“When you’re being creative there is no such thing as a mistake. The reason is very simple: you can’t possibly know if you are going down a wrong avenue until you’ve gone down it. So, if you have an idea, you must follow your line of thought to the end to see whether it’s likely to be useful or not. You must explore, without necessarily knowing where you’re going. As Einstein once pointed out, if we know what we’re doing when we’re investigating something, then it’s not research!” (John Cleese, Creativity)
Writing Exercise: The Path of Discovery in Character Development
Techniques Illustrated by the Quotation
1. Exploratory Drafting – Writing without pre-judgment, allowing characters and storylines to evolve organically rather than adhering to a rigid plan. This technique fosters discovery, ensuring that character actions feel authentic rather than contrived.
2. Deep Character Immersion – Following a character’s instincts, decisions, and contradictions to their natural conclusion, even when their trajectory surprises you. This helps create multi-dimensional characters who behave in unexpected but psychologically truthful ways.
3. Productive Risk-Taking – Embracing uncertainty in character choices, voice, and structure. Instead of self-censoring or discarding ideas too early, this technique encourages writers to pursue unexpected paths and see where they lead.
Writing Prompt (500 Words, 2-Hour Session)
Choose a character you’ve been developing, or invent one spontaneously. Give them a strong emotional state or unresolved dilemma—something that nags at them. Instead of outlining where the story should go, allow the character to dictate the action moment by moment, resisting the urge to control or pre-plan.
Steps to Follow:
1. Set the Scene – Place your character in a situation where they must make an immediate decision. The choice should not be easy or obvious.
2. Follow the Uncertainty – Instead of choosing the first logical action, let the character’s emotions, contradictions, or instincts guide them. If they resist their own impulses, explore why.
3. Write Without Self-Censorship – If the scene starts pulling in an unexpected direction, lean into it rather than steering it back to a preconceived path.
4. End with an Unresolved Element – Rather than tying up the moment neatly, conclude at a point where the character still has more to uncover about themselves.
Example Scenarios:
• A doctor receives an anonymous letter revealing a disturbing secret about a patient and must decide whether to investigate.
• A former athlete, now using a wheelchair, enters an old gym for the first time in years and unexpectedly meets someone from their past.
• A teenager sneaks into their estranged father’s empty house, only to find someone else already there.
Evaluation Criteria for Success
Strong Response:
• The character’s actions and emotional shifts feel organic rather than forced.
• The writing explores uncertainty rather than resolving it too quickly.
• The scene contains surprise—either in the character’s choices or in how the situation unfolds.
• There is a willingness to follow unexpected or risky narrative directions.
• The language is fluid and exploratory, avoiding over-explanation or excessive backstory.
Weak Response:
• The character’s choices feel predictable or overly controlled by the author.
• The scene moves toward resolution too quickly, closing off potential discoveries.
• The writing lacks emotional depth, relying on summary rather than immersion in the moment.
• The narrative feels overly structured rather than exploratory.
• The language is hesitant, self-conscious, or too carefully polished.
Follow-Up Workshopping & Revision Questions
1. Where in the scene did the character surprise you most?
2. Did you find yourself resisting certain narrative directions? Why?
3. Are there moments where the writing feels too deliberate? How could you make it more spontaneous?
4. What unanswered questions remain about the character at the end of the scene?
5. If you rewrote the scene from a different perspective or started from a different point in time, how might it change?
Recommended Reading: A Story That Exemplifies These Techniques
“Emergency” by Denis Johnson (from Jesus’ Son) – This short story is a masterclass in exploratory drafting. The protagonist stumbles through a chaotic night filled with unexpected encounters and decisions that feel simultaneously random and inevitable. Johnson allows the story’s logic to emerge organically rather than forcing it into a clear structure, creating a dreamlike but emotionally resonant effect.
Other options:
• “The Ledge” by Lawrence Sargent Hall – A story where small, instinctive choices lead a character toward an inescapable fate.
• “Adams” by George Saunders – A story that follows an increasingly irrational internal logic, showing how a character’s justifications lead to unexpected outcomes.
This exercise encourages you to embrace unpredictability in your writing—because, as Cleese suggests, creativity thrives in the unknown. Now, go lose control.
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