“Artists know this. According to Donald Barthelme, “The writer is one who, embarking upon a task, does not know what to do.” Gerald Stern put it this way: “If you start out to write a poem about two dogs fucking, and you write a poem about two dogs fucking—then you wrote a poem about two dogs fucking.” And we can add to this my mangling of whatever it was that Einstein actually said, which I rendered earlier as: “No worthy problem is ever solved in the plane of its original conception.”” (George Saunders, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain)
Writing Exercise: Embracing Discovery in Character Development
This exercise explores how uncertainty fuels originality in writing. The quotation from George Saunders (drawing from Barthelme, Stern, and Einstein) highlights the necessity of exploration, the dangers of predictability, and the idea that writing often transcends its initial premise.
Key Writing Practice Development Techniques:
1. Embracing Discovery & Uncertainty: Instead of rigidly adhering to a predetermined outcome, the strongest writing emerges when the writer follows unexpected turns in character, plot, and language.
2. Resisting Literal Execution of an Idea: If a writer begins with a simple premise (e.g., “a man confronts an old enemy”), the story should evolve beyond a direct fulfillment of that premise, complicating or subverting expectations.
3. Letting the Work Teach You What It’s About: Great fiction is often shaped by the process of writing itself. Writers should allow scenes, dialogue, and character choices to reshape their initial intentions.
500-Word Writing Prompt:
Write a scene in which a character enters a situation with a clear goal—but by the end of the scene, their goal has shifted in a way you didn’t plan in advance.
Guidelines:
• Start with a character in motion, pursuing a specific, concrete objective (e.g., retrieving an object, confessing a secret, demanding an apology).
• Let the writing surprise you. If you begin knowing exactly how the scene ends, push against that certainty.
• Allow an unpredictable element to emerge organically—this could be an unexpected reaction, a change in the character’s emotional state, or a revelation that alters their course.
• Avoid resolving the conflict too neatly. Instead, focus on complicating the character’s understanding of themselves or their situation.
Example:
• Weak Approach: A woman enters a café to break up with her boyfriend. They argue. She breaks up with him. She leaves. (This follows the expected trajectory without evolution.)
• Strong Approach: A woman enters a café intending to break up with her boyfriend. As they talk, she realizes she has misread his feelings entirely—he had already planned to break up with her. Or she finds herself unable to go through with it and instead tells a lie that traps her further in the relationship. (These unexpected shifts keep the writing dynamic and true to the spirit of discovery.)
Evaluation Criteria for a Successful Response:
1. Discovery: The character’s goal must evolve organically within the scene.
2. Subversion of Expectation: The scene should not simply fulfill its initial premise; it should deepen or shift in a way the writer did not foresee at the outset.
3. Emotional/Intellectual Complexity: By the end, the character should have learned something—about themselves, another person, or the situation—that alters their understanding.
Follow-Up Questions for Workshopping/Revision:
1. Where did the story take an unexpected turn, and how did it change your understanding of the character?
2. Did the character’s goal evolve in a way that felt natural yet surprising? If not, what feels too predetermined?
3. What moments felt the most alive to you as you wrote? Could those be expanded or explored further?
4. Did the resolution feel inevitable but not predictable? If it was too neatly resolved, how might ambiguity or tension be extended?
Recommended Reading:
• “Emergency” by Denis Johnson – This short story exemplifies discovery in real time, with characters stumbling into unexpected situations that transform their trajectories.
• “The Husband Stitch” by Carmen Maria Machado – A masterclass in letting a story become more than its premise, constantly complicating itself in ways that defy expectation.
• Excerpt from Lush Life by Richard Price – A novel that resists easy categorization, forcing characters into evolving goals through layered, unpredictable interactions.
This exercise should be completed in a two-hour session—spend 30-45 minutes drafting the scene, then 15-20 minutes reflecting on what surprised you, followed by revising key moments to deepen complexity.
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