Are you linear writers or just random scene writers

[BlueLucario]

I can't but be curious, are you guys linear writers or do you just write random scenes? I did both. I tried linear, but it's hard to figure out what happens next just to get from point A to B. I tried random scenes(whatever cool idea that pops into my head) , but I end up trashing them later because they don't work.

What do you guys do? How do you go about it.

I'm asking because I'm trying to figure out what to do with my book. And please don't tell me the "do what works for you" because I really don't know. I would also like to learn more about other authors.

I heard some of you are backwards writers.

[willfulone]

I am not sure what you mean here. Like does one write a scene that is intended to go several chapters out? Or just writes tons of scenes and cobbles them together afterward by trying to get them to fit together once a bunch written?

I have never heard of such. I believe there are probably people who do such, with and without success. But I cannot imagine doing such.

I write it as it comes and the stuff I just wrote provides direction to the next, and so on. Guess I am linear.

I DO, on occasion get an idea that I think to hold for later - but I do not write it out and try to make it fit. I do not detail the scene out. I just let the idea sit about the brain matter. I let it stew and when it comes time for that part to go in, I work it to have it fit the story. Meaning the idea is worked to fit what is there. Rather than trying to splice in and make something work that was detailed prior and does not.

Maybe you can clarify? Just so I understand what you are asking?

ETA: Of course we will tell you to do what you think is best or what works for you. For, only you can know such. If you are going to write you ARE going to HAVE to do this stuff. And based on what you think/what works for you.

Not what someone else tells you is right for them. We are all different and cannot know what is best for another. Just for ourselves. And, we are all in the same boat trying to figure this stuff out. Somehow we all find a way to do it that best suits us.

Just write Blue. Just write. Don't worry about writing. Don't make writing hard for yourself. If you wish to write - DO IT.


Christine

[Linda Adams]

I normally write from beginning to end. However, because I did a fairly comprehensive outline, I'm actually doing chapters out of order. The outline gives me a clear picture of the book so I don't need the previous chapter written to do the next one.

[Provrb1810meggy]

I write in a linear manner, from beginning to end. Rarely one scene will be begging to be written, and I'll write that down, but then I'll go write back to my place in the story. Revising, on the other hand, is a different story. For me, revising is a time where I can skip around if I want.

[willfulone]

I normally write from beginning to end. However, because I did a fairly comprehensive outline, I'm actually doing chapters out of order. The outline gives me a clear picture of the book so I don't need the previous chapter written to do the next one.


Ahh! This makes total sense. I can see such if I were an outliner. That is not backwards really - in my view. For the thoughts were linear to get the outline. Not cobbled at all. Just writing scenes several chapters out for it is set up.

I still cannot do such. But, presented as you explain I totally can see it working.

Christine

[alyssalynne]

Linear. I tried to skip around writing random scenes within a chapter once and it ended up taking three times longer than usual. I usually try to write from beginning to end and only skip a scene if I really have to.

[SPMiller]

Highly nonlinear. I generally have a good idea of where my stories are going, so I often jump ahead to write particularly interesting scenes.

[Clair Dickson]

I am mostly linear. I move forward from beginning to end. Sometimes I can jump forward-- usually skipping ends of scenes or transitions and keep working on the plot. Sometimes I'll jump ahead and write a whole scene, but it's more common to jump back and put in a new scene.

Try something. Try something different. So long as you are writing, you will find what works. =)

[Travis J. Smith]

I like to write like a reader reads. What's coming next? Well I'll just have to find out. I don't know what will happen in any future scenes nor will I attempt to write any. Besides, every time I've tried to do any "random" writing, it's ended up being complete bupkis. And the story needs to build up to each scene; writing linearly makes building up much easier.

[Liosse de Velishaf]

I generally write linearly. If I started writing out of order, I'd never get up the motivation to write the "boring" parts. Also, it helps me think of new possibilities when I have to force through. Of course, because I don't use outlines, I could get very mixed up writing out of order.

[Jersey Chick]

I usually write from the beginning to the end. When I get stuck, I tend to write random chapters - I tried writing backwards, but didn't get very far.

[scheherazade]

I write in a mostly linear fashion. It's easier to understand the nuances of how the relationships have developed, and it helps to know what my character would know at that point. But I don't do a lot of outlining, so my storylines tend to grow out of what I've written.

