Writing Excuses 4.19: Discovery Writing

In previous episodes we've established the dichotomy between discovery writing and outline writing. In our 'casts about process, we've mostly talked about outlining, working from an outline, and the worldbuilding that goes behind all of that. We've never talked much about the process of discovery writing, though. It is time for us to correct that egregious oversight. In this installment your hosts muse upon the pros and cons of discovery writing, and how we handle the discovery writing process. We discuss false starts, and how they may not be false at all. We cover dialog, which is always a fun place to start writing, and we offer up some structures that discovery writers may begin with in order to provide themselves direction. We also tackle endings, which are where most discovery writers have their largest problems. Audiobook Pick-of-the-Week: Way of the Wolf, by E.E. Knight, who has been called the best fantasy author you've never heard of. Writing Prompt: Look around. Now, pick six unrelated items and weave them together in the first chapter. Two of them are Chekov's Guns. Abrupt Ending That Came Not Quite Abruptly Enough: 17 minutes and 52 seconds, with screams. This episode of Writing Excuses has been brought to you by Audible. Visit http://AudiblePodcast.com/excuse for a free trial membership*. *Note: From the Audible website, here are the terms of the free membership. Read the fine print, please! Audible® Free Trial Details Get your first 14 days of the AudibleListener® Gold membership plan free, which includes one audiobook credit. After your 14 day trial, your membership will renew each month for just $14.95 per month so you can continue to receive one audiobook credit per month plus members-only discounts on all audio purchases. A very small number of titles are more than one credit. Cancel your membership before your free trial period is up and you will not be charged. Thereafter, cancel anytime, effective the next billing cycle. Any unused audiobook credits will be lost at cancellation.