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Position:Home>Books & Authors> Creative writers: Writing events in order?Question: Creative writers: Writing events in order!? To the people who write creatively in their free time or as a career; Do you always write your stories in order of the events that happened, or does it help if you skip around a bit, writing an idea when it comes to you even if it doesn't come next in the story!?Www@QuestionHome@Com
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I usually write in exact order of the story plot!. Most of the time if you skip around and then try to put it together you end up leaving things out or they don't make sense!. But there have been times where my "character talks to me" :P and demands that I write a certain scene!.!.!.!.or I just couldn't not write it down right away for fear of loosing it so I do!.!.!.!.sometimes I'll use this material other times I'll throw it out, but its down on paper just in case!. Try writing in order as best you can, but start carrying around a notebook for you when inspiration hits!. It usually is at the worse times like the shower or three am!. I keep a notebook by my bed for those late night ideas and a tape recorder in my car for when I'm in traffic and I have an idea!. Those usually work the best for me!. Hope that helped!. :) And good luck with everything!.Www@QuestionHome@Com This is a major debate among writers, so you'll get a lot of different answers! I say write the idea while it's hot, and don't worry if it's not "next" in the story!. For short stories, you can always go back and fill things in later!. For novels, at some point you may have to stop and create an outline, if you didn't have one to start with!.Www@QuestionHome@Com It is always best to write a book beginning to end and not skip around!. If you do, you are more likely to have continuity problems!. You will find it hard to remember who was where or what day it was, etc!. You will find yourself repeating yourself!. Ideally, it is best to write a book continually from beginning to end and keep a set of notes!. Details like calendars, people's ages, etc!. in the form of a lexicon or concordance!. So that you remember where you are in time!. When you get to be major like JK Rowling, you have a continuity editor to keep track of things for you, but even then there are mistakes!. I only tried it once, and it was a royal pain!. I left a hole in the middle of the book because I was stuck and went ahead and finished it!. Going back and fixing that hole was a horror!. It took me longer to make everything add up than it did to write the whole book!. Take it from me - if you can avoid it do not do it!. And don't count on editors to pick up the mistakes!. If they don't always remember that it is YOUR name on the front cover not the editor's and you are the one who is going to look like a boob!. Pax-CWww@QuestionHome@Com Maybe just scribble quotes and a skeletal outline but for me I generally do the heavy development in order!. Reason being is that you could change your mind about something you're writing earlier on event-wise, and if you've written the whole rest of the book then you have to REwrite the rest of the book to fit around that event!. Just a headache I like to avoid!. But rewriting scribbles and skeletal outlines, not an incredible amount of work!. I try to do it that way!.Www@QuestionHome@Com i write in order, just because it's simpler for me but sometime i do take the characters out of context and just write a random scene that i don't intend to use for anything other than character development!.!.!. you don't have to tho, everyone works differently, stephanie meyer, for example, wrote chapter 10 of twilight first, and its an uber best seller! there's no wrong way to write, just so long as you enjoy it! =)Www@QuestionHome@Com I always write in order!. I just can't imagine otherwise!. I believe there was only one time that I've ever written out of order!. Inspiration for how to start the final chapter of the book I was writing at the time suddenly struck!. I just had to write it down!. Other than that, no!. Great question, btw!!Www@QuestionHome@Com I personally don't but that's because I have an attention disorder and I'm a pretty unorganized person so my thoughts are scrambled!. :] When I get an idea, I write it down and try to build around it!.Www@QuestionHome@Com |