Patchwork Writing

     What part of a story do you start writing first? The answer seems simple. The beginning - duh! But is it really that simple? Chronological writing is only one way to write, and for many writers it is the hardest.

     And yet that part isn't too simple, either. You can't just start at the end, or even start in the middle, and end up with a plot line that's all connected and makes sense. However, there are alternatives to starting at the first sentence and writing clear through to the end, especially when you just can't seem to get that first sentence started.

     This alternative is what I like to call "patchwork writing". Because that's really all it is - taking scraps of written scenes and piecing them together once you've finished them.

     Allow me to demonstrate.

     Let's say that I'm working on a scene with combined dialogue and description. The description is really important because it will give my readers a feel for the whole situation and a glimpse into the setting. But let's say that I'm having problems because my dialogue is coming out all wrong. It's stilted and unrealistic and sounds like a bad lip reading of Shakespeare. So what do I do?

     What I always do in such a crisis - I take the dog for a walk and talk the scene out between my characters. Then, once I've got the sequencing right, I write down just that dialogue. I even skip the actions until I've got the part down that I know sounds good.

     Now I've got a workable written portion. What's next? The part that was hard becomes easy. I take my writerly thimble, needle and thread and start connecting the dialogue with the rest of the portions I've written. This would be the description and actions that make up the rest of the scene and all the in-between parts.

     And that trick, believe it or not, solves 50% of my chronological-writing problems. It's my #1 piece of advice to give to writers struggling with chronological writing (especially when it comes to NaNoWriMo). It also keeps me interested in my own writing long enough to finish a project, which, as you may have noticed, is not always an easy thing for me to do.

     So take this trick (if you haven't already done it yourself) and share it with your writer friends. Or just use it yourself and get to that writing project you've been putting off because of this very issue!

     Sincerely,

          Yours Truly