Why Discovery Parenting?

There are two major approaches to the process of writing a novel. One involves developing multiple outlines, road maps, and other organizational techniques before you ever sit down to write a single word of the novel. The other approach soundly eschews such techniques. The writer sits down at the keyboard or notebook and starts writing with little more than an idea, a handful of characters, and a whole lot of potential.

This second approach is called discovery writing. The writer flies by the seat of her pants, letting the story evolve naturally. She listens to the characters as they're written, allowing them to make their own choices in an honest and organic way. She doesn't try to force them into a formula or force them to follow her idea of how the story should go. She discovers the story as she writes, and she is often delighted by the unexpected directions her characters take her.

So how does this apply to a blog on parenting?

Well, so far, it's solely aspirational. I don't have kids yet. I'm only a few months pregnant, and I'm still getting used to the idea of being a mom by the next mother's day. However, I do still have some ideas of what kind of mom I want to be. Hence Discovery Parenting.

I want to enjoy the process of parenting by the seat of my pants. I want to discover who my children are as they discover who they are. I don't want to force some preconceived notions about who they should be or who society thinks they should be. I don't want to go into this with an outline of accomplishments they have to achieve so they can reach the end goal I have in mind. I want them to discover that for themselves, and I want to be there for the journey.

Now, of course, I have some ideas of how to educate my children and raise them to be happy, productive members of society. These notions, though, are just notions. There's plenty of room for them to change if they don't work in the organic process of parenting. For instance, I think I want to home school so my children get the best education possible and aren't held to a rapidly diminishing public education. However, I may not be patient enough to handle my children all day every day. I like to think I would be able to mentor and educate them in a positive way, but if it turns out I'm no good at it, I'm more than willing to consider other options.

This is a discovery process. So I'm going to write about it, from these early moments as I'm adjusting to the idea of giving birth in seven months to actually raising my first child. There will be plenty of mistakes, lots of fears, and maybe some triumphs. At the very least, I'll have a record of it all.