me consuming as much content about writing as possible. Then, I tried to write a book, a very bad book 😂 Then I took a couple years off and completed my degree in Psych. I wrote my first full length novel in 2019, using an outline, but I learned that my drafts are SO much better when I don't plot. And, you just made it very clear as to why. The bit about "remembering the scene" vs being present for it as you discover the scene really stuck with me. I think you're also spot on with being able to continue when something isn't working with an outline, rather than being forced to deal with it right away. I don't think I would have finished my book without the Outline, BUT I've noticed a steep decline in the quality of the draft with an outline. So going forward, I'm not going to outline that way anymore.

I think you just exposed the writers heart for every discovery writer out there. Very eloquent. Nice job. I am a discovery writer. I tried plotting, but it sapped my enjoyment of the writing process. It was difficult for me to change things that weren't working when I didn't want to have to alter an entire outline. And yes, I definitely felt a barrier between me and my characters. I do a lot of editing, but I think it stems more from how fast I draft and the fact that I'm an underwriter. World building is my biggest struggle, so filling in those details constitutes a large portion of my first edit.

I really relate to your reasons for discovery writing. I've experienced most of these symptoms and roadblocks when I outline. Thanks for sharing your feelings so thoroughly and so well!

I feel so seen! Most of my best ideas come to me when I'm actively drafting. It was so liberating when I realized that this is just how my process work and I don't have to outline. I think there's something about the act of writing that turns on a new way of thinking that I can't quite achieve by just thinking or 'letting it stew'. I also noticed that if I plan too far ahead it's hard to keep myself engaged with the story because it takes out the curiosity. Anyway thank you so much for this video! I'm going to use the term 'observant writing' soooo much from now on

SUBSCRIBED!! I'm so happy to find another writer whose process is so like my own!! Thank you. 🙏🏻

Thank you for articulating what I’ve been trying to put into words for literal years!

I hadn't been able to put into words how I felt until you described that "distance" when writing with an outline, and about that dynamic of just writing one scene to move on to the next. I have been trying all sorts of things to make my outlines work and now I'm realizing I might not even need them; you described your experience with discovery writing in such a lovely way that you've inspired me to take a leap of faith and try it myself. Also, excellent video as always!

This was great!!! It gave me a lot of perspective and I too am impressed by writers who Discovery Write and your ability to throw yourself in the story and live through it, learning about it as you go. Seems so fun! I used to (try to) write without an outline in the past and I would feel overwhelmingly lost. I love writing slowly and, with the safety that I already have "everything" figured out, I can just let myself take my time and really get imersed in each scene. And there's still room for curiosity, it's just less about the overall development and more about the little tiny details, less about WHAT is gonna happen and more about HOW to translate it into words, how to use language to evoke the emotions that I want and to make the reader feel what my characters are feeling. But ultimately, I just have so much fun even in like, planning to plan. I love figuring out everything and seeing the script basically unfold itself and go connecting the dots, and it makes drafting (that's usually hard for me) more pleasing and easy going. It's like you said, in the end of the day, it should be FUN and this elitism makes no sense at all.

Oh you so perfectly articulated why I love discovery writing ❤

Love this video. Thanks for a ton of wisdom as always Shaelin.

Okay, yep, halfway through and you’ve definitely proved to me that I am actually a discovery writer! Thank you so much for this video, Shaelin, you’ve really helped me in how I’ll be treating my process in the future!

This is where my envy emerges: that you can see your work in the little particular moments. I've had a desire to get back to that, having seen my projects consistently balloon into multiple-book epics that are doomed to never be finished. It has less to do with "plotter vs. pantser" (they both seem to yield enough short-term effectiveness) than it does with personal issues i.e. the bout of alcoholism I'm working to crawl out of. Still, to be a plotter has sapped my work of any life and purpose. It's just a bunch of sentence n' syllable machinery.

Omg thank you for making this video! It’s exactly how I feel about outlining/discovery writing!

This video describes so well the experience I had with outlining and discovery writing! Thank you for making me feel like a valid writer once again

Thanks so much for this. As a discovery writer myself, it's so nice to see someone talk about how outlining isn't necessarily the be-all and end-all for writing methods. I particularly like the bit about needing to know where the story's already been. This is true for me too. I can't write chapter 4 without writing chapters 1, 2, and 3 first.