Sometimes I do write a scene and then realize that it needs to be placed before another scene I've already written. Other times I realize I need to write another scene to bridge between scenes I've written - e.g. to explain how the character got from A to B. If I feel like it I may go back and write that scene, especially if I'm feeling stuck about what to write next, but usually I'll just make a note where the scene should go, so I'll remember to come back and add it later.

Sometimes if I'm stuck, I'll play around with ideas. I might write a scene or an interaction that doesn't have much to do with the plotline as it stands. Then I may decide to add that scene to the story - perhaps while I'm writing it it opens up a new plot direction, or perhaps later on I see that I can add it in. And sometimes I've been really excited to write a big, important scene, and I'll write it out of order just so I don't gloss over everything that comes before just to get to the good scene. But usually I do most of my writing in order.

[maestrowork]

Mostly linear, since I write character-driven stories. Usually the plot progression is organic to what my characters would think or do for that particular incident, and the plot may change because of that, so it makes sense for me to write in linear form so the plot can evolve organically. However, there are times when I know exactly what will happen at a key scene and I may jump to it if the mood strikes.

[ABekah]

Mostly linear. But sometimes I'll write a scene out of order if an idea is nagging at me. I simply put it in different color font at the very end of my manuscript and worry about it at the appropriate time.

[Chasing the Horizon]

I usually write very much out of order (as in, jumping from a scene in the 2nd chapter to one in the 12th). I can do this because I always start with a detailed outline. I do like to leave the very last scene for last, though, just so when I reach 'the end' I'm actually finished. I've completed three novels working this way, so obviously it works for me.

When Blue talks about working backwards, does she maybe mean writers who write the ending first, and then go back and work towards the ending? *shrug*

[OremLK]

I'm a linear writer. Even though I outline and plan ahead, I often discover things that change the story in the midst of writing, and these things tend to have a ripple effect on the rest of the novel. So if I write scenes out of order, I might end up in trouble when I get to the later scenes and they don't fit with what happened before.

The one time I would kinda-sorta make an exception would be when writing parallel storylines. I would still write each narrative in a linear way, but I might write farther ahead in one storyline before going back and working on the other, depending on what I feel like writing that day.

[beezle]

Linear. It's after the story is written that I chop it up and re-arrange the parts.

[Enzo]

I guess I'm both.
I get ideas and write them down, but often I have no idea where they'll fit into the whole, maybe they won't.
But when I really decide to get down and write a story - like for NaNo now - I go linear and now and then I look at my earlier ideas to see if they fit in.

[Straka]

First draft I'm always linear. Even if I outline.

[dwellerofthedeep]

Almost entirely linear. One jump forward in Doppelganger, but never again and never any other time, I just couldn't handle it.

[Varthikes]

I write linear. Before I begin, I organize the book's plot points in an outline and use that as a guide. Of course, if I think up a scene to add in an earlier chapter, I'll either make a note of it to add later, or go back right then and add it.

[TrickyFiction]

I write in a linear manner, from beginning to end. Rarely one scene will be begging to be written, and I'll write that down, but then I'll go write back to my place in the story. Revising, on the other hand, is a different story. For me, revising is a time where I can skip around if I want.

I'm basically exactly like this. :)
Except I tend to revise the same way I compose.

[tehuti88]

I can't but be curious, are you guys linear writers or do you just write random scenes? I did both. I tried linear, but it's hard to figure out what happens next just to get from point A to B. I tried random scenes(whatever cool idea that pops into my head) , but I end up trashing them later because they don't work.

What do you guys do? How do you go about it.

I'm asking because I'm trying to figure out what to do with my book. And please don't tell me the "do what works for you" because I really don't know. I would also like to learn more about other authors.

I heard some of you are backwards writers.

I'm linear. If I write things out of order, then when I try to put them in order they'll make no sense. If it's too hard to figure out how to get from Point A to Point B, then you haven't thought the plot out well enough. I don't even outline but for the most part I don't have huge difficulty going from Point A to B. I just write it and it falls into place. That doesn't happen so easily for all writers, so that's why they outline. I myself, I think over the plot for a LONG time (I'm talking months to years) before writing, so it's not so hard to get from one place to another.

Even if you don't write in a linear fashion, you're going to HAVE to figure out how to get from Point A to Point B sometime. Writing it all out of order won't help you solve that particular problem. You'll still have to string the scenes together and figure out how Point B fits after Point A. You still need to make the connections.

