when false starts find their way to the finish...

Stew21 · Sep 15, 2009

I've had several false starts lately. They are a collection 3000 words or so each sitting on my hard drive that never really solidified into a full on story. Each if very different, yet have a common theme. The other day I wrote a scene. It was a random scene not intended to be the beginning of anything. and then a central idea emerged. Not only is it the premise for this story, it is the one that ties together every one of those false starts into ONE novel.

Apparently it was the warm-up, the way for me to see the many facets, the pieces waiting for their thread.

So now I am going about the business of making them one functional story. This is more difficult than I thought it would be. I write in a no-outline linear fashion. I've never taken pieces and quilted them together. It's a little frightening, a lot exhilerating, AND I wanted to see if anyone else has done this and has any advice.

Also, a reminder, don't throw anything away. Your false start today may be a crucial scene in your novel tomorrow.

bearilou · Sep 15, 2009

Stew21 said:
It was a random scene not intended to be the beginning of anything. and then a central idea emerged. Not only is it the premise for this story, it is the one that ties together every one of those false starts into ONE novel.

You know, I thought I was a mutant when that happened to me.

Glad to see I'm not.

Stew21 · Sep 15, 2009

You're not a mutant unless I am, too.

How did that quilting process go for you?

The hardest part for me (which is usually the easiest) is stringing together a solid single-voiced narrative. The tones of each character for each of the false starts is similar but not the same and it's difficult to merge them.

Stunted · Sep 15, 2009

That's wonderful! Good luck.

I've hacked up old material and reused it, but I've never done anything of this scale, and never used so many different things from so many different works.

My advice is to make sure that you read all of your material before you start picking parts to use, because there may be hidden gems in there that you've forgotten.

Again, good luck!

KTC · Sep 15, 2009

Stew21 said:
I've had several false starts lately. They are a collection 3000 words or so each sitting on my hard drive that never really solidified into a full on story. Each if very different, yet have a common theme. The other day I wrote a scene. It was a random scene not intended to be the beginning of anything. and then a central idea emerged. Not only is it the premise for this story, it is the one that ties together every one of those false starts into ONE novel.

Apparently it was the warm-up, the way for me to see the many facets, the pieces waiting for their thread.

So now I am going about the business of making them one functional story. This is more difficult than I thought it would be. I write in a no-outline linear fashion. I've never taken pieces and quilted them together. It's a little frightening, a lot exhilarating, AND I wanted to see if anyone else has done this and has any advice.

Also, a reminder, don't throw anything away. Your false start today may be a crucial scene in your novel tomorrow.

I once weaved a whole collection of glimpses or short stories together to create a novel. It was all written without outline, but it was written so crazily out of sequence that I basically just wrote a whole bunch of different scenes/stories...and then went about gluing them together as a novel. That was the Chasing Empty manuscript I wrote...which is now in a 'trunk'. It was hard to weave it together...but it was a hell of a lot of fun, and, I think, a learning experience.

CACTUSWENDY · Sep 15, 2009

Stew, I took about 10 of my 100 word flash stories and 'quilted' them into a a tale. It's been fun, and my MC and his side kick have come so much alive with them. In fact, I'm at this moment trying to come up with a couple more 100 word flashes just to weave in.

It's funny how ideas come together.

Madison · Sep 15, 2009

I false-started at least four times on the WIP I'm subbing right now... took me almost a year to really be able to SEE where the story wanted to go.

Kind of annoying, but at least I know the characters really well now and know that this is the right storyline.

backslashbaby · Sep 15, 2009

Good Luck! I do save my smaller bits in case. Good to know that's a good idea

The voice thing you describe is big with me on my WIP. The first parts I wrote keep trying to veer into spooky, when I'm looking for dark humour. It came out spooky the first time around; what can I say?

Stew21 · Sep 15, 2009

Voice is huge with me...usually, during the first draft, the voice emerges solidly about half way through the novel and in re-write I have to rewrite for narrative to keep it consistent with the ending that is the REAL narrative voice.

so taking 5 different narratives is going to be a challenge; way different than the gradually emerging narrative I'm used to rewriting.

Red-Green · Sep 15, 2009

This is essentially how I wrote all six novels I've written. Stories tend to happen for me in a non-linear fashion, so what I write are dozens of scenes, which I then have to go back and figure out how they fit together chronologically and thematically. That's sort of my recommendation. Identify what each scene is doing, what it's for, what changes for the characters in it. That's what always helps me figure out how to "quilt" things together. And of course, lots of the stuff I write doesn't end up in the final version of the book. They're more process scenes than anything. They tell me how to get to the stuff I can use.

Good luck!

Okyrah · Sep 15, 2009

I'm actually using this approach and it works great for me. I write whatever scenes I feel compelled to write and just put them together. My advice would be to watch your plot holes (I think this is the best way to accumulate a lot of them) and watched for constantly recurring words. Otherwise I think it's a great method

Stijn Hommes · Sep 16, 2009

All your false starts solidifying into one novel? Bah, I'm never that lucky.

bearilou · Sep 16, 2009

Stew21 said:
How did that quilting process go for you?

Still have pieces lying around but slowly I'm seeing a wonderful pattern emerge from the scattered bits.

kct webber · Sep 16, 2009

This is how I always do novels. No outline, and non-linear--quilting, as you say. It is fun, isn't it? Works well for me.

I'll foreshadow and event, then go write that event, then come back to where I foreshadowed, then jump to something else, then back. I never write in a straight line. I like it that way.

Matera the Mad · Sep 16, 2009

Good job -- you found yourself.

Stew21 · Sep 17, 2009

It is an interesting way to go about things. If nothing else a learning experience.

I keep telling myself I'm certain the narrative voice is going to come on strong in one particular scene and really stick (which happens when I write the way I normally write), so I can use the voice to pull some of these pieces together.
It'll get there I think, but right now I feel a bit exhilerated and a bit like I'm floundering.

when false starts find their way to the finish...

Stew21

bearilou

DenturePunk writer

Stew21

Stunted

Ich heiße Superphantastisch!

KTC

Stand in the Place Where You Live

CACTUSWENDY

An old, sappy, and happy one.

Madison

summertime...

backslashbaby

*

Stew21

Red-Green

KoalaKoalaKoala!

Okyrah

Stijn Hommes

Know what you write...

bearilou

DenturePunk writer

kct webber

Squirrel, Sekrit type, 1 ea.

Matera the Mad

Bartender, gimme a Linux Mint

Stew21

when false starts find their way to the finish...

DenturePunk writer

Ich heiße Superphantastisch!

Stand in the Place Where You Live

An old, sappy, and happy one.

summertime...

~~~~*~~~~

KoalaKoalaKoala!

Know what you write...

DenturePunk writer

Squirrel, Sekrit type, 1 ea.

Bartender, gimme a Linux Mint

*