by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
Last week I was working on my current project. I felt good about it. I was definitely in the writing zone and everything was going well.
Then I got to page eighty and I stopped cold. Something wasn’t right with the book’s pace. I was advancing plot points too quickly and wasn’t nearly far enough along in the book for the second body to be discovered….but it had been.
I got that familiar chill of what the hell am I doing? that I get for every book. I’ll get the feeling that I’ve massively messed up and don’t know what I’m going to do to get out of the mess.
Then I did what I always do. I wrote the next scene. Because I did know what I wanted to write next—the suspects being questioned after the second body is found. I kept right on going, ignoring the mess for now.
I’ve found, for me, that the only way to fix a problem is just to go on and finish the skeleton for the book.
Then I’ll go back and adjust. Pace is going too fast in the first half of the book? What am I missing? Oh. I didn’t really flesh out who these suspects are, did I? I’ll add it. And…oh, I wanted a particular subplot to give my protagonist more opportunities to grow in this book, didn’t I? I’ll add it.
We can’t get crippled when our manuscript fails to live up to our imagined masterpiece. Finish it, fix it. But finish it, first. Others will disagree here, which is fine. Whatever works—if it works better for you to edit as you go, do that.
For me, though, if I get stuck trying to fix an unfinished book, I end up tinkering with the thing so much that the story never moves forward. For me, the big picture of the book in its entirety is crucial when I’m figuring out where I went wrong and what needs to be fixed.
Writing out of order: If I’m stuck because I’m not exactly sure how to move forward with my story (which sometimes happens when I don’t outline…and I frequently don’t outline), then I’ll sometimes skip ahead and write a major scene or even the ending…just something that I already am planning on writing and know the outcome of. Once I wrote a book completely out of order. I can’t really recommend doing that. It was a mess to put together again and fix the transitions.
Writing ‘backwards’: I’ve also written half of a book from the end to the point where I got stuck. If you’re thinking about your story in terms of scenes, this is easy enough if you know your ending better than your midpoint.
And then there’s always the old standby…outlining. I’m not a fan, but I’ve made my peace with outlining since I have an editor who requires it. I make mine as general as possible and keep my plot flexible in case I need to make big adjustments. It helps if I don’t think of it as an outline—if I think of it as brainstorming a plan.
These are ideas for moving the plot forward when we’ve realized there’s a problem with our story and are getting bogged down with the problem. I’ve also written about other ways to keep moving ahead when we’ve gotten stuck. In that post I recommended writing in different locations, changing around our writing schedule, and making lists (among other things.)
How do you keep moving forward with your story?
Image—MorgueFile—ZeroSilence3
Elizabeth – OK, this is eerie. I recently made the same sort of discovery. But like you, I didn’t allow it to stop me for long. I just kept on. There are always places where one can go back and include a conversation, some scenery, a sudden rainstorm, whatever. And frankly I’d rather put the main parts of the story together and then work backwards. Otherwise I get mired in details.
Thanks again, Elizabeth, for sharing your writing journey. I am just doing a skeleton of the story for my first draft. I don’t have any idea what is happening next. It’s coming from someplace other than my conscious mind. I know I will have to go back and “fix” plenty.
Karen
I’m writing something right now that’s out of order. I’ve never tried writing this way, but because I have ADD, this new way is working for me. But, I am making lots of notes so I’ll know “things” when I’m finished.
T
Thanks. I’ve got one now that was just about to enter the “incomplete story-endless edit” zone.
Make a mess, then clean it up.
Amended :
Make a completed mess, then clean it up.
Really great timing on this one for me. Thanks for the encouragement.
I also need the structure of having a finished skeleton for the book. Right now I am stuck on the climax, but I’ve already finish my last scene.
So I write out of order all the time. But the most important thing is just to get a rough draft together. Or I spend most of my time editing.
That’s really interesting the way you do it. I write on my first book, and first I wrote down all the ideas that came into my mind. I had the main story and characters, and then I got more and more specific.
I’ve also created some sort of map in which I wrote about every character and their relationships with each other. This makes it easier for me to have on overview on my characters.
Then I start to write. While writing down the story I get some more ideas, then I think about to add them or not.
I’ve already written some short stories and a play before, and there I have reread it after I was finished and then changed a few things.
When I get stuck and don’t know how to continue, it helps me to take a break and listen to music. That helps me to get some new ideas.
Great blog post. Thanks for sharing.
-Sanny
I often write all over the place. I found out early I don;t have to write in a straight line. It can be loopy and spotty. Eventually, I’ll make sense of things by filling in gaps and writing the ending.
Hi.
Great point. I totally agree with you. Good strategy to move forward, finish and then go back and adjust, correct, etc.
Preparing an outline before writing, helps with the moving forward thing.
I found that writing in detail about the characters combined with the events in chronological order, helps a lot. Kind of a biography for each character, but detailed and in combination with events in time. It helps with organizing thoughts and processes. It answers the why, when, what, etc.
I don’t know if it helps with mystery, but have you tried a detailed outline, instead of a general one?
The detailed outline can be viewed as the skeleton, and then one can add the ligaments, tendons, muscles, brain, organs, etc. As the skeleton is the supporting structure for the human body, so can a detailed outline be for a book. :)
I don’t write in chronological order, so skipping to something else is my most common method.
