Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Process, part 2

(Process, part 1.)

Here's a page from one of my NUIG notebooks. People always seem surprised that I don't write in chronological order, but to me it makes sense (during the rough draft, once the thing has been loosely plotted) to write whichever scene I feel like writing, and stitch them together afterward.

mm chicken scratchings

(Click here for a better view.)

In this case, I'd only just started the draft in earnest (notice the date up top: 6 October 2004), but I was already working on the graveyard scene that begins on page 218. Some famous writer said that if you know how your novel is going to end before you've written it, then it isn't worth writing at all. Biggest load of baloney I ever heard.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

I'm surprised that you write in such detail in your notebooks. I would have thought that at that stage it would all be typed.

Also, I reported this "Lil Pete, lil Pete" character for spam. It's amazing the crazies that are out there.

Anonymous said...

That's about how I do it, too. I'm all over the place with writing scenes. When I try to write first to last page, it stifles my creativity.

Sarah P. Miller said...

I never though of doing it out of order before. Possibly because I discover the plot as I write, instead of planning ahead (which is much more my style but never seems to work with my writing).

Which is why I've had 20 novels published. Obviously.

Moonrat said...

hey there! i clicked through to your blog bc of your comment--i don't think i've noticed you comment before (sorry if i missed it!).

so your debut's coming out at shaye? tell me more! who's your editor, what's the book about, etc. (if you want to email that's ok too--moonratty@gmail.com.)