Skipping around in your writing

Cevia's Angel · May 4, 2007

Newbie writer needs advice...

Is it a common practice to skip around when you write or does it make the writing lose its continuity?

I have the beginning of a chapter written and the end done but I am boring myself to tears writing the middle. Bad sign because if I am bored then my reader will be really, really bored.

Not sure if I shoud keep hammering away on it or skip ahead to the next chapter.

Siddow · May 4, 2007

I would move on to the next chapter. Skip the boring parts. You can always go back after finishing the draft and fill it in, but not with filler. With good stuff.

JimmyB27 · May 4, 2007

I prefer to sit down when I write, I tried skipping around, but I couldn't keep the pen on the page. And I looked quite girly. :tongue

Seriously though, I think you must do whatever works for you. Try it one way, then try it the other. Pick the one that works.

One thing I have learnt is that there seem to be few 'common practices' among writers, there are as many different methods as there are different writers - possibly more.

Cevia's Angel · May 4, 2007

JimmyB27 said:
I prefer to sit down when I write, I tried skipping around, but I couldn't keep the pen on the page. And I looked quite girly.

Thanks for the giggle!

JamieFord · May 4, 2007

It's up to you. I tried bouncing around with my first book an ended up rewriting it four times--a decent learning experience, but a crappy book.

Odds are, if you're bored with a chapter, your reader will be too. Write it so it's not boring to either one of you.

Good luck and have fun!

sunna · May 4, 2007

I'm anything but experienced, so get out the salt.....

I do it all the time. If I get stuck in the timeline I'll move on to a scene I know is happening later, or one that may or may not happen at all, just to keep the story fresh in my head. I haven't had a problem with it so far!
If I'm mired in a scene that's dragging out and becoming boring, I'll generally either take a break and come back to it later, or start reworking the outline to see where I went wrong.
I'm sure someone more experienced will have better advice, though. :tongue

Good luck!

Kate Thornton · May 4, 2007

I work on 2 stories at a time. If I get stuck somewhere on one, I go work on the other. I know where thery are going, but the journey can have detours, roadblocks or hitchhikers. Sometimes the stories work so well I don't need to do this, but I have one I've worked on for a while, so it's my backup for when I get stuck on another.

Devil Ledbetter · May 4, 2007

I write my scenes in order of occurance. I go backwards frequently to add in interesting elements as they occur to me, but I don't jump forward. If I come up with a great idea for a future scene, I make notes about it so I don't forget it.

If there is a small element I'm stuck on, I write a note to myself in that spot and color the font so I can go back and fix it later. This lets me keep moving forward until just the right idea pops up. (I wrote my entire first draft not knowing exactly what my protagonist did for a living. Yikes! But when it finally came to me, it fit the story perfectly. Funny how the mind works.)

I'm always a little alarmed when writers mention "the sagging middle" or "boring" scenes. Spend some time thinking about what elements or tension you could add to make dull (but necessary) scenes captivating. Sometimes a change in location or further exploration of a character can liven things up.

Good luck with your WIP.

Claudia Gray · May 4, 2007

Different people work in different ways. Personally, I agree with Devil Ledbetter -- I go through my scenes in the order they occur in the book, and the stuff that's less fun to write is the stuff that, IMHO, you must not put off until later. It becomes very easy not to write those parts at all, or to give them less energy or time than they're due. And I get a better sense of how my pacing overall is working when I can see the book unspool this way.

In the end, of course, you have to do what works for you -- and there are plenty of writers who skip around successfully. But for me, I go all the way through before I even think about going back and editing. If I get stuck on a less-thrilling scene, then it's my job to get more excited about it (and to help the reader be more excited) before I move on.

Sassee · May 4, 2007

sunna7kore said:
I do it all the time. If I get stuck in the timeline I'll move on to a scene I know is happening later, or one that may or may not happen at all, just to keep the story fresh in my head. I haven't had a problem with it so far!

This is my method. If I'm stuck on one part I go write a later scene. But then, I don't have the best memory in the world, so if I'm thinking of a later scene I usually have to write it down right then before I forget. It also helps me keep ideas fresh in my mind, and helps me "fill in the blanks" with foreshadowing or elements that will keep the story in line with its current goal. Plus it's just more fun to write all of the "exciting" scenes first!

Jumping around helps me keep my tone consistant as well. I don't know if anyone else has this problem, but my current mood seems to affect my tone if I'm not careful. (My current story is 1st person PoV.)

MelodyO · May 4, 2007

When I was working on my (now finished) novel, I wrote from beginning to end, but when a scene gave me problems I'd ditch it for an easier scene. Otherwise it would have been all too easy to get bogged down on a certain sentence, or even word, for days and days!

Having said that, when I finished all the easy scenes...all that was left was the hard scenes. ALL of them. Woe.

In closing, I say walk away from the hard scene for a bit and come back to it later with fresh eyes. :0)

swvaughn · May 4, 2007

First I gotta say... when I saw the title of this thread on the main board, it read "Skipping around in your..." and my brain automatically inserted "underwear."

I don't know why. You're not skipping around in your underwear, are you?

In reference to the OP, I usually work straight through, but once in a while I've written scenes out of order just because I started to see them, and couldn't shake them loose. I ended up revising them just a little when I actually arrived at that point in the story.

But, I try and keep it in a straight line. If you're having trouble with a scene, you might try just pushing through anyway -- you may be surprised to find that it actually works out well when you finish it. The hardest scenes to write often turn out the best.

I'm not making any sense at all, am I?

Sean D. Schaffer · May 4, 2007

Cevia's Angel said:
Newbie writer needs advice...

