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Q&A How to write from the middle?

I had the same problem as well. I've got key scenes scattered here and there (though mine tend to be near the end) that inspire me, and no idea how to get there. Sad to say, the only solution I'v...

posted 12y ago by Lexi‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T02:44:57Z (about 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/7342
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar Lexi‭ · 2019-12-08T02:44:57Z (about 5 years ago)
I had the same problem as well. I've got key scenes scattered here and there (though mine tend to be near the end) that inspire me, and no idea how to get there.

Sad to say, the only solution I've found is to write, throw it all away, and rewrite. Rinse and repeat many, many times. Even if it starts off as embarrassingly awkward, it's a base to work from.

Look at the scenes you've written. Can you change the setting so the action happens in a more interesting place? Can you introduce a new character, or reveal more about an existing one? What other conflicts can you add, or perhaps subplots? Can you develop an existing subplot? Or can you combine some of the existing scenes to make a single, more action-packed one?

You won't get this in the first go. Heck, you probably won't even get it in the second or third. But the key is to **keep finessing, and keep rewriting**. It sucks to throw out work that you've spent a lot of time on, but sometimes (okay, a lot of the time) it's the only way to improve. By your eighth or ninth iteration, you'll already have a good sense of what works and what doesn't, and those annoying in-between bits will read much better than before.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2013-02-22T04:20:29Z (almost 12 years ago)
Original score: 9