Chuck, i have a question.
I'm working on a story and i had an idea for a future scene.
I'm thinking about writing that scene now because i know it's going to be great fun to write it.
But It feels like my characters have to go through the all story so they react properly then.
Basicaly, can i jump some parts and write it afterward or is…
Can you write the upcoming scene as a short story? As people read they remember the most fully formed scenes with the most emotional impact. If you put together your key scenes, then you can set them in series and look for what's needed to link them. And you can experiment in mixing up the sequence in which they occur.
In this way the entire novel rises from the ground as a whole, instead of being a linear series of things you can easily anticipate. If the whole novel suddenly crystalizes from several points (scenes) that each branch out to connect to other scenes, you have a three-dimensional matrix which is far better than a linear chain of events.
So, yes, write your big scenes, but make them as complete as possible. Make them stand-alone short stories.
I've never seen it that way, and i always wrote my stuff the linear chain of events way. Considering the key scenes as stand alone short stories is a great advice. You just flipped my brain upside down. Merci!
Hi Chuck, apologies if you've addressed this before, but does this approach do away mostly with plotting, and instead, allow a more organic (and surprising) story to develop on its own? Or is plotting still involved at some level? Or should we even worry about plot? Also, I find that when I'm stuck for something that's the next 'link,' I hit the Random article link on Wikipedia. It's weird how something will turn up that leads me to the next thing in my story. Thanks!
Chuck, i have a question.
I'm working on a story and i had an idea for a future scene.
I'm thinking about writing that scene now because i know it's going to be great fun to write it.
But It feels like my characters have to go through the all story so they react properly then.
Basicaly, can i jump some parts and write it afterward or is it a bad idea? keeping a linear timeline i mean.
does it make sense ?
Can you write the upcoming scene as a short story? As people read they remember the most fully formed scenes with the most emotional impact. If you put together your key scenes, then you can set them in series and look for what's needed to link them. And you can experiment in mixing up the sequence in which they occur.
In this way the entire novel rises from the ground as a whole, instead of being a linear series of things you can easily anticipate. If the whole novel suddenly crystalizes from several points (scenes) that each branch out to connect to other scenes, you have a three-dimensional matrix which is far better than a linear chain of events.
So, yes, write your big scenes, but make them as complete as possible. Make them stand-alone short stories.
I've never seen it that way, and i always wrote my stuff the linear chain of events way. Considering the key scenes as stand alone short stories is a great advice. You just flipped my brain upside down. Merci!
Ctrl + C, Ctrl + V to Advice from Chuck File.
I'm stuck in the middle of my novel at a crucial juncture. This is exactly what I need to do to keep the forward momentum.
Hi Chuck, apologies if you've addressed this before, but does this approach do away mostly with plotting, and instead, allow a more organic (and surprising) story to develop on its own? Or is plotting still involved at some level? Or should we even worry about plot? Also, I find that when I'm stuck for something that's the next 'link,' I hit the Random article link on Wikipedia. It's weird how something will turn up that leads me to the next thing in my story. Thanks!