Is it a common practice to skip around when you write or does it make the writing lose its continuity?

...Snipped for length.

There's no specific rule saying you have to write straight through. What matters is what works for you personally.

To me, the most important thing in writing a novel is getting it right. If skipping around gets it right for you, then it's right for you.

Good luck to you, and I hope you have lots of fun finishing your piece.

tjwriter · May 4, 2007

Some people like to skip around, some don't. You really just have to discover what you like.

My current novel consists of three characters on their way to a certain location, and three other characters on their way to the same location at the same time. I have two Points of View, so when one of them is not clicking like it should, I switch to the other POV and write about those characters for a bit.

The downside is that once everyone is at that location, I'll no longer have completely different scenes to write, but at least I'll still have a couple of POVs.

I also sometimes pause for a minute to toss out some story ideas on paper or the computer. Stepping away for a bit lets my subconscious toss my story around and work on solutions without me actively trying.

MidnightMuse · May 4, 2007

Whatever floats your pancake, I say.

Personally, I can't skip around At All. I have to write from the beginning, through the middle, to the end. If there's a difficult part, then it's a challenge. If there's a boring bit - then there's something wrong. If it bores me, it'll bore the readers.

Plot Device · May 4, 2007

I do it sometimes. Such as, when I just plain KNOW how I want the ending to go, and if the ending is just racing through my head, I have to drop whatever I'm doing and write it down. Even if I'm in the middle of writing a different part, if that ending is burning a hole in my brain, then I need to go and tend to it. It feels good to finally get it out of my system and allows me to go back and resume writing that other stuff.

Other scenes do the same thing to me, but I usually have this experience with the ending.

Then I just fuse it all together later.

Jamesaritchie · May 4, 2007

Skipping

I can't skip around because I have no clue what's going to happen on the next page until the page I'm writing is finished.

But I don't believe for a second that because a scene is boring to the writer, it's automatically going to bore a reader. I don't have to laugh when I write a joke, I don't have to cry when I write a sad scene, and I sure as anything don't have to be terrified when I write a scary scene. I'm writing the book, not reading it.

The reader has no clue what the writer is feeling as he writes a scene. He only knows how the characters feel as he reads a scene.

swvaughn · May 4, 2007

Jamesaritchie said:
I can't skip around because I have no clue what's going to happen on the next page until the page I'm writing is finished.

But I don't believe for a second that because a scene is boring to the writer, it's automatically going to bore a reader. I don't have to laugh when I write a joke, I don't have to cry when I write a sad scene, and I sure as anything don't have to be terrified when I write a scary scene. I'm writing the book, not reading it.

The reader has no clue what the writer is feeling as he writes a scene. He only knows how the characters feel as he reads a scene.

Dang it, James, stop making so much sense!

That's kinda what I was getting at, only I couldn't form coherent thoughts. I agree with this.

Chasing the Horizon · May 4, 2007

I agree with James as well.

Recently I've had to write scenes I found boring, because I do write out of order, and am 'plugging the holes' so to speak in the MS, so I can actually call it finished. Just because I was not in the mood to write them and found them boring didn't necessarily mean my betas did, or even that I did when I went back and read them.

I skip around like crazy with my writing. I never would have made it past the third chapter of my main WIP if I hadn't skipped ahead. I work with a detailed outline, and know where the story is headed before I start writing it. Today I need to plug two holes in the first chapter, and finish the fourteenth chapter. This works for me.

Legionsynch · May 6, 2007

I've found that sometimes, I'll be writing in the 'current' portion of my MS, and I suddenly get inspiration for something that happens later on. Rather than let that idea fall away, or possibly forget it later, I skip down a full blank page or so, and start writing the fragment that popped into my head.

I've done this with certain lines or phrases that occurred to me along the way as well. And then I'll either incorporate them at the appropriate time, or wipe the section out once I've gotten past that point.

I think there's something to be said for writing something when the inspiration strikes you, but I don't recommend doing it too heavily. The more you do it, the more disjointed writing you have instead of one overall flowing story.

Elodie-Caroline · May 6, 2007

Hi,
I only write on my PC, instead of with paper and pen. I will go from one scene to another, without any particular order. I write the chapters out as I think of them, sometimes even changing the order of them and maybe adding new chapters. I also write out a lot of little sub-plots and then fill it all out at a later date.
I once started a story at the end, because the ending was the only part I had in my head to begin with, but once I'd written most of the story out, I changed the ending a little anyway.
You just have to write it all down how it works best for you.

Elodie

pink lily · May 7, 2007

I skip around when (if, heh) I'm writing articles or presentations. I often have the conclusion completed before I finish the middle, and sometimes before I start. This helps me ensure that I take the appropriate steps to lead the reader from the premise to the key point (and/or call to action).

I usually move middle paragraphs around quite a bit while editing, but the beginning and the end generally are written first, before I write the middle. So yes, I suppose I skip around a lot. My husband sometimes helps proofread to make sure I don't sound disjointed.

Jamesaritchie · May 7, 2007

Sense

swvaughn said:
Dang it, James, stop making so much sense!

.

Sorry. It won't happen again!

Aprylwriter · May 7, 2007

I agree! Do whatever what works for you. I skip around all the time with my novels-one of my friends is an author and he usually writes the ending first instead of the beginning.

Apryl

The Grift · May 7, 2007

I try to skip around more than I actually do. For some reason, even though I have it perfectly plotted out in my head, I can't write my endings until I've almost reached them chronologically.

Most other scenes I can. If I don't skip around, I write less. I'm still trying to learn about how if it's boring for me to write, it's going to be torture for the reader to read.

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