Should you write in chronological order?
Here’s what happens if you worry too much about it: writer’s block, frustration, overthinking your entire plot. So I say just forget about order.
I have a love hate relationship with writing chronologically. I have a tendency to begin at, well, the beginning. Yet, the beginning of a story drives me nuts. If I feel the first scene isn’t perfect I have a hard time moving on.
I’ve decided to skip beginnings. I’ll figure them out later. The pressure of the perfect opener is relinquished and I’m able to focus on the story.
Throwing out chronology also gives you the ability to explore your plot. Write a scene that should happen in the middle of your novel and you’ll find that what happens might be different than what you originally wanted your plot to be.
You also gain the ability to explore characterization outside of your story. My professor taught me this: write different scenes with your characters and how they would react in those situations and you have a better understanding of who your character is.
And you can use those scenes, or you can never look at them again.
Chronology has a way of making a riveting story stagnant.
So start at the end, or the middle, or the beginning, but jump around in you story. Sometimes you might find the character you thought you wanted to kill off is actually needed alive.
This is a great thought! Thanks 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
“Begin where you are! Develop the backstory as it comes to you! Develop the characters as they appear upon the stage. To write 1, 2, 3, is boring and the audience will be asleep before the third page.” This is from my “Writing For The Stage” Professor told me many (many, many, many, many) moons ago.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thats awesome!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You might like this:
https://anonymole.wordpress.com/2017/05/10/now-vs-then/
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yet, I do tend to write chronologically (with scant flashbacks) only because that’s the way I like to read. Those stories which bounce all over characters and timelines, bah! What? Is the author intentionally trying to confound me?
People naturally remember stuff. That’s about as much time leaping as I care to add.
But you’re also talking about the actual writing process. Write them 3,5,4,1,2, but assemble them 1,2,3,4,5. You seem to have mixed the concepts in your post, yes?
LikeLiked by 1 person
No I just mean to write the story in any order but arrange it chronologically at the end. If I have mixed concepts, whoops. Haha
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, you see that both would apply. And my posts points out that the one is necessary, in my opinion, in small doses at least.
But, to your point, specifically, yeah, I know one author who can write parts of a story, and stitch them together later. I believe, All the Light We cannot See was written like that. (Doerr had small time windows (kids) in which he could write. And I believe, wrote block that he knew he needed in the story. The result was chronological, but the creation process was not.)
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve noticed that when I jump ahead in writing, especially to do an ending, I find myself trying to explain how the later section came about, usually by a lot of exposition and/or dialogue. THEN, as I’m writing forward from the beginning, I off-load that expository material into the story along the way. So writing a section ahead can prove very useful in making sure you structure the intervening part of the story . . . at the expense of having to rewrite the “end” section once you reach it again.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is so true! I find that I always write scenes and then fix them together.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great post! I tend to start at the ending, myself 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you!!
LikeLike