So happy that theres a video about discovery writing! I feel like its what i needed my whole writing journey but no one was able to tell me about it because its not a popular thing😢

I am grandma who wants to learn how to tell stories better and your channel is one of the best I’ve found! Thank you for sharing your perspectives and experiences!

Hey Shaelin, I really appreciate all your great content. I want to tell you what a huge difference it made to me that you were looking directly into the camera for this one instead of slightly to the side of it. I'm not sure if it was deliberate or what, but it was categorically better for me, so thanks for that and I hope you keep it up!

One of the reasons I love your channel is that our brains work very similarly when it comes to writing, so many of the things that work for you end up working for me as well

this was SO validating! i always try to outline but my brain just cannot plan a story that much. its great to follow a fellow discovery writer

I totally agree about all of this! Thanks for taking the time to articulate these points.

Ooh, I like this. I'm a discovery writer because that's how I've always naturally written. Often I'll have a vision, an end goal or "painting" in sight, but I need to write until I get there. I can't write down the vision itself first. I lose my drive and end up trying too hard if I "know too much" about what comes next. It becomes more, "get to the next point", than, "explore what's happening now". Not to mention, I rarely know enough about my story when I start it, to make an outline in the first place.

Thank you for freeing me from the constraints of the outline. 🥰

This. This is the video I have been looking for. I thought maybe I was a discovery writer, but I had tried various forms of outlining too. Now I know for sure that I'm a discovery writer thanks to your video! Thank you so much!! Can't wait to watch the tips video! P.S. I also want to pass out when I see math related things! 🤣🤣🤣

This. Video. Shaelin. I just needed this, and it came to me at the right time. I have TRIED for YEARS to finish my 200th draft of an old story, and I just could not! And when you said that its like you are Experiencing the story with pantsing, and RETELLING the story with outlining, it all came together for me. I am NOT an outliner! I really really wants to, my perfectionism (and maybe even a bit of undiagnosed autism) really wants me to, but my ADHD DONT want the effing MATH and outline! It is killing my creativity. THIS video convinced me I am not an outliner. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! *Opening a blank page, being excited for the first time in forever

Love your channel. I've been writing for 20 years or so. I use both methods, I guess that each story demands different ways of working it out. I didn't know this two methods of writing generated such a heated debate, until I started watching RU-vid dealing with this issues. Greetings from Mexico.

What an awesome video. You miss are the best. I am a panster I belive fully - still new to the craft! You say what I feel and make it all so clear. I love it, and thank you so much! 🌺👍

Love your videos. Thanks for all you do.

I definitely lean more discovery writing. One thing I've learned though is that this is not the same as no-prep writing. I've really struggled with writing where I don't quite feel like I'm hitting the right depth, and I sort of flounder, not sure if it's an neurotic internal editor or not. However, you give me time to do research on whatever topics I want to write about? Let me go full academia on whatever it is, independent of any narrative considerations? Oh man, suddenly the concepts flow a lot more smoothly, and I can diagnose things. If outline writers like to have lots of structured information at hand, by the same token, I need lots of unstructured information.

OMG! From someone who is also a pantser (okay, I'm gonna say a discovery writer from now on) plotting is soooooo hard to do. I can only plot for a tiny bit and will definitely will not use them a lot. I am so glad that I found your channel that celebrate DISCOVERY WRITERS! Thanks Shaelin!

Shaelin, I am a discovery writer and I love the magic of discovering the story as I write with the characters’ journeys. For novels that require research, I may need to plan, but I don’t necessarily enjoy outlining every scene of my story. The plots of my stories are not always structured. I love your video because we have a similar writing style and process. I much prefer drafting over editing, and therefore spending time immersed in the drafting is important. I can write short stories without even thinking of a plan in mind. For novels, I need to think a little more, but I still discovery write my novel length manuscripts. I love you

oh wow I found this very motivating! as someone who often comes up with story ideas but doesn't write them down, I've always though the process of writing (or at least the outlining process I usually see recommended) intimidating but what you've described is how I go through these ideas in my head or closer to how DMing a game of dungeons and dragons goes (at least for me I don't know how people can have an ending of a campaign planned before the characters are even made???).

This is exactly how I feel!! I mean, I have some plot points, ending, a general idea where I'm going, but once I decide on that, I literally do not know how to decide on chapters and smaller scenes, because I cannot shape characters without knowing their experiences beforehand and that requires actual writing, describing character's emotions, etc. Great video!