But sometimes you have to resolve the problem with one scene to know how to write another.
When that’s the problem, I usually do two contrary things: I make myself visit that problem/scene every day, but I let myself give up and go to something else.
By visiting the issue every day, it gets on my subconscious brain and gets it to working on it, and by giving up each day, I let the unconscious get on with what it’s doing, and in the meantime, I am productive.
Interesingly, I just started doing this in my WIP.
Great advice! I always push through to The End before I worry about editing. It helps that I plot my books first. :)
I like to get the whole thing down too. Editing can help me once I’m done, but I need something to edit. I often leave notes to myself like (this is sooooo sloooow!) or (needs some kind of description)
Sanny–So you started out with a brain dump (I love doing that, too. Helps me organize my thoughts better.)
Then you made a mind map? I’ve used those before and found them helpful.
I’ve heard many writers who get inspired by listening to music. Roz Morris has a blog that focuses on music as inspiration: http://mymemoriesofafuturelife.com/
Margot–Me too. Funny that the same thing happened to both of us! I had a split second where I thought, “Well, I guess I could have a third body later on…” but then I decided that’s a pretty high body count for a cozy.
Karen–I like that you’re letting your story plot your direction. :)
Stephen–I sort of like filling in the gaps. Gives a very satisfying feeling.
Jim–Oh, I’m glad I’m not the only one!
Stina–A plotter! :) In some ways, I do like plotting (although I really, really hate it while I’m doing it! I grit my teeth and feel very put-upon while I’m outlining.) When I plot, I do write a lot faster. Where I tend to get stuck when I’ve *got* an outline is when I feel like the scene didn’t live up to the premise. I’ve had to learn to just keep going when that happens. :)
Teresa–I’m very distracted and antsy, too. Hard for me to sit still for very long! I think the writing-out-of-order approach really can help. I tend to write at least a couple of scenes out of order for each first draft.
j welling–It’s very tempting to enter that zone, but it’s hard to get out of the muck when we do! I’m very Type A, so it’s a slippery slope for me if I start editing.
Ha! Yes, continue making the mess. Until the mess is completely finished!~ Then fix the mess. :)
A. R, Tan–I feel like editing requires a different part of my brain than drafting so it just tends to mess me up. Apparently, I can’t take a dual left-brain, right-brain multitasking approach to a book. :) Now, I can edit one book at the same time I’m drafting *another* book (if I’m on a couple of tight deadlines), but I can’t edit and draft at the same time on the same project.
I have to keep plowing forward, too. And with mysteries, often I end up with a number of things I use later that I have to go back and plant the seeds for earlier, so it’s GOOD if that first draft has gone too fast and been too short.
I.J.Vern–Thanks for coming by. :)
Oh, so you make sort of a timeline with detailed bios as points on the line? That would look really cool on a storyboard.
One of my editors requires a detailed outline, so I’ve written several…and I’ll admit that I don’t ever get stuck as far as plotting goes. (I’m so stubborn, though, that I can’t seem to admit to *myself* that things go smoother when I outline!)
Hart–That’s a good way of looking at it!
The Daring Novelist–I like that approach of yours. So far, I’ve usually known what I need to do to fix my issues. But–sometimes plot holes pop up. I think your method might work really well for plot holes, especially.
I don’t go back and edit until I’m done either. But I do create an extensive outline first, so I have a good grasp on where I’m going. And I go slow, getting as much right the first time. (All right, I go slow because I can’t type fast!)
Jemi–I like to leave notes to myself, too! I use Track Changes for that sometimes.
Alex–You’re good to outline!
There are those online typing courses… :)
Great post. Totally a fan of spitting everything out and then going back and taking away what doesn’t work. I prefer to think of it as the Michelangelo Method ;-)
Hi Elizabeth. Great post as usual and great, solid suggestions. What almost always works for me is to take a ‘Goldlocks’ break. Not too long, not too short but just right. Then go back and have another shot.
If that doesn’t work I usually take a nap. That doesn’t make my writing go any smoother, but at least I’m well rested.
Mike Martin
author of The Walker on the Cape.
http://www.walkeronthecape.com
Deb–Ha! Well, any opportunity to compare ourselves with a master, right? :) I like the way you put it!
I keep chugging on through too … and now I’m at a point where my first draft is finished and I’m having to go back and face the issues. Ugh! Nice to know I’m not alone.
Mike–That’s a good suggestion. I’ll do that, but my breaks usually involve housework. Then I’m *definitely* ready to get back to my writing…to escape the laundry. :)
Emily–Ugh. Yes, issues for every book. Different issues for different books!
I do exactly the same thing you did in this case – I keep writing until the book is finished and then go back and add in what needs to be there to flesh it out.
Even with an outline, I sometimes find my mysteries advancing too quickly – but if I stop and try to “pad” at that point it never works out as well as writing on and going back later. By the end, I can usually tell where things need to be changed – but I don’t usually know that until I know how the rest works out.
Susan–That’s exactly the way I see it. Stopping to pad just messes me up…after the book is finished, it’s not padding–it’s added red herrings, a clue, some character development. Because afterward, I know what I’m dealing with.
These are such excellent ideas. When I’m stuck, I’ll step away to think about it for a little bit. Then I’ll power through without looking back.