I know this is a crazy night to be posting a thread here on the form-well maybe no for you night writers but i was wondering how you write? I mean, do you actually write your start, middle and end in that order? or if you know the ending or the ending you have in your head, -do you go with it and write it first? and do you write scenes as they come to you which you know you will include within your book but unsure of which actual chapter yet????? Now the easter hols are over and the kids are back at school and i have more time on my hands to write i want to get back into it fast. If anyone could help, would be much apprieciated. Thanks guys!!!! Oh and its nice to be back
I jot things down as they come to me (I highly recommend doing this because there's nothing worse than having a good idea, not bothering to write it down, and forgetting it). When I then sit down to actually write, I don't necessarily go in order. I write the parts that come easiest to me. So if I have an ending in mind, I'll write that first and write the beginning at some later point. Sometimes I have a beginning in mind but no ending. Either method works for me.
I start with a character and/or idea. Then I write the story, editing/revising/rewriting as I go. It's linear because I have no idea what's going to happen next, but I will jot down notes if something pops into my head for possible inclusion later (those typically end up either in the circular file or in a story of their own). Betas as each chapter is completed; fix as needed based on their input; polish; start next one. Piece of cake
I write it linearly because in the past when I would just write the parts that came to me with little planning I would jump around too much and have nothing of use in the 20000 words I had so far. To start with I know the beginning and the ending and I start writing from the beginning to give me a feel for the characters. When it comes to inspiration and ideas I write them down everywhere. I have a pile of notes in my room planning out various aspects of events that need to happen, back story of characters etc. When dialogue comes to me I put it into my phone/ipod for transferal later. Sometimes I get really inspired to write a later scene and in that case I will write it but for the most part i stick to writing chronologically.
Most often, I write the beginning and the end of a story and parts in the middle that I think will make the final cut, leave spaces where I know there will be other parts, then go back and fill stuff in.
Thanks for your reply. Actually I have since realised that this question has been asked previously on the forum with numerous answers and i apologize for repeating this question and thread. In my defence it was late and i didn't bother to really scout out the forum very well to find this answer, i thought i would be better off asking, but since then I have finished my final chapter-my ending to my book. How i want it to end, and leaving it open marginally for a follow on. I will post this chapter here in the forum for critique and would value any feedback on this, it would mean so much to me. I spent hours up typing this last night and in the early hours, only getting a single hours' sleep, and have just edited it with some punctuation. I don't expect it to be perfect but please be honest with me about my style of writing, etc. I hope you enjoy it, and will thank you for reading it in advance Stacey
All writers are different, and you should work the way you feel most comfortable - as long as you get some writing done! For me, I like to have a very brief outline of the story from beginning to end (if it's a novel), and then I just go for it; I'm more of a pantser than a planner. Quite often my brain will think of a sentence of dialogue or a quirky sentence and I'll have to write it down, but I don't write scenes until I come to them. If there is a whole scene in my head, I'll just write down the basic idea and wait. It's always worked for me because I've completed two novels and am in the middle of a few more, but as I say, it's what makes you comfortable. Hope this helps!
Thanks for your reply and yes it has helped me very much I have actually posted in the general writing/fiction workshop - a big step for me actually posting a full chapter, and it being the final chapter too. I will hold my breath! X
Mr. Kitchen said it best. The way you should write is the way that works best for you. No one but you sees the raw manuscript, so who cares if you write the last chapter first and work backward (like some mystery writers do), jump around, or be linear about it. Some people can hold every word of the story in their head. They don't need to outline, and usually don't have to hop around when writing. Others think in terms of a short story, or individual scenes. No two people are alike. What counts is that you're writing prose what will enthrall a reader. So focus on your one true goal for every page: making the reader want to know what comes next.
It depends for me and the story. I've done linear. All of my short stories have been linear. I've done piece by piece in no order but they always start linear. What happens is usually I'll start a story and a scene comes to mind ahead of schedule and I write it out while it's still raw & fresh. It's hard to know where to piece them though unless you have a bit of a storyline to work with. But most of my novels have more planning than my shorts.
I wrote my first novel over a long LONG period, and I pantsed it. It was glorious fun, but I had one heck of a job corralling it and bringing it all home in a coherent fashion, once I'd finished the first draft. I'm now writing my second novel. I've only written three chapters plus a snippet from the middle thus far, and seem to be working in a more linear fashion—to the extent that I'm actually creating an outline in addition to my usual timeline and tons of research. An outline is something I NEVER thought I'd do. This is a sequel to my first novel, however, so I now have unchangeable backstory. I need to move carefully, and can't just 'change' things so easily this time. It's fun to do this differently, but what I've noticed is my writing style is far less exuberant than it was before. In fact, it feels flat to me at times, as if I'm just filling in the blanks. So it will be my task, during the edit, to make sure I create the emotional environment the first story had. My problem with my first was cutting back on the over-writing. I think my problem with this one will be fleshing out the under-writing. It's all a learning curve, isn't it?
