I am usually a very linear writer. I’m not an outliner or a plotter so
to speak, but I do have a very definitive plan for each of my manuscripts. I
start at chapter one and power through the scenes in a perfectly chronological
fashion. Sometimes that means I spend days getting that one chapter
perfect, other times it means I sail through four or five chapters before
hitting a stumbling block.
As you now I am excitedly powering through a new YA contemporary manuscript
of mine. I didn't hit a wall so to speak, more like a giant, granite
boulder that is refusing to budge. I can walk around it, probably even
scale it, but it is going to take some time. Problem is, behind that
boulder is perfectly flat, smooth writing terrain. I was thinking
about breaking rank and moving on. For the sake of momentum, I am leaving
that chapter behind and starting the next. I will write through to the
end with the intention of circling back to annoying chapter in a few weeks.
Perhaps by then, I will have figured out the best way to rid my landscape of
the giant rock.
What do you think -- good idea or bad? Do you ever write outof order
in the hopes that the solution to that troublesome scene will unveil itself
with some time and distance?
I just stumbled over a boulder the other day, too. I slept on it, and consulted a few people, and then the solution finally presented itself yesterday. Luckily, the boulder was holding back the next scene that I hadn't gotten to yet.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear your boulder disappeared and that you were able to mve on. Would love to hear what your Muse is working on.
DeleteGo around the boulder. Perhaps the elements will wear it down by the time you come back to it ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm with you though. I start at the beginning of a MS and write to the end. I have to do this because I'm a total panster and have no idea what's going to happen. :)
Thanks for the words of encouragement. I am moving around it. If the boulder is still there in a few weeks, then I bring in some heavy equipment (aka really amazing CP's) to help me figure out a way to move it.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely go around.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I just jot down a few sentences in a chapter so I know what I think should happen there, then I go on. When I come back and edit, I know my characters better and can usually figure out exactly what needs to go in that spot.
I can going to do that -- jot down a few lines of where I think the chapter needs to be so I don't forget something important when I come back to it. If all else fails, you, my amazing CP, can take a stab at it :)
DeleteI'm not a super planner, but the more manuscripts I write, the more I'm able to look at something bugging me and understand that it's something I can come back and work it out later. In fact, I now find that if I *let* it, a speed bump can make getting the rest of the story down virtually impossible, so I've adopted a policy that if a scene or issue makes me stop writing more than once, I skip it. Janni Lee Simner and I have a running thing about when we're digressing in writing, we say FLY THE PLANE MADDIE (from Code Name Verity) and plow on with our writing. It's become my mantra, that line.
ReplyDeleteWell chosen line from a truly amazing book. It is nice to know that I am not the only one who has to veer off course a time or two during the writing process. I guess all that matters is that it comes together in the end.
DeleteAbsolutely! Circle back and nuke that sucker later. I'm all for chapter skipping. :) Good luck!
ReplyDeleteahh . . surprisingly there are no weapons involved at all in this book. Odd coming from me, but true.
DeleteIt sounds like a great idea! Usually when I'm on a second or third draft, I start to rewrite scenes out of order, just for better perspective. :) Good luck!
ReplyDeleteYou make a good point. I too revise out of order, but I have never applied that same principle to my first drafts. Huh . . go figure.
DeleteIf it helps you to go around the boulder - GO AROUND! Keep the momentum going. I can't write out of order (though one of my Contemp CPs does that all the time), but I can also spend three weeks working out a chapter before I move on. Do what works best for you, and good luck. :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the words of encouragement, Lexa.
DeleteYep, I'm with everyone else. Go round that boulder. Embrace the smooth terrain on the other side. :-)
ReplyDeleteScrew that boulder; I can already see it in my rear-view mirror!
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