Great video. I've written two books now. The first i plotted extensively. The second one i wrote just 7 lines of where the story will begin and end with a few scenes i already had in mind. The rest i just took the discovery writing approach and i love this style a lot more. I find outlines too confining and without one i don't get any of those exciting 'oh, i can do this next' and have immense fun allowing the characters and story to go where it needs to go. I do have the ending in mind because it's the perfect one for thos book but i may have even fewer bullet points and no ending planned for the next book as i genuinely loved the process of discovery writing more. One tip i would give those who want to try discovery writing is to relax as much as possible and not worry to much where the scene will go next. Just focus on the scene you're writing now. Sometimes that means thinking about the next scene while you're having a shower or working out. Sometimes it means staring at a screen and looking at the previous scenes to get a sense of the next logical step. And when you find a solution go for it with the mindset that it will all be fixed in the next draft. I don't edit as I go along with the first draft. I just work with intense momentum. It's a lot of fun.

“What happens next is based on what happened before.” Bam. Nailed down what my writing hang up has been. I’ve been trying to do a kind of character bio but now with this understanding I think I’ll be able to just plow ahead. Yay for discovery writers!

Watching your videos while working on my creative writing class poetry workshop assignment is a spiritual experience I swear

This could not have come at a better time, thank youuuu

Sorry to be 2 years late but I just appreciate this video so much. You litterally speak my thoughts. Plus What I would say discovery wrighting does good for me it just keeps me going. When planning I tend to stay in the planning phase afraid I will be unable to execute the plan and produce some trash. I like to mix planning and pantsing. Pantsing is good to feel the moment and build a natural dynamic of a scene while sometimes it's good to zoom out to see what the story looks like so far and plan more or less where all of this is going to lead. But how - that's down to discovery writing.

Yes! Definitely agree with all of this :) I love discovery writing!

Thanks for the helpful advice , I’m mostly a discovery writer. too. Well at least during the day, but at night I dream up detailed and planned scenes for my book on most nights anyway. That only happens when I get a lot of inspiration and story ideas, which only happens sometimes. This video definitely helped me out a lot

Enjoyed the book talk today.

I resonated with everything you said! For my debut 'The Frequency' I tried to work from a rigid outline. Every plot beat felt so contrived, and character motivations were all over the place; all because I forced myself to some plotted on the page before I started drafting. When I came to drafting, new ideas grew organically -- better ones at that. I had to then revise the outline multiple times to accommodate the new ideas. In the end I think I wasted more time amending the outline than I did writing the first draft. Now I'm working on the sequel. I have the world-building and lore thoroughly worked out, and only some loose scenes and set pieces jotted down. Drafting is swifter, more artistic, and more fulfilling, which any creative profession or hobby should be.

Yes, thank you for this! You could have been explaining my writing process, spot on!

So I'm really late to this, but this video was honestly a godsend. I'm a natural discovery writer who's been trying to plan everything in detail and wondering why that didn't work for me. This explained it brilliantly. Thanks very much.

Wow, this is really interesting! All the problems you mentioned having when you tried to outline sound a whole lot like *my* problems when I try to outline. It's weird, because I'm not very intuitive at all in life in general, that's just not my personality, so I always thought I *ought* to like outlining better, but I'm kinda re-thinking that now. What I've been doing lately is a sort of combination of outlining and discovery writing, where I discovery write random scenes for character development through dialogue, but for the plot I keep an outline that changes as my ideas of the characters change. Even that, I've felt guilty about, like by doing any discovery writing at all I'm doing it "wrong." Apparently not. Maybe I'll try more discovery writing in the future. Thanks for the insight!

Just checked out your "good music" playlist 👌👌👌❤️❤️❤️ ; you got a really good taste in music 👌

So happy I saw this video today. I just discovery-wrote a novella and I had sooo much more fun than when I outline.

