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When writing a story, I've always found it easiest to write the events in chronological order. Perhaps this seems obvious, but for some, it might not be. Movies are often filmed out of order, so maybe the sequence of events taking place in your story could be planned that way, too. I used to do this for a long time before realizing that it wasn't an effective method for me, and I frequently found myself confused when trying to figure out what I'd already done and what I hadn't.
More recently, I've discovered something that makes the first draft significantly easier: write out the story in a simplified way, especially when it comes to dialogue. This method reminds me almost of a screenplay, which uses keywords to describe the emotions instead of going into too much detail. Save the majority of the details for the future drafts, and focus on getting the entire story onto the page first!
Additionally, it's very, very helpful to know how your story is going to end, even early on in your writing process. Having a goal to work towards keeps you motivated, and narrows in on where you want your characters and plot to ultimately end up. However, it's also perfectly okay for you to change your mind about the ending part way through your draft. In the first draft of my current story, the ending I'd originally decided on is fairly different from what it is now. Even though the specific idea got changed, I always had something I was working towards. Having even the vaguest idea of where you want to end up will work wonders for your entire experience throughout writing.
I would never even attempt to try to do the ending before the beginning. I am always forgetting things and I would be trying to add things to the story that did not apply. I have to do things in order to make sure I am where I want to be.
ReplyDeleteI had this problem for YEARS before I found a method that really worked for me. I always start at the beginning with just the vaguest idea of an ending in mind - if I try to actually WRITE the ending first, I totally lose my overall focus!
DeleteThe way I write is definitely always from the beginning, the middle, and then the end. I have seen several movies where that is the opposite, but I feel like it is a lot easier to be able to have a story line that way in film, rather than in writing.
ReplyDeleteYes, I really agree with the use of starting of at the end is more often seen in movies instead of in the writings that I have read.
ReplyDelete