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Debra doesn't always work from start to finish on a story.
For a long time I was what I'd call a 'zig zag' writer. I never wrote a story from beginning to end, but would skip around as inspiration struck. I'd always start with chapter one, but from there it was anyone's guess as to what part of the story the next idea would spark from. It certainly made things interesting when it came to 'connecting the dots' to finish a project. I always had to be really careful about continuity and character development.
When I started writing my Holidays at The Corral series, I wrote them from start to finish with no skipping around. It was definitely a new way of writing for me, and one that worked well. Maybe the short length lent itself to a more chronological style. Since the stories weren't as long or as complicated as a full-length, there were less scenes to write overall and I had a more comprehensive picture of how the story would unfold in its entirety.
When I'm writing a full-length book, there's so much character development and plotting that goes on while I'm writing, that the story truly is a work in progress that is constantly evolving as it goes. I generally know how the story starts and how the story will end. However, for everything else in between, sometimes I don't know what's going to happen until it happens. Thus the zig zag...I write a little about this and then I write a little about that and then I might go back to this. Even though I'm writing all over the place, I usually have a good idea of where those scenes will fit into the final draft and overall arc of the story. From time to time I'll switch things around, which is the beauty of 'copy', 'cut', and 'paste'. As you can tell, I tend to be much more of a pantster than a plotter...especially when I'm writing full-lengths.
Now, the interesting thing will be I have several ideas for new full-length stories. I wonder if I'll continue with my newly found straight-arrow style of going from beginning to end or if I'll revert back to the zig zag style that has served me so well in the past for longer stories. Only time will tell, I guess.
How about you? Do you write from start to finish in a straight line like an arrow, or do you zig zag around?
Until next time,
Happy Reading!
Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com
I usually write 'straight line' stories, developing the characters as I write the first draft. Occasionally I might leave a gap to be filled in later, but I don't think I have ever written a 'later' scene in isolation from the rest, although I may know in my mind what later scenes will include. Sometimes, by the time I actually get to them, they turn out to be very different from what I had originally envisaged!
ReplyDeleteThings definitely do tend to change as a work evolves and develops.
DeleteI have to go in a straight line, for some reason. It makes for slower writing, but I have not figured out how to jump around. I make notes in my outline if I get ideas for future chapters, but I don't write the future scenes.
ReplyDeleteI think for me it's a matter of if my muse is nudging me to write a particular scene, I just write it. I try not to 'argue' with my muse...because she can be very finicky.
DeleteI would not argue with my muse either!
DeleteI'm probably a bit like Anna, I write in a straight line. I don't plot out my stories, I know things I want to happen along the way, but it's how my characters get there that is the fun part.
ReplyDeleteI've tried a new approach that works for me, which I learned from Roxanne St. Claire. I write the first 100 pages. Then I go back and reread and edit as I go along. Then I write the next 100 pages and go back to the beginning and read and edit as I go along. Then I write to the end. It helps me with character and plot development and also helps me catch loose threads that I started and forgot about.
ReplyDeleteWithout intending to I've ended up writing extra scenes, out of context, and then 'fitting' them in. This has been when I needed to enrich the story or give more information. Sometimes this has come as a welcome and refreshing break from the main line of the story. and a
ReplyDeleteWithout intending to I've ended up writing extra scenes, out of context, and then 'fitting' them in. This has been when I needed to enrich the story or give more information. Sometimes this has come as a welcome and refreshing break from the main line of the story. and a
ReplyDelete