A Novel Question

[Guest]

I know that some of you out there write novels and novellas(straight or erotic.) Do any of you write them backwards?

I started writng plays backwards a while back. I wrote the final scenes first and then worked backwards scene by scene. This helps me maintain the "through line" or "spine" of the characters and it also makes it easier to foreshadow. Has anyone else tried this?

I started working on a novel a few years ago. I anticipate it will be about thirty chapters and I have about 17 done--including the final chapter and the first ten.

I have been getting a little bogged down in the middle and am considering starting to work backwards. Any input from those of you who have finished longer works?

 

[Madame Pandora]

darkness -

I've never written from the end back, but I frequently skip over and then go back and write in scenes later. My unfinished manuscripts all look something like this:

text

[scene where X kills Y]

text

MP

 

[CreamyLady]

I sit down and write the narrative, and go back and fit in the details later. My first and second drafts look something like Madame Pandora's.

 

[Bluegirl]

Not that I'm any kind of expert, but I think it shouldn't matter if you work end-beginning or otherwise. It's the end result that really matters. However you are able to obtain that is the way you should do it. In this case, the ends justifies the means.

Just my opinion.

 

[Whispersecret]

I write chronologically. I sometimes skip ahead, but not often. I just can't seem to think that out of sync, which is probably a hindrance to me as a writer.

I write the whole thing and then go back later and insert stuff afterward. Like if I see at the end that a character needs a certain personality trait emphasized, I'll go back and beef it up afterward. Of course, I suppose that's what we all do in rewrites.

I've heard that the sagging middle is the typical place where writers get bogged down, so you're not alone, Darkness.

My thought is that you should try anything that you think will help you finish the novel. If it doesn't work, try something else.

 

[Mickie]

I write from front to back, without stopping, without thinking. However, I've heard of some writers who write whatever scene appeals to them at the time, then piece them together like a puzzle. And a lot of writers write the ending first, then go back to the beginning and try to figure out how to get there.

I suppose it really doesn't matter in what order you work, 'cause it all comes out even in the editing. (That's when I start thinking.)

Mick

 

[Weird Harold]

I write from front to back, without stopping, without thinking.

This reminds me of a friend's advice on how to write a good story:

1: Sit down and type whatever comes to mind -- just let the words flow.

2: Delete the two-thirds that is pure garbage

3: Edit the remainder into a finished story.

 

[Mickie]

The first draft is the most creative part and the most fun. Most people don't get past this draft, or skip the second draft because it's too painful. The second is logical choice and deletion of anything that doesn't pertain to the plot. The third is grammer, word choice and the flow of each sentence into the next. The last is final polish and formatting for wherever you're going to post it or print it (or for the editor, who will ask you to do just one more draft!)

It's all in the editing.

Mick

 

[Ulyssa]

Write The First Draft Backwards If You Wish.

Any useful trick to get the first draft done is legitimate in my book. Everything beyond the first draft is like simmering the stew and adding spices to taste.

No two people write exactly the same way. Asimov and Derleth hated revision (it slowed them down) Koontz will revise thirty times without batting an eyelash. Personally, I enjoy Koontz's work. But he is to my taste. I hope his wife doen't mind.