The Freedom to Scribble

[scribblemyname]

I have always preferred to write chronologically. It suited my brain’s play-it-out approach but caused all manner of bogdown, since it did not suit my speed of creation and crossreferencing proclivities.

I scribble down snippets, all the time, bits of dialogue I want to remember, ideas for stories and what-have-you, but a lot of snippets I never got around to writing down.

Thus, it finally occurs to me to stop trying to change my habits and leverage them instead. I’m giving myself the freedom to scribble a book. Not write it, not plan it, just scribble it.

I’ve taken a bunch of scenes and ideas and started new files on my PDA for each individual scene. I write what I have, whether that’s a line of narrative or dialogue or just put this here.

You know what? I think it’s working.

Originally published at Liana Mir. You can comment here or there.

Comments

[in-the-blue.livejournal.com]

Wow, I don't think I've ever once written an entire book chronologically. Those out-of-order pieces make very nice bridges! They give me something to aim toward.

A lot of times I end up not using the stuff I wrote out of order, but I almost always use the concept.

[scribblemyname]

I've tried the bridging technique, but it falls a little short for me. More specifically, I can't seem to make it work. But layers—ah! These are working out. Which is pretty similar. Sketch out a story, then start filling in tiny bit by tiny bit.