Comments on: Leaping Ahead

By: SWK

SWK — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 00:43:40 +0000

For me, I need the discipline of working start-to-finish or I'd never get to the end. That's not to say I don't cheat along the lines of making some notes for future chapters. Still, for me the way to write a novel is to get one chapter on the page, then ask myself "What happens next" over and over and over until I can write "the end"!

By: Kendra

Kendra — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 13:03:10 +0000

I made the switch from chunk writer to linear writer, and I'm never looking back! Writing before was a slog, and the relief of knowing where I'm going with a story and what comes next is immense. I'm really enjoying the writing now.

I think, though, that linear is working better for me because plot is one of my weak points. I did not work off an outline as a chunk writer - if I had, perhaps it would have worked better. At any rate, making the switch, and having the entire plot sketched out beforehand, has been a major and good change in how I approach the craft of writing a novel.

By: Liz Hollar

Liz Hollar — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 12:52:58 +0000

I start at the beginning, but will happily jump ahead to the more interesting parts (and avoid the harder parts that are less clear to me). I do have to go back periodically to re-outline. Thanks for the post. It's nice to see how everyone drafts differently!

By: Teri

Teri — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 13:31:34 +0000

Thanks for the post. I have to agree with your uncle — I write what's bugging me, prodding me, firing me up, first. This is how I figure out what my story is really about. Then I go back and put it all together like a big jigsaw puzzle and fill in the blanks.

By: Hi I'm Jennie!

Hi I'm Jennie! — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 03:41:09 +0000

Thanks so much for mentioning my Huffington Post column, The Making of a Novel. I'm glad you found it interesting. I'd be happy to guest blog for you should you need it — or to run something by you over at HuffPo. You can reach me at jennie.nash@verizon.net. Cheers!

By: Charlie

Charlie — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 22:59:47 +0000

I jumped around a lot with one book. I never finished it.

I prefer to go from start to finish, in that order.

By: glasseye

glasseye — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 21:35:14 +0000

For me, the most difficult part is the first draft. I don't know the characters. I feel shy. To get around this, I view the first draft as a skeleton. I don't get in too deep. I put the plot together at this stage and write the bones of the story from beginning to end.

When that part is finished, I can go back and begin riff-writing scenes that put flesh on the bones. It's easier once I know who these people are and where they're going. This is where I work on pacing and arcs. It's also my favorite part. The quiet, reflective moments are like chocolate truffles to me. I save them and make myself wait to write them, so I'll always have something to look forward to.

By: Judi Rohrig

Judi Rohrig — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 12:37:35 +0000

Clearly, what works works. I've always called what I do "chunk writing." But I've never had any difficulties bridging the sections together. This hasn't proven to lessen the thrill I get from being an active participant (reader seeking to be entertained). In fact, I think it makes it more exciting. In my first book, my main characters were being put through bloody hell, which made that later chapter the carrot for them. "See, things get better, dears," I reminded them. Ah, the creative mind at work! How do non-writers make it through life?

By: Sara

Sara — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 12:03:22 +0000

I have tried to write linearly and can't. I write whatever scene wants to be written. Then I write bridges and connect them as I know where they go in the story. I even write some parts backwards.

Of course I usually don't have a plot or outline when I start either. Just a character who needs to be heard.

Spesh

By: Jennifer Schubert

Jennifer Schubert — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 10:20:26 +0000

This is a great topic and good thoughts by Nash and Patchett. Thanks, Rachel! I write in sequence. If I don't, I find that the characters lose emotional momentum. (I'm also a non-outliner.)