Only One
B&A Writers: Am I the only one who doesn’t write my story in order?
I have bits of my story from all over the place scattered all over my laptop! I have one complete chapter, a second chapter consisting of 5 words and everything else is just all over the place.
Is this necessarily a bad thing?
How can I stick to writing in order?
I write so out of order it’s crazy lol. I try to begin by writing the first chapter, just to get a grip on the story, but then I instantly skip over 10 chapters and write a totally different scene in the middle of the plotline. I just tend to “see” scenes play out in my imagination or hear conversations that sound so authentic that I have to write it down while it’s all fresh. If there’s a certain scene in my story that just really grabs me, I’ll work on it instead of the “less exciting” chapter that builds up to the big moment.
I don’t think it’s a bad thing. A lot of people have tried to tell me that’s not a good way to work b/c “once you write the beginning or earlier chapters, the ones you have may not work.” But that’s total BS b/c you can write the story in order and have something change in your plot later on that causes you to rewrite the beginning chapters.
I say write how YOU want to write, and if that means writing out of order, then write out of order. Don’t worry about sticking to the “in order” process if that doesn’t feel natural for you. It can hinder your desire to write or make it less enjoyable for you. Everything is fixed in the revision stages anyway. Do what works for you. Scatter away! 
Yellowcard – Only One
