From notes to novel

[sartorias]

All this month Justine Larbalestier has been answering questions about the process of writing from her readers. It's so interesting reading about others' processes: sometimes it's a relief when someone has as one-legged-rooster-riding-a-rocking-chair messy an approach as I have; other times it's fascinating when someone has a process that

Comments

[klwilliams]

I'm a software engineer by training, and I write long things the same way I write software. I know what it's supposed to do, and I know where it begins and where it ends, and what the major points along the way should be. Then I start, and figure out the details as I go along. The way my mind works, rough spots and things that don't fit usually stick out in my mind and bug me until I do something about them. With longer works, I'm more likely to miss some of these, but I also get bugs in my software. That's why I rely on first readers and QA. :-)

[sartorias]

Sounds like your hindbrain is pretty reliable for doing groundwork!

[klwilliams]

It really is. However, I think the result of that is that I can get stuck in one direction and not find a way out of it for a while.

[heleninwales]

That's very much my approach. Before I'll even start writinga novel, I need a Beginning, and End and a few key points long the way.

I do find diagrammatic methods of planning useful though as a way of filling out the gaps between the known points.

[arkessian]

Me too (physicist/software engineer and writing technique)! I almost always have a beginning and an end, and grope my way from B to E enjoying the discoveries as I go.

Although the result has been that I'm called on using "whopping great coincidences" that aren't any such thing from my perspective. Note to self: must do better... Or write the sequel(s) that prove the lack of coincidences.

[sartorias]

Or write the transitional scenes that prove that they are not coincidences?

[arkessian]

The book was publish nearly twenty year ago... but I'm hoping to put it up on the web this year and maybe fix the apparent coincidences...

[sartorias]

A new edition! Why not?