I get the feeling that's why your separately written scenes "don't work" and you end up trashing them--because you still can't figure out how they fit together, how to get from Point A to Point B. I do know that's one reason why I write linearly--it's easier to face the issue of how to get from one part to the next when I'm doing it in order. When I write out of order, all those transitional scenes are saved for last and it's made even more complicated to try to patch it together in any sensible fashion. Best to just tackle it straight on. Step one, step two, step three to reach the destination, rather than step two, step forty-seven, step nine...

It's fine asking how other people do things, but you'll really have to figure out what works best for you on your own, because we all do things differently.

[HeronW]

I start with linear then get ideas that would work later so I may jot down a few words or a few paragraphs to keep for later. When I come to that point in the book, sometimes those drop in bits work, I may need to rework things but I usually feel it's something that needs to stay, though not in the point of the story on which I'm currently working.

Ex: MC 1 & 2 are searching for MC 3, the sister of 2. 2's been and still is tormented by a magical chair, albeit in her mind, and these interruptions can come at the damnedest times imperiling her life as well as her sanity.

I get an idea for this taunting scene and do it up before I lose it, then tuck it in at a more appropriate time.

[Captain Howdy]

The writing of Twisted Oaks is extremely non-linear, mostly because the narrative allows it to be, but partly because there are parts which still require extensive research or character building which I haven't gotten around to.

I began a NaNo today and feel fairly certain it will be linear.

[MumblingSage]

I checked off 'random scenes', even though for a moment I thought of checking 'both'. But nobody whose ever seen me beat my way through a string of connecting narrative could ever say I truly write linearly. I just write some words to connect already written scene to already written scene. I sort of think of it as making a necklace, one where I make all the beads first and only put them together at the end.

[donroc]

My first drafts are always linear, but other chapters are inserted in later drafts as my characters dictate to me.

[treehugger]

100% linear, and I can't imagine doing it any other way. My stories evolve very organically, with each scene building on the next and growing together to create a narrative. When I start writing, I have a vague idea of how I want the story to end (sometimes it actually ends that way and sometimes it doesn't) and maybe a few scenes in mind, but I just let those scenes steep in my mind and I don't write them out at all until I get there, and when it comes to story as a whole I *must* go page 1, page 2, page 3, etc. I (obviously) don't outline at all, and my stories tend to be character driven, so I can get away with writing this way.

[Aschenbach]

I jump about at will, and I don't outline either.
(When I say I don't outline, I don't write anything detailed. But I have a loose idea of how things will end up, and what generally will happen along the way. But the loose outline can change often and significantly during writing).

I find if I try to write linear, progress stalls when I can't work out how to resolve a situation I have just set up. I find it too inhibiting. So I jump around, and always the block on the previous scene will lift, eventually.

I do get minor continuity errors and inconsistencies using this method, but they are easily corrected after the 1st draft. I think without the constraints of staying linear my plotting and character development can take more radical turns and become more vivid (or so I hope!).

If I was an outliner I can see it would be logical to write linear.

[RedScylla]

This is exactly how I write. I'm this incredibly orderly person in every aspect of my life except writing. When I write I often start with a character and try to sort out what that character is doing by writing dozens of scenes in which character does things and interacts with people. Usually only after I've got 30K words or so do I have any idea what my plot is. Then I have to go back and quilt the scenes I have into a plot and fill in the holes.

writes tons of scenes and cobbles them together afterward by trying to get them to fit together once a bunch written?

I have never heard of such. I believe there are probably people who do such, with and without success. But I cannot imagine doing such.

[October]

I can't but be curious, are you guys linear writers or do you just write random scenes? I did both. I tried linear, but it's hard to figure out what happens next just to get from point A to B. I tried random scenes(whatever cool idea that pops into my head) , but I end up trashing them later because they don't work.

What do you guys do? How do you go about it.

I'm asking because I'm trying to figure out what to do with my book. And please don't tell me the "do what works for you" because I really don't know. I would also like to learn more about other authors.

I heard some of you are backwards writers.

I'm pretty linear when I write because I have a bad memory and I'm lazy. If I don't write most of my stuff in order, I don't bother to write what I left out. That means the story ends up weird. But sometimes, if I'm stuck on one scene, but I know how the next one goes, I write that, then return because now I have a frame to work out of.

Other times I start with one scene in the middle or the end and just work from there. Whatever I do, I write it down. It keeps things straight.

[kct webber]

I don't outline and I'm a very non-linear writer. I wouldn't say I write "random scenes" because they aren't random. I know exactly where they go and what their purpose is. I just don't write them in order.