i've definitely always been way more of a discovery writer! i've tried to plan things more thoroughly before because i got the impression it's the "right way" to write, and i always end up feeling trapped and bored? i feel like i get my best ideas *while* i'm exploring the story, so whenever i've tried to follow an outline i feel stuck in what past-me thought was a good idea and it isn't flexible enough for present-me to work with and expand upon. whatever past-me thought was a fitting ending or an interesting climax will likely not work, because i will always change the course in some way as i write it, since i only begin to see how things truly are connected while actually writing. particularly what you said about the character motivations stopping/starting to make sense really resonates with me! i can't accurately plan ahead to what happens in chapter 7 if i haven't even written chapter 2 yet, even if i have a vague idea, because my ideas and details WILL change as i explore it! there has been so many times where as i began writing i had an idea for a fun character moment i wanted to do, but by the time i got there it no longer made any sense for the character and/or the story, and since i hadn't based anything that happens later on it i could easily just cut it or change it and move on, which would've otherwise ripped an outline to shreds if i had made one beforehand. i think this really ties into who i am in general, like i am not a long-term-thinking type of person at all and even just trying to plan out my whole week in a notebook beforehand makes me not want to do anything i planned to do. it's like writing out the plan in detail makes my brain feel like it is already complete, so i'm no longer interested in seeing it happen. my workaround for this in my writing (after the first draft) is making a vague, flexible bullet point list of what i would like to happen in the story, and stop it there before it gets too complicated. a vague bullet point sparks curiosity of what happens next and motivates me to go explore, while still reminding me of what i want to write!

I watched some of your videos, but never would think you’re a discovery writer, you seem a bit too well put together ;) When I happily announced myself as a pantser in search for other pantsers in some writing groups I was usually “patted on the head” as the stupid one who’s unable to write an outline, as if writing an outline is actually complicated. So I absolutely get why most pantsers/discovery writers feel “less than”. For me the greatest breakthrough in accepting that it’s ok to be a pantser was reading “Writing into the dark”. I still need to implement the “outline as you go/write down what happened so far” process he’s talking about there, because it seems that my ability to hold the story in my head ends at about 30k, so knowing where my ducks are, even if I don’t really intend to heard them into one row seems like a great thing to do. I do think there’s a correlation, that plotters write more plot-focused and pantsers more character-focused. The one novella I did outline I did write really fast, that was nice 😂. But I did underwrite it even more than I usually do, and in the edits I do have to add about 2x words, especially when comes to characters and the heart of the story. It’s still stuck in edits and that’s quite enough for me not to try outlining again 😂 Great to hear an encouraging video about discovery writing!

i have been doing the discovery writing thing my whole life and now i just learnt about it, neat

What a refreshing video, thank you! All the things you describe I'm finding in my own writing process. I outline often in between but when I do very rough. The rest is going to be explored in the Zero Draft. Finding the story unfolding in front of me while I'm writing has something so satisfactory! :D There is a great video by Ellen Brock I recommend watching people who can't really figure how they write and what process works best for them. It's called "The Four Types of Novel Writers" and Ellen Brock describes them very well! :)

I'm in the middle of Nanowrimo and struggling because I can't write to an outline. Listening to your points I understand now! I'm a discovery writer. I don't do well with outlines, sprints, or scene cards. I enjoy the immersive experience of writing in my character's head just as you describe. Thank you! I feel so much better now that I understand my process is valid!

In the past, after I outlined, it was like I'd already written the story. My brain just moved on; I knew what happened so I was no longer interested in writing it down. That's it; next story. Now I exclusively discovery-write, and it's such a relief. I just had to figure out that I need to know the ending - or rather, the point I'm roughly aiming for - before I begin if I want to finish the piece.

Bravo on another open-minded POV. The correct answer is usually, "it depends," and your focus on "what works for you?" is great. On top of that, you gave a clear way to identify which one works... which one do you have more fun with?! Artist or not, humans do better when they're passionate and enjoying their work. I wrote my first novel mostly discovery but found that I needed some structure and added a simple outline midway through. From what I've learned since then, I think my next book I will outline the theme, main character motivations, inciting incident, midpoint, climax... maybe a few other really important scenes that need to happen, but then discover as I go. I definitely share the issue (as I'm more of an outliner currently) that I have too much going on in a given scene that doesn't really accomplish anything... Fortunately, I'm good at hitting DELETE.

