Wrote ~1200 words this morning. Really wanted to write more but had to go to the day job. Hopefully will do another 800 or so tonight and finish off chapter one. (I’m aiming for 4000 word chapters.) Probably little to no writing tomorrow. My goal is to finish chapters 1&2 by Friday, so I can plot out 3, maybe 4 as well on the weekend before diving in again.
One of the things I’ve come to realize is that the process for every novel is different. For this one, a complete outline from start to finish would be wrong. I’m outlining chapter by chapter, something I’ve never done before but that appears to be right.
The one thing that hasn’t changed, and will possibly never change for me is that I do know where I’m going in this novel. I know what those e.s scenes are. I never start unless I know the end. Or a vague idea of the end. Otherwise there’s no use in me starting. Whatever I write will be crap.
So how do you work? Do you know the end before beginning?
Posted via LjBeetle
Sometimes I know the end. Not always. This is for short stories, mostly, although my work on novels seems to follow about the same pattern.
The story I’m working on now, I didn’t know the end until I wrote a line of dialogue about 750 words in, and then I knew where it was going.
When I was in high school I figured out that part of my process — that I needed to know the ending. That part of my process has never changed. If it’s a flash piece — less than 1000 words — I can sometimes write without knowing the end. But that’s about it.
I always know the end before the beginning.
That very often is the case with me as well — I’ll have a much better handle on the end than the beginning.
short stories — i need to know basically what happens, including the end, before i set my fingers to the keys. otherwise, i end up starting and restarting until i know.
novels — i see a character in a scene. think, “gosh, you look interesting, tell me more about yourself and what’s going on.” then follow them around until i stop in the middle and wonder what it’s all about. i’ll stare at the wall for a bit and perhaps (gently) bang head a little. the marbles roll into place, i spy the theme as well as the end and then we’re off to the races until i hit the last page.
re: the novel i’m working on now… well… i know considerably more than i usually do at this stage, and it’s throwing me. so, i’ve decided to pretend i don’t until i hit the middle. not sure if that’s going to work or not. 🙂
Best of luck with the novel!
With really short fiction, I can sometimes write it without knowing where it’s going (< 1000 words.) Longer than that? I have to know. Or I can't actually start.