1. Lone Wanderer

    Lone Wanderer Member

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    Do you ever write ahead?

    Discussion in 'Plot Development' started by Lone Wanderer, Jul 29, 2019.

    If you have a story where you’ve already mapped your plot points do you ever skip a few chapters ahead to write an important scene in advance? I do this whenever I get a good idea for dialogue and want to flesh it out before I lose it. Sometimes I catch up and get to that point and delete all of it because it doesn’t mesh well with the last chapter. Sometimes its a great scene and I’m happy I captured it before forgetting.
     
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  2. MissBadWolf

    MissBadWolf Senior Member

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    Right now I am hoping all around in my story it is starting to confuse me. I guess it is okay as long as you remember it might have to be seriously edited to fit the continuity of the story.
     
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  3. AndieBoDandy

    AndieBoDandy Active Member

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    Absolutely. All the time. I have a rather large file named "tidbits to come". I gotta write when the scenes are hot. Mostly for all the reasons you mentioned above. =)
     
  4. Dr. Jerry

    Dr. Jerry New Member

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    No, but I end up going backwards sometimes and adding in a scene or details that I forgot to write the first time around. I've jotted down notes before when an idea strikes for a future scene but I've never written the whole thing out ahead of time. It doesn't sound like a bad idea though, to write while your inspiration is fresh.
     
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  5. Cephus

    Cephus Contributor Contributor

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    Very rarely. The only time I might "work ahead" is when there are multiple plot threads or POVs, I may follow one to the end, then go back and write a different one. Otherwise, I start at the beginning and work to the end.
     
  6. cosmic lights

    cosmic lights Contributor Contributor

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    I've never written anything like that before. My brain only thinks forwards in chronological order or on a diagonal.
     
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  7. Saphry

    Saphry Member

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    High five! Yes I do especially for dialogues. Gotta write it down before I forget the exact words used.
     
  8. Cave Troll

    Cave Troll It's Coffee O'clock everywhere. Contributor

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    Nope, nor do I write behind. :p
    In fact I write in the present, cause
    somethings I come up with before
    hand are kinda cheezey, dumb, or
    outright lame.
     
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  9. Thundair

    Thundair Contributor Contributor

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    I have written ahead, in the fact that I just finished four chapters and concluded this is way too early.
     
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  10. Mish

    Mish Senior Member

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    I try not to, but it's hard as my mind randomly jumps between different sections of the story as it gets inspired and I find myself consciously playing catch up.
     
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  11. LoaDyron

    LoaDyron Contributor Contributor

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    Hello, friend. :superhello:

    I don't do that that since my ideas come and goes, and I like to stay focus on one chapter. My plot points cames before. I don't plan my stories, I let myself imagine the scene, dialogue, characters, situation, etc. What happens is, when I going to write the scene isn't the same as I had imagined, and that's fine.
     
  12. The Dapper Hooligan

    The Dapper Hooligan (V) ( ;,,;) (v) Contributor

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    I usually consider that a part of my pre-writing rather than writing.
     
  13. MissBadWolf

    MissBadWolf Senior Member

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    I tried to write in the future but it turns out I can only write in the present as the future in reality would never come. (Oh wait we are not talking about the benefits of procrastination are we?) (wow I think I spelled that word right the first time!)
     
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  14. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

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    Yes, I certainly do. And this approach has a particularly good point to it. Sometimes when these disconnected chapters are collected together, you realise you don't actually need to write everything that happened in between after all. All you need is a good transition.

    I think it's possible to get bogged down writing long transitional chapters, thinking you have to plod from point A to B to C to D to E ...when, in fact, you can sum up points B and D in just a few sentences.

    There's a reason some chapters are more exciting to write than others.
     
  15. Frazen

    Frazen Member

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    Yeah, all the time. Especially dialogues and emotional scenes between characters. Things that help with the character archs normally come to my mind much before I get to writing their specified scenes. It helps you to write what "you" want, the kind of thing that you have the uttermost passion for and aren't just cliches.
     
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  16. Lew

    Lew Contributor Contributor

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    I have done this for the first time in my current WIP. This story is set in the Roman invasion of Mesopotamia, so the plot is tied to a rather large set of historical dates and events. Also, I have multiple characters converging on the area from great distances, each with their own story, so those two things make it easy.
     
  17. deadrats

    deadrats Contributor Contributor

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    I write in order. I've found it to be the best way for me to get things done. If I get an idea for something later in the story, I ask myself if there is any reason I can't make that happen now. I hate saving ideas and I tend to find them useless by the time I want to use them if I do. But, seriously, give some thought to whether your idea really has to come later in your story. It could be exactly what your story needs right now.
     
  18. peachalulu

    peachalulu Member Reviewer Contributor

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    Yup - I'll write scenes out of order because I might forget it if I leave it. Or I'll write and add onto scene that I've already written and they're in my rearview mirror. For instance I was inspired by a song and added a little piece to a chapter I had finished two weeks ago. Future scenes might not gel by the time I get to their place but its not too big deal as a lot of stuff for me gets changed or axed in second and third drafts.
     
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  19. MissBadWolf

    MissBadWolf Senior Member

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    My story is meant to be read out of order. 0.o
     
  20. Mckk

    Mckk Member Supporter Contributor

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    Writing out of chronology doesn't work for me. For sure I sometimes write scenes I find interesting in a new document, just for fun, but 99% these scenes never get used, even though they were events I had been writing towards. The reason is simply that when I'm writing, things take unexpected turns. The characters grow and something else feels more natural, more intuitive, and even if the same event should still happen, how it happens, how the characters respond, are often different to how I'd initially imagined. I find if I try to piece in scenes I'd already written rather than organically writing myself to that point in the novel, it often feels stitched up and forced.
     
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  21. Necronox

    Necronox Contributor Contributor

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    Sure, but mostly for training of ideas, I rarely use those as "proper" scenes or the likes..... so kind of?
     
  22. J.T. Woody

    J.T. Woody Book Witch Contributor

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    yep! in fact, i was told to do this by a writing instructor in college. he headed the MFA program but I had him as an undergrad professor. lessens the writers block. keeps the creativity flowing. the scenes i write ahead tend to change, but its helpful to have it there
     
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  23. Dropstitch

    Dropstitch Banned

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    Yes, I have scenes mapped out or written, but they invariably change.
     
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  24. Thom

    Thom Active Member

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    Yes. Though I mainly do it so I don't forget a good idea when I finally get to where it's supposed to be.
     
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  25. Yaldabaoth

    Yaldabaoth Member

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    Sometimes. If a current chapter is slow going, or I feel I've hit a block, I'll try my hand at writing a future scene that's buzzing at the front of my mind.
     

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