A Short on Skipping Chapters
Writing the first draft is so personal. I find myself intrigued by the excitement of important plot turns and twists. When I started writing RTS, I wrote, in order, every chapter and had tiny notes for the important plot points that followed. Around Chapter 6, I changed my mind, and skipped to Chapter 10. I threw myself into the next dramatic plot moment and I skipped the rest = I had a vision and I was excited.
Why not let that excitement run wild? Write the story you want to write *when* you want to write it. When you get the main points out of your head and your characters stop screaming details and plot twists at you, you can go back and fill in the rest.
More importantly: When the plot is done, you can go back and make the boring scenes as exciting as you like. You can add beautiful scenery, bickering and humor. I find that when I've finished the *exciting* plot turns, I can go back and make the "boring" scenes their own beautiful story. They aren't rushed anymore. They're free. The scenes I find the most funny and I'm most proud of, come out of a scene I found became too serious or too boring. I brighten it up to entertain myself, but in the end, I entertain the reader.
But is that bad? When one is inspired by a scene, why not write it, right away? Similar to when you are doing a maze puzzle and you start at the end and work your way back to the "START". You aren't the reader, you can skip ahead while the ideas are bubbling around in your head, threatening to burst out at the first person who asks you, "How is your book coming?"
But self control is everything. So you lie and pretend that you aren't excited about what scene you're on, because the person you're talking to hasn't read any of your work, and they'll be left confused and bewildered if you tell them. (This is a universal experience, right?)
But self control is everything. So you lie and pretend that you aren't excited about what scene you're on, because the person you're talking to hasn't read any of your work, and they'll be left confused and bewildered if you tell them. (This is a universal experience, right?)
Why not let that excitement run wild? Write the story you want to write *when* you want to write it. When you get the main points out of your head and your characters stop screaming details and plot twists at you, you can go back and fill in the rest.
More importantly: When the plot is done, you can go back and make the boring scenes as exciting as you like. You can add beautiful scenery, bickering and humor. I find that when I've finished the *exciting* plot turns, I can go back and make the "boring" scenes their own beautiful story. They aren't rushed anymore. They're free. The scenes I find the most funny and I'm most proud of, come out of a scene I found became too serious or too boring. I brighten it up to entertain myself, but in the end, I entertain the reader.
Give IN and let your inspiration write the page.
Genius comes out of boredom.
Genius comes out of boredom.
Couldn't agree more. I like to think of it as painting a visual picture; broad strokes first, and once the draft is done, go in and bring out the fine detail.
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