I'M SO GLAD THIS VIDEO EXISTS!! I only ever plan ahead on the general plot, and beginnings and endings are usually the easiest for me to actually plot out. But I'm 100% a "pantser" for all the meat in my stories. Sure, I will have a general idea of scene ideas I want to happen...eventually...but getting to those points is usually discovered along the way. I also HAVE to write in chronological order. I can't jump from Chapter 1 to Chapter 10. It, as you say, keeps things more cohesive. I know where I've come from, where my characters have been, so it's easier to just write this way. I have to say, I've had some amazing things come out of "discovery writing" with my current story, where the nature of my main character and the relationships she has with certain characters seemed to develop completely organically. I NEVER planned on my main protag being bisexual (she was going to have no love interest originally), but then it just developed...naturally. I didn't have to think about it. It's like I discovered who my character was as I kept writing. The one thing about writing a story that outlining and pantsing will never make easier for me...is trying to get from Point A to Point B in a way that's not boring. I can't just jump STRAIGHT from one exciting scene to another. Downtime needs to happen, but downtime, like life, can be hard to properly execute, especially if a character is stuck in a certain location the whole time (like my character being a priestess and therefore being kept to the temple and not having all the freedom she wants to just travel into the city outside her walls). The other "elitist" mindset that seems to be gospel in even the creative writing community is the whole "show don't tell" thing. I've found, through my own hobby writing, that there is a time and place for both. Not every little thing needs to be "shown", and that's okay. But that's a conversation for another time!

I love this!!

I if try to outline, my mind goes blank. I need to discovery write at least half the story. I don't know my characters until they begin to act and speak. Discovery writing allows me to delve into the compost heap of my unconscious. People emerge, places, memories, etc. Only when I know them well do I sketch a few final scenes to get to the denouement. What I need to begin is a premise, a title, a couple of characters, an idea of the climax and an idea of the end. Once I was riding the bus, just staring blankly out the window (I'm not American. My country has efficient public transportation), when suddenly I realized my climax was going the wrong way and a most effective and original alternative hit me right between the eyebrows. I went home, threw about three chapters away and started again. (On my mom's Smith Corona. Yes, I'm that old.) I was happy. That's the whole point.

As someone who can be both depending on the project, I can 100% confirm that an outlined draft can be just as big of a mess with just as many rounds of incremental edits than a pantsed one. I tend to have less developmental trouble with my pantsed work, actually (but I also tend to go the discovery route only on less complicated projects), despite having a brain wired to be "zoomed out" rather than "zoomed in". All the flavors in which creativity manifests itself depending on the person/the person's specific time in their life is always very interesting, so thanks for sharing yours!

I never outlined my books until I started watching authortube and heard it recommended time and time again. For the next few years I outlined everything and encountered the EXACT problems you described. Scenes severely underwritten and thin, low word count, feeling distant from the story, motivation misalignments, etc. It led to dozens of unfinished books and burnout and I took a writing hiatus for a year or two. Now I’m writing again, revamping an old novel. I know the overall structure but I’m giving myself more room to intuit scenes/subplots and I can already tell a huge difference. The chapter concepts I’m carrying over from the old draft are rushed even now, but the discovery written, “new” material is immersive and rich, and comprise some of my favorite scenes. It wasn’t that my original method was resulting in good books (I was like 15 when I switched to outlining, and I’m glad I did, at least temporarily), but now that I know monumentally more about the craft and feel capable of producing good content and trusting my plot-structure intuition, discovery writing is absolutely the way to go! Drafting is fun and the story feels so organic. Having an outlining stage was necessary for me to better understand how a book “should” fit together, in terms of conflict, motivation, and overall structure, but it wasn’t translating when I’d draft. Now that that information/skill is largely internalized, I can usually replicate it on a discovery-written first draft and not have to sacrifice enjoyment or technical problems.

I relate to this so much. It means a lot.

this makes so much sense

THANK YOU FOR THIS!!!!!

You're awesome! Thank you!

Thank you for this. I use both. I started as a discovery writer until I wrote a true story that road map helped. After that, I did a few stories that required a ton of research and the research became the roadmap. These days I still outline because it is my security blanket, but then I approach each scene the way an improv actor would. These characters have entered the scene each with their own goals the sparks fly. It is real life in real-time when I'm done perhaps I adjust my outline that depends. In a recent story, a minor character took control of things and became the second most important character in the story. She was the foundation of many things. It also changed the story from being about a few main characters to about a group of characters. This was another story with a ton of research so I wouldn't have started without an outline. The thing was when another door opened I went through it. The story is not what I had planned, because it now has more layers. One day I might try to completely discovery write again. For now, I'm just Linus sucking my thumb and holding his blanket.

Your videos always help me immensely in interesting and distinct way. I would like to see a video on how to use thesaurus effectively from YOU especially. As your videos on diction and writing style were just amazing, I would like to know your way of approaching thesaurus [of course if you like to share:)] that make your writing natural, engaging and improves vocabulary. Thank you in advance for consideration.