Three Tips for Balancing Structure and the Joy of Discovery

By: Jonathan Walker

Chances are, you already know the dichotomy: the challenge of plotting versus pantsing. Some writers like to plan their stories in detail, while others prefer to write “by the seat of their pants.” A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin has described these two types of writers as “architects” and “gardeners.”

Both are valid approaches to writing, of course, but if you’re a writer still developing your personal process, it’s likely you’ve encountered their respective challenges. Perhaps you’ve spent months working on an outline just to find out you’ve lost your enthusiasm for the story by the time you finally get around to writing it. Maybe you’ve pantsed a story and now face the daunting task of wrangling it into something coherent.

Now, what if—hear me out—the solution is somewhere in the middle?

Here are three ideas for leaning into structure while leaving room for discovery.

1: Let Your Characters Lead

One of the great joys I find in writing is getting to know my characters. They make up the emotional core of any good story and offer the reader a point of connection into the plot. Character is also a ripe opportunity for discovery as a writer.

When creating an elaborate, intricate outline for your story, you might find yourself creating characters as little more than a means to an end. Instead of feeling like real people, they become flat puzzle pieces in the structure of the story.

In creating flat characters, you risk alienating the reader—and maybe worse, boring yourself as the writer.

Let your characters grow organically from the situations you place them in. Get to know them and give them agency. It just might surprise you how they take control of their own story.

2: Allow Your Outline to Grow

Believe it or not, your final story probably won’t look like you originally planned. The sooner you accept that, the better.

As you get to know your characters better, it’s likely they’ll push against the boundaries of the story you’ve outlined. You can resist that dissonance, shoving them into the boxes you think they belong in, or you can allow your outline to change.

Instead of approaching your outline like a nearly-finished building, try seeing it as a sandbox. Allow yourself to experiment with new themes, new settings, new ideas. An unanticipated conflict may emerge, or you might discover a new corner of your world you haven’t explored.

There could be so much more to your story than you initially thought.

3: Write What Excites You

Your story should make you excited! If your story makes you bored, the reader probably will be too.

Some writers have the willpower to buckle down and do the work regardless of their enthusiasm, but others need something more to pull them through to the end. When you hit a wall, skip to the end. Jump to your favorite character’s point of view. Blow something up. Do something to find that original spark that started this project for you in the first place.

An outline can be a bland schematic, or it can be a map that weaves a trail between the known and the unknown. The more you lean into these opportunities for discovery, the better chance you have to recapture the magic.

The lightning never left the bottle—you just might’ve forgotten where you put it.