I was just wondering about what the process is for some; if anyone ever tried to work backwards from a certain area of their story that they just felt should be there.

Truthfully, I tend to write in outlines. Simply because I tend to rely on plot twists and I have to set up my plot before I can twist it. I usually have a few scenes that are mostly unconnected in my head before I write, but it isn’t until I sit and stare at the scene for a while that I actually get anything done. I usually work out basic world, plot, characters and conflicts before I plot it all together though.

So, I know why the main character hates the antagonist, and I know what the antagonist is after, and I know that basic situation that gets the ball rolling, but beyond that I have to plot things out.

For a while I tried to write without an outline and go straight through the story and I ended up about fifteen pages in, staring at the screen, not sure what to do next. Since I wasn’t sure where I was going outside of the basic idea, I never could move very far. That’s why I like outlines. If I know what I’m doing, I can either work from that, inspiration or not, or just go to a scene that I know I’ve got in my head and connect the two later.

I should probably say that when I say ‘outline’ I mean a basic list of what I want the plot to do. It’s pretty vague and easily fleshed out while I write. I tend to come up with good ideas when I’m in the middle of a scene. I’m well aware that this isn’t the most popular method for people. I know one girl who says that it’s restrictive, but that’s just me. I’m a bit of a control freak, and unless I can plot out every major point, I tend to get bored and move on to another idea.

The one real downside I’ve seen to it is when you plot it out and than you think that what you’ve plotted out is stupid and pointless. It can be…disheartening.

I don’t really have a writing process so much as a lack of one? At least, when it comes to fiction. I love my outlines when writing nonfiction. Outlines kill my motivation to write fiction though.

So it’s not uncommon for me to write a scene that just comes out of nowhere, then write a bit that comes way before it, then another bit that comes way after it, and then some unrelated bit, then somehow bring everything all together and fill in the gaps, and somehow it winds up being a coherent and cohesive piece. If I ever finish it.

I have story commitment issues. >.>

Good thing I’m not planning to make a living off of writing. XD

All the short stories I’ve written have been done mostly by having a vague destination in mind and feeling my way through on instinct. It’s mostly worked well, at least in the Poe-style “unity of effect” sense.

For my way too long novel? I started out with the rough story in mind, a bunch of the major characters, and lots of specific scenes I wanted to work in. After about two horrible chapters of the horrible first draft I decided I needed a concrete outline, so I made a chapter-by-chapter one, and figured it’d keep me on the rails.

It did, somewhat. I still found room for most of the scenes I wanted, but a lot of the connective tissue ended up looking way different than what I’d intended. Most of the time it was because I felt like I needed to do something different to arrive at point B from point A than I’d originally assumed, but at least one major change came because I got to a place where I just didn’t want to write another training chapter and said “FUCK THIS NOISE, let’s fight a hundred ninjas instead.”

As far as order goes, I wrote the first draft chronologically and that’s how I’ve done the subsequent rewrites. I can’t really jump around and write or rewrite random scenes without feeling disconnected and outside the flow. I imagine once I get closer to being “finished” I’ll probably start reworking individual scenes, especially when I want to establish parallels and plant information and symbology and that kind of shit.

Willow! My writing soulmate!

Well, I write my nonfiction out of order, too; it’s just that I plan the final order beforehand via outline. XD My typical essay writing goes conclusion, paragraph on first main topic, intro paragraph, second-last body paragraph, spiffy up conclusion, finish body. I tend to ramble otherwise. I guess my brain likes going, “Okay, this is where we want to end up. Now, to BS our way there skillfully…”

Writing things in order is so overrated.

P.S. Do you need to revise a lot? I find I generally don’t, except for longer works (like novels).

Yeah, I do minimal editing for my writing. Generally for typos, or for when, once in a while, I lose my point halfway through a paragraph and have to edit it back in. Whoops.

Writing soulmate high five

I nearly always start with a scene and flesh out the rest of the story around it. The scene will change many, many times throughout the writing process, but what I end up with is better than what I started with. But the original version will usually have all of the characters I want to use in the story, or involve them in some way.

When it comes to writing, though, I’ll start at the beginning and not write the scene-that-started-it-all until I actually come to it. Sort of saving the best for last, I suppose.