Writing a Novel out of Order
If you have ever watched or read any fiction author’s thoughts about writing then you have likely come across the terms plotting and pantsing or as G.R.R.Martin puts it, being a gardener or an architect. On one side, writers will plot everything from character arcs to dialogue and action beats. On the other, they will begin with an idea or premise and just roll with it. Most writers fall in between these two extremes and are rarely just one. But what if i told you that there was a third, lesser known method of writing a novel or even a non-fiction book. This is what some call ‘skipping.’
Skipping put simply is where you write the book out of order, whether you start in the middle or at the end. Regardless, this can be incredibly freeing to some who struggle with conventional methods. Even if not, it can streamline your process and keep you motivated through the whole writing process. In this post i use chapter and scene interchangeably because some people prefer to work with one or the other.
Contents:
How to Begin
In the Process
Editing and Refining
Advantages
Disadvantages
Final Thoughts
How to Begin
So you ask, how do i begin? Very simply, you can just start, writing wherever you want and pretending you know what the characters have gone through beforehand. In my experience, however, writing a novel out of order, i would suggest some things to do before you start and in some cases to maintain the use of while writing.
I begin with Google Jamboard. This is free to use on the internet and is simply a way to write digital sticky notes and rearrange them on a blank sheet. Depending on your preferred method of structure, you can separate the page with lines or shapes, which may come in useful if you have multiple timelines and use a plot structure.
As an alternative to this software, you may use real post-it notes or even pieces of paper. I keep them separated from each other so that i can shift them around and so i can add and remove scenes.
I use scrivener for my actual writing, which enables me to have each chapter or scene on a different page. This means that they don’t have to be in order, because my table on Jamboard shows me where each one will eventually go.
Whichever method you use, try writing down the important scenes that you know have to be in the novel. Try to expand on them and place them in their general place, if not then start writing and work it out as you go.
In the Process
If you are working with multiple characters, colour coordinating the different points of view can be useful. Separating them out may also help but keep in mind where you would like the scenes to fit in in relation to the other character’s scenes or chapters.
Once you have begun to fill out the page with completed scenes or chapters, take some time every now and then to work out what scenes are missing and any other scenes that would foreshadow the current ones. I usually build around a scene I have written thinking about what should come next or go before.
I try to set a general range that i would like my word count to be in for each chapter, to indicate where one chapter might actually be two instead of one. If you hit a block, then it is always easy to leave that particular chapter and start writing a new one but be aware what is really writer’s block, and what is simply an easier scene to write.
Editing and Refining
Refine your filled out table before you start editing as this can save you time by avoiding editing scenes that are irrelevant or are unimportant to the narrative. Anything that doesn’t fit your story can and generally should be removed.
Once you have refined your table and made sure that the scenes should work where they are, you can begin to revise your work.
This is much the same as any other method of writing a book yet you are likely to have more continuity errors and some scenes changes might feel jarring. Working on the scene transitions is key, especially where you have written scenes far apart in the process yet sit right beside each other.
Advantages
As stated above, one of the main advantages of skipping is that it can remove writers block by stepping around it instead of trying to push through it. Granted, there may still be times when you will find yourself stuck completely and does involve just pushing through.
This method can help relieve stress related to your writing, which i have experienced countless times while being stuck within a story, unable to move forwards. This usually happens when writing the first few chapters.
Another advantage is that you are unlikely to write yourself into a corner if you already have future scenes written, and instead of exploring it as you go, you know where the characters need to be by the end of the part, or by the start of your next written scene. This is a way for discovery writers to learn to plan ahead.
It is also useful in a number of ways such as with foreshadowing. Just as many writers figure out the ending before they start writing their novels, skipping can enable you to foreshadow events in the book, that you have already written in.
This also works for both plotters and pantsers and can encourage both to move towards the centre of the two slightly, for the scenes themselves can be planned or written as you go, yet adding in scenes before and after seems easier this way, or at least it does for me.
Disadvantages
As with all writing, skipping can be difficult and you should not expect it to be easy. It can become confusing to write if you do not have a proper method of recording what scenes you have written and what scenes you want to write, where the spaces are and what you should fill in.
Because it is written out of order, the editing after the novel is finished is often rather difficult, since the scenes will likely feel out of place or have a tone gap between them. This is natural because your characters develop as you write them. So editing for consistancy may take longer and feel more difficult.
Final Thoughts
This method can work for non-linear timelines too and might even make it easier. See my post about that here. Attempting this, whatever your results are, it will improve your fiction one way or the other. Getting someone to read it is useful for picking up mistakes, but you know that already so go ahead and try it.