[Inarticulate Babbler]

Linear--as far as progression goes.

I spent a good chunk of time making a mental outline, researching and when I start, I know the end I'm working toward. However, sidetracks pop up; characters force their way deeper into the story; the historical battles take more presidence (I'm writing HF at the moment). That's why the outline is in the mind. If I get stumped on a sidetrack, I know which end I'm working toward and follow the next step in the progression.

(My next works are going to be extensively outlined--I want to test the difference.)

[CaroGirl]

My first couple of novels I wrote in random fashion. Whatever scene was in my head banging to get out, I wrote. But I don't outline so I found I had trouble making that work. The first of those novels I didn't finish, the second I trunked, so that goes to show you how well the random method worked for me.

Now I write in a linear fashion and find it works much better. I will sometimes write a few words on a later scene, or even write out the ending, if some good wording comes to me, but I no longer devote long stretches of time to writing out-of-order scenes.

But, as with most questions like this one, you'll get a variety of answers, which tells you any method can work, you just have to find what works for you. Like I said, I wrote a novel and a half before I learned the method that I currently believe works for me (not that I'm pubbed as yet). The way to discover how you write, is to write, not to ask other people how they write (although it's interesting to see).

[Don]

I've learned to stay linear after writing a few scenes for later chapters early on. Trying to get the preceeding scenes to lead into those scenes correctly gave me fits.

However, I've had some luck writing separate subplots composed of a number of scenes, then fitting them in place. Even those took some work during cleanup, however, to make sure all the subplots fit together correctly.

[selkn.asrai]

I used to think I was a random scene writer, but I found I needed more discipline, so I hunkered down and wrote linear. Made all the difference in the world.

So yeah, I'm all linear. Sometimes I get stuck, so I'll leave a [more: info to include] note, and move to the next scene until I'm energized enough and return to the troublesome scene.

[Jeremy]

I’m definitely a linear writer. The story has to have a logical progression for me. Things always change when I write, so if I wrote out of order scenes would never quite fit.

[Alpha Echo]

Definitely linear. I dont' know how to keep facts straight if I wrote just random scenes.

Besides, my mind doesn't really work that way...skipping around. Not that it's bad thing at all! I just can't do it!

[Relayer]

I write linear for fiction, poetry, and screenwriting. But not always for non-fiction and mag writing. I always thoroughly research, make detail character bios, themetic goals, story goals and at least a 30 pg outline.

Then I can sit back and focus solely on writing, knowing I have all I need to back me up. Of course, nothing is written in stone. If one is stuck - one should just move on to the next thing. You can always go back to a section of work. Nor do I force myself to stick to my initial ideas. You never know til you get to the scene, chapter, or character what will happen. That is what makes writing a process of discovery.

[Telstar]

Linear and with outline.
Although I went back to add a Prologue.

[Telstar]

I normally write from beginning to end. However, because I did a fairly comprehensive outline, I'm actually doing chapters out of order. The outline gives me a clear picture of the book so I don't need the previous chapter written to do the next one.

I dont do this, altough it's tempting, because my outline does not comprise 90%+ of what I will actually write. Probably yours is more detailed.
And I prefer to have clearly in mind what just happened to use all the plot seeds that i planted.

[blacbird]

I do both, dependent on the individual project. Short stories, I tend to be more linear, start to finish, but there have been exceptions. Novels, I start with scenes, and the roughest kind of skeleton of plot, and tend initially to bounce around a bit. Once a certain threshold is reached, I get linear, or at least more so. I've never done NaNo (because it hits at my most frantically busy point of every year), but if I did, I think I would be forced into a linear piece of writing.

caw

[Butternutty]

Writing in linear fashion is the only way I can actually put words on paper. I have a vision of where the story will go and let that mental image play out like a film. The result might be awful, but it gives a starting point for revisions, where I’ll move stuff around like crazy and fill in gaping holes to make the flow more dramatic and logical. The final sequence invariably bears little resemblance to the first cut.

[treehugger]

I write linear for fiction, poetry, and screenwriting. But not always for non-fiction and mag writing. I always thoroughly research, make detail character bios, themetic goals, story goals and at least a 30 pg outline.

Then I can sit back and focus solely on writing, knowing I have all I need to back me up. Of course, nothing is written in stone. If one is stuck - one should just move on to the next thing. You can always go back to a section of work. Nor do I force myself to stick to my initial ideas. You never know til you get to the scene, chapter, or character what will happen. That is what makes writing a process of discovery.


