07.01.12
Writing the bit you see
I was reading a piece of advice from a writer which I have heard a million times before (and ignored every time). This time it occurred to me that maybe there was a reason why I kept hearing this advice? Maybe there was something to it and I should give it a go?
That advice was simply to write the scene in your novel that you see when you think of the novel, the bit you want to write. All of us have a scene we know will always make the final cut, even before the first word has been put to the page, that is the scene you should write when you are stuck on a novel.
As a chronological order writer it almost feels to me like cheating to skip ahead and write the scene that you cannot wait to get to. I feel like I need to earn the right to write it by first slogging through all the bits that get me there. The problem is often because of the slog, I never actually get there.
Maybe if you were to write this scene it would give you the motivation to bring all of the novel to life so you can give the scene a home? Perhaps having that scene tangibly written would let you read over it and reflect when you find yourself getting lost in the minutiae of the novel? Who knows what might happen, but it has got to be better than a half written story sitting in your bottom drawer.
I know that nearly half my blog readers are also writers, so I would love to hear from you about your experience with this. Have you done it? Do you always do it? Does it help? I’m also going to break my rules and give it a go as well on a scene from a novel which has not gone beyond chapter 5 in the past four years. The scene I’m thinking of is the pivotal, changing moment in the book, and I would love to see it come to life outside of my brain.
Let’s see what impact it has and I’ll let you know how I go.
Happy writing!
Leif Smart said,
July 1, 2012 at 1:06 pm
I can’t remember which author said it, but they said they wrote the last chapter of the novel first. This gave them an ending to work towards, and ensured that the destination was set, so that they didn’t wander too much in the actual writing.
Ellen Gregory said,
July 21, 2012 at 11:30 pm
I have never done this, and never been tempted to do this. I’m VERY chronological. Too much can influence what ultimately happens for me to skip ahead. Invariably by the time I got there the scene would be unusable — or I’d feel too constrained by what I’ve already written. (Interestingly, I’m finding this as I write what is essentially a prequel… Of course I can change the ’sequel’ to fit what I’m writing now, but I still feel constrained.)