How Discovery Writing Helps You Find Your Story

If you’re knee-deep in a draft and your story keeps changing on you, take a breath, you’re not doing it wrong. You’re doing the real work. A writer once said to me, “I keep changing my mind about what this story is about. I thought I had it, and then… I didn’t.” That uncertainty? That’s the pulse of discovery writing.

What Is Discovery Writing?

Discovery writing is the act of uncovering your story as you write it. You might begin with a character, a moment, or even just a feeling. But the theme, the emotional core – that “why” behind it all, may not show up until much later.

It took me eight years to understand the theme of 142 Ostriches. I was at a writing conference when someone asked me to finish the sentence: “This is a story about people who…” That’s when it clicked: “People who refuse to acknowledge their own truth.” The signs were there all along. My gut had known. But it needed time to articulate the truth.

Author George R.R. Martin describes two types of writers: architects and gardeners. Architects plan everything. Gardeners plant a seed and see what grows. Discovery writers? They are gardeners. They write to uncover, to follow curiosity, to see where the story leads – often surprised by what blooms.

Why Discovery Writing Feels So Unsettling

Discovery writing often unfolds like this:

You write.The story veers somewhere unexpected.You question everything.You rewrite the beginning.You revise the ending (again).

It can feel like circling the same ground. Like you’re not moving forward. Like you’re failing.

You’re not. You’re excavating something deep and real.

One writer I know watched her story morph from a love triangle to a tale of women resisting patriarchy, to a single character navigating emotional repression in a professional world. Each draft taught her something. Each version pulled her closer to the heart of it.

This is not linear work. And that can feel disorienting. But remember: it’s only through persisting in our wandering that we find what truly matters.

Don’t Rewrite – Layer

When something changes mid-draft, resist the urge to go back and fix it. Instead, make a note and keep moving.

This is especially important for non-linear writers. If you don’t write chronologically, only loop back if it helps you move forward. Otherwise, let the messy draft live. Once it’s all there, the full shape will reveal itself—and you can revise with clarity.

When I’ve written projects this way, and I circle back to the beginning, the change I decided on mid-way through the draft is lodged in my head as the new reality that I’m sometime surprised to see that the old material is still there. That’s a good thing. It makes editing super easy. 

You Don’t Need to Know the Ending

Not knowing your ending can be your secret weapon. When you’re in the dark, you don’t give things away. Your readers stay present with you, experiencing the story moment by moment. And when you finally reach the end, your surprise becomes theirs.

Kazuo Ishiguro, author of The Remains of the Day, has shared that he often discovers his stories through writing. He starts with questions, not answers. And it’s in writing his way forward that he finds meaning.

Yes, it’s vulnerable. But that’s where the most powerful stories live.

Trust That You’re In Process

The hardest part of discovery writing is often the self-doubt. That voice whispering, “A real writer would have this figured out by now.”

I say: Let that go.

You’re not behind. You’re exploring. And if you keep circling back to the same ideas, that’s not failure, it’s your voice asserting itself.

As author Anne Lamott reminds us in Bird by Bird, “Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere.”

Tools to Stay Grounded During Uncertainty

Here are a few practices that help me (and might help you) stay grounded during discovery writing:

Daily check-ins: Begin your writing session with a few lines in your journal. Ask: “What feels alive in the story today?”Scene anchors: Even if you don’t know the plot, write scenes you feel drawn to. Trust your instincts.Theme tracking: Keep a separate document where you reflect on themes emerging as you write. Over time, patterns appear.Embrace the mess: Give yourself permission to write badly. You can’t revise what isn’t written.Talk About It

Are you a discovery writer? What helps you keep going when everything feels uncertain? What does it feel like when your story shifts beneath you? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments because when we talk about the messy parts of writing, we normalize them.

You don’t need to have everything figured out. You’re not lost. You’re learning. Stay curious. Keep going. The story will meet you where you are, one page at a time.