Oh, well, nonfiction is a fish of a different color! For anything over ~250 words, I usually collect a mess of facts, quotes, ideas, etc., and then cobble them together into a cohesive piece. For nonfiction I outline heavily and very much write the paragraphs out of order. In college I went so far as to write indivual sentences on index cards and then lay them all out in front of me and shuffle them into order.

Huh. I hadn't really thought about it before now how utterly different my writing style is for fiction vs.nonfiction.

[Petsey]

I wrote both ways. Mostly because the book started as something just for fun and I wrote the rescue and fire scenes. Then when I realized I wanted to bring the characters more to life, I thought out the storyline. But I still let the characters tell me what they wanted to do. Sometimes they took the story in a little different direction. So Both is what I did.

[Relayer]

Oh, well, nonfiction is a fish of a different color! For anything over ~250 words, I usually collect a mess of facts, quotes, ideas, etc., and then cobble them together into a cohesive piece. For nonfiction I outline heavily and very much write the paragraphs out of order. In college I went so far as to write indivual sentences on index cards and then lay them all out in front of me and shuffle them into order.

Huh. I hadn't really thought about it before now how utterly different my writing style is for fiction vs.nonfiction.

I've had to retrain myself to write in every medium I've worked in. The interesting thing to me is my last foray into screenwriting has now informed my work in full length fiction. I started looking at the novel in the three act form. Of course that changed after further development, but it help me visualize the plot differently. In the end it made my non-genre plot better, tighter, b/c I started with a three act structure. Rambling plots in literary fiction is a problem. So using the techniques from another medium helped me tame what was once an untamed beast. PLOT in the Non-genre novel.

[mario_c]

I write all the cool stuff first. The stuff I think is great. The magic word for a first draft is TODO. I will worry about that stiff dialogue or vague plot twist later, I'm writing a frickin' SCRIPT, baby.
Of course, when that runs into a wall I start writing the beat sheet including character arcs, and then a treatment. The literary equivalent of pulling over and getting out the map.

[sharla]

I didn't outline the first time, just wrote randomly, and then ended up with a beast. I'll do differently the next time. But what I still tend to do is write scenes as they come to me, basically because they eat at me and I have to get them out. Then I can save them and put them where they need to be. That also helps me find out more about my characters. Things seem to come to the surface that I didn't know about before.

[Lady Cat]

I try to be linear, I really do, but it doesn’t always work that way.

I have one work in progress that is linear, but the progress is really slow on it. In another WIP, I started at the beginning but then had a great idea for the end so I wrote out the ending and then started back tracking from there. I’ve worked backwards to about halfway through the book now.

My Nano novel started out linear, but I keep getting scenes flash in my head so I feel obligated to write them down (after all, it’s all about the word count, not the order they’re in). If it’s any consolation, at least I make sure I’m writing them down in the order in which they need to appear. :D

[jennifer75]

I can't but be curious, are you guys linear writers or do you just write random scenes? I did both. I tried linear, but it's hard to figure out what happens next just to get from point A to B. I tried random scenes(whatever cool idea that pops into my head) , but I end up trashing them later because they don't work.

What do you guys do? How do you go about it.

I'm asking because I'm trying to figure out what to do with my book. And please don't tell me the "do what works for you" because I really don't know. I would also like to learn more about other authors.

I heard some of you are backwards writers.

I'm both, linear and scene writer.

hehe....I just called myself a writer.

[Gogirl]

I'm linear, but am considering becoming a cobbler because maybe that would make it easier for me to get the words down. They flit out of my mind like butterflies.

pooooooondering............

[CaroGirl]

Mmmm. Cobbler...

[Gogirl]

Mmmm. Cobbler...

Peach or apple, CaroGirl? There's a bakery around here where they make the most fantastic goodies. Here, try some.

[Contemplative]

I'm a very nonlinear writer. I come up with basic concepts, characters and ideological conflicts first. From there I imagine scenes that I want to have or feel would be dramatic. I design an outline to tie those scenes rationally together. Then I brainstorm for all the scenes at once, writing dialogue snippets and prose fragments into my outline.

I do write the actual story linearly, for the sake of continuity checking and resolving inconsistencies -- but I often have something between a very long outline and a very rough draft to work from by the time I'm a third in. I'm very, very dependent on outlines and note-taking, because my good ideas don't necessarily come for the scene I'm currently working on at all.

I think writing like this is very much a minority process, but it works for me.