I started of linear, but them as my novel involved mutiple time lines, time travel and multiple universes - phew - I tend to be doubling back and adding in scenes, and or, whole new chapters, I now have huge white board with post-it notes on it, do you call them stickies you strange people in the New World's. Anyway that way I can move scenes and chapters about and draw time connections etc.

I envy those of you who have a single linear timeline that the plot runs on, like train on a single track. You lucky lucky lucky bar stwewards. :-)

D A Reynolds

symbolicangel wrote:

LOL! That does sound complicated. Don't let us linear people fool you though. I've twisted my plot up so much, a pretzel looks straight. I tried that board method you mentioned once. Maybe I should go back to it. I have a problem with my mind going haywire, thinking of all these ideas from not only the first book I'm working on, but also the second and third in the series. This usually happens while I'm driving and can't write any of it down. Then I lose 50% of it.

Sometimes I wonder if I should just write scenes as they come to me, in the rare event I get an idea when I'm not busy doing other things. Or . . . that board thingy you mentioned sounds like it might work.

You're not alone. My mind is all over the place most of the time. Most of my ideas come to me when I'm at work. Granted, I'm usually just folding clothes or putting them away, so it's not like my daydreaming interferes, but like you, I can't write them down. I'm pretty good at keeping them stored in my mind though.

As in regards to my writing style, I'm linear. I like to keep going in order so I don't get too off track. Trust me, it happens very easily.

Generally, mine's linear. I just start writing and I don't stop. Once in a while I get an idea that I don't want to forget, so I'll flesh out a future scene to include, but on the average, it's totally linear.

It's interesting how we all work so differently.

Kydd

Hah, tell me about it, Angel. Most days the word are flowing. For the past couple ones? Not so much. But I find that pushing through writer's block and writing anyway is the best way to alleviate it.

I forgot to comment on my revision habits. That's one thing I think I will always do linearly. Helps me keep the big picture in focus. Plus, if you change one thing, everything else snowballs!!!

I mix both linear and non depending on my mood. Sometimes picking up where I left off in the linear timeline isn't the thing dying to come out of my brain. In those cases I tend to what's begging to come out even if it's writing a future scene. I don't worry about how I'm going to thread it in until the time comes.

As for editing, I rarely do that in linear fashion until the rewrite phase is over. I generally know the areas needing the most work and tackle those in whatever order strikes my fancy on a given day. When the serious rewriting is over, I DO start the final editing in more linear order to ensure the proper curves (plot, character evolutions) are consistent and where they should be.

Great question

I know what you mean about not starting with chapter one. My chapter one became the middle of chapter three, lol.

I must admit to being a chronic editor. I drive myself insane. I won't even tell you guys how much time I've spent on any one chapter. Then I'll go and do it all over again, more than once. There's gotta be a cure for this craziness. On the one hand, editing is good. On the other it gets to the point where it's getting in the way of finishing.

symbolicangel wrote:

I know what you mean about not starting with chapter one. My chapter one became the middle of chapter three, lol.

I must admit to being a chronic editor. I drive myself insane. I won't even tell you guys how much time I've spent on any one chapter. Then I'll go and do it all over again, more than once. There's gotta be a cure for this craziness. On the one hand, editing is good. On the other it gets to the point where it's getting in the way of finishing.

angel,

but it's not really a problem unless you're over editing. If you're getting the job done, it doesn't matter if you're editing while standing on your head and whistling Dixie! Whatever works!

I tend to toss down a first draft with little editing, other than what I might find after a write a chapter when I read it over. I don't like editing as much as writing, so it's more of a "job" than the "play" of writing, so I try and seperate the two into different tasks. But that's just how my mind works.

I'm so with you, Lucy.

Sometimes (like now) I wish I could just write write write and not worry about what I'm writing. This is the main reason I get writer's block so often.