[Aliventures newsletter] Should You Write Your Scenes in Order or Hop Around and Patch Them Together Afterwards?
Published: Mon, 02/19/24
Hello!
I'm always interested in hearing about different authors' writing processes: not so much whether they write at 6am or at midnight, or if they drink tea or coffee, but more about how they put together something long like a novel.
Personally, I
tend to write in a broadly linear way, starting at the beginning of the novel and moving forward from there ... with a lot of scrappy bits along the way! This is far from the only way to approach your first. Steffaine Holmes, for instance, writes what she calls a skeleton draft, which she
describes as "a 15k-20k word draft of your 70-90k novel". And Joanna Penn follows a discovery writing process, tackling "whatever scene comes to mind that day".
Today, I
wanted to take a look at the difference between two broad approaches: writing your scenes in order versus jumping around and patching them together after you've written them.
Should You Write Your Scenes in Order or Hop Around and Patch Them Together Afterwards?
Whatever your exact writing process, and whether or not you outline before you start, you'll probably fall (broadly) into one of these two camps:
Writing in order, starting with your first scene, moving steadily through key plot points to the midpoint, and
then on to the climax of your novel.
Writing whichever scene you feel like working on, without necessarily knowing where it's going to later fit, and piecing your story together like a quilt.
Neither approach is "right" or "wrong" ... and most authors will probably do at least a little bit of both! What matters is finding what works for your own creative process.
Some writers, like me, prefer to work in a linear way, finding this makes for smooth character arcs and a steady reveal of information.
Others prefer to write the scenes that most interest them or that they can picture most clearly, finding this a more creative and motivating approach.
Not sure which is for you? Here are some key advantages to each method.
Writing Your Scenes in Order of Your Novel
Going in order may mean that:
It's easier to keep your character arcs and the relationships between characters moving organically and smooothly.
You can thread
together plot points, step by step. (Even when writing linearly, you can still hop back and plant the seed of something that you want to foreshadow.)
You're less likely to run out of steam when you come to the point where you've only got the tough/less interesting scenes to write.
You'll probably have a better sense of how close to "done" you are with your
draft.
Hopping Around Between Different Scenes
Hopping around and writing different scenes may mean that:
You can follow a particular character or plotline more easily when drafting
(helpful for novelists weaving together multiple plotlines)
You don't get bored of writing: you just write whatever appeals most!
You come up with ideas more easily or discover new information about your story as you move around between different scenes.
You're more able to experiment and
explore, without feeling tied into writing your novel in a particular way.
If you've always written in one way, that may well be because it's the best natural fit for how you think and create ... and that's fine! If you're not sure whether your current approach is quite working for you, then consider switching things up.
You might even use different approaches at different points in your drafting process, perhaps writing a handful of initial scenes out of order as you get to know your characters and explore your ideas, then working in a more linear fashion.
An enjoyable, somewhat philosophical book that takes an autobiographical approach. I had expected from the title a bit more focus on life, whereas the book is very much taking the view that the "pathless" path is about having a non-traditional job.
A lot of Millerd's experience/advice seems to be aimed at people who are in good financial shape, young, single, and childfree. It's worth a read, but see it more as a memoir or autobiography than a book that's reader-centric.
There's a lot happening in this novel -- most of which I loved! The theme of reading and the joy and connection it brings is of course prominent, but so are themes about families -- particularly families with a mother who's in some way missing.
The community centred around a Hindu temple and a local library is really well drawn and both 80-something Mukesh and
17-year-old Aleisha (the main viewpoint characters) feel like real people, with vulnerabilities and good/bad moments, and a lot of challenges to overcome.
For me, there was just a little TOO much packed in at times -- particularly with the multiple other viewpoint characters, who all (I think) only appear for a chapter -- I can see why the author structured things this way, but it did make
it hard at times to keep up, and I occasionally lost track of who we'd already met through other perspectives. There's also a surprisingly bleak twist (given the general lighter tone of this novel) part way through, and I'd perhaps expected from the blurb a more gentle/heartwarming read.
Definitely worth reading for the vividly drawn setting and characters, as well as the wonderful
depictions of different characters finding solace, connection, and life wisdom through the novels they read.
Happy writing,
Ali
P.S. If you missed last week's Aliventures blog post, here it is:
An enjoyable, somewhat philosophical book that takes an autobiographical approach. I had expected from the title a bit more focus on life, whereas the book is very much taking the view that the "pathless" path is about having a non-traditional job. 