Help! My brain is writing several chapters at once!
So, I've been thinking about my story, and suddenly I got inspiration for the continuation of the chapter (I'm not even sure what chapter it should be). So, basically, I ended with progressing 3 chapters at once in my head; Chapter 1 (which I'm currently writing), Chapter (expected) 3 and 5.
How should I handle this? I don't think this is just a distraction. The progression on the other chapters (I think) is valuable, and I'm sort of getting vision on how the story will end.
Should I write the first chapter first, and taking notes when the chapter 3 and 5 ideas come out? Or should I write whatever chapter is progressing faster in my mind?
Here's what it looks like:
(Chapter 1) Hmm... this gem can be an important object in Chapter 3 and 5. In Chapter 3, the character should take this gem and do the ritual, which turns out to be a failure in Chapter 5. To remedy this, the character should redo the ritual. Wait, there's only one gem. I should figure out how the character get two gems instead of one.
And so on, bouncing between chapters.
This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/30475. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
1 answer
It sounds like you write much like I do, discovering the story as you go.
My approach is to put notes, as I think of them, at the bottom of whatever I am writing, and carry them forward. By "notes" I may mean half a page for a note, as much explanation as needed for what occurred to me (and where: in Chapter 3, or in a particular scene title, or page number, or keyword so I can find what I was writing when I thought it, and review that).
some of my notes are for revisions to earlier writing: Originally my characters were heading east. I only had a roughly northern location for them in mind, so no particular destination; but in writing I realize a good destination would be Albany. So my note is to revise and get more specific about their locale. Plus they know they are heading for Albany and why, I don't need to add that info to anything they say or do, (if it wasn't important information when I wrote it, it isn't important to add now) but I need to make sure I don't have them say or do anything contradictory to it. Then I can continue with my currently imagined scene and have it on my task list to go revise later.
Keep writing in order. At each story break (new chapter, beginning a new movement) review your notes; all of them. Delete what no longer applies, modify notes or previous writing as needed. Then start writing a new scene.
If you keep chapters in their own files, cut the notes from a finished chapter and paste them at the top of the next chapter. By the time you finish, there should be no notes!
0 comment threads
0 comment threads