Good morning! Kinda gray here today, but still beautiful. I love this time of year, but I wish there was more daylight.
So one thing I do for NaNo is when I hit about 40K, I stop writing in sequence. I write the ending, and a few interim scenes. This was a bit of advice given during my first NaNo in 2010, and it's worked really well for me; I do it even for non-NaNo drafts!
I've got about 4 chapters to go before I get there, though. 🙂
Good writing, everyone!
@lizmonster interesting idea. In what ways does this help you? Do you think this is universal across genre?
Like, to me it would make sense for a mystery or suspense, but my story isn't so much about the ending as it is the journey, so I feel like knowing the ending would constrain me to arrive at that point.
@DanIsWriting I think this is HIGHLY individual (no writing advice works for everyone!).
For me? I'd finished almost nothing, ever, and someone suggested writing a final scene and the words THE END might provide an anchor and an incentive. I was deeply skeptical, but I tried it...and it worked. I've written six books this way: one trunked, four published, one in revisions.
Nothing is going to work for everyone.🙂 But I was stuck and needed to try something different, so I gave it a shot.
@lizmonster yes, very true. I like the idea though. I have scenes that my mind runs through that happen further in the storyline, and it makes it hard to concentrate on the point I am to write. I decided that I should just write the part I can't get out of my head vs grind through it linearly. I suppose this is similar to your idea in a way.
@DanIsWriting That sounds like a good idea.
I've only found one thing about writing that's true for everyone: the @#$%!! thing isn't going to write itself. 🙂 Everything else is work style, and individual choice.