Process, to me, is one of the most fascinating aspects of writing. Everyone does it differently. Everyone has their quirks, their methods, and their unique steps from start to finish. I’ve talked about my own in the past. When tackling a book, I never approach it from a linear perspective. I always hop around, taking out pieces at a time until the work is done. It has its benefits, for sure. But for my latest project I decided to try a linear novel writing approach.
Linear Novel Writing
I find it funny that this approach seems so radical in my eyes. I’ve just never been able to wrap my head around starting from the beginning and working through a piece all the way to the end. Never.
For me, cranking out the scenes that are deeply embedded in my mind first, and then jumping to the next and the next until the piece is done has always been more natural.
But I thought I would try it out with DSA: Season Two, Book Four. Here’s what I learned:
Cleaner Arcs
Character arcs were the first aspect that drew me to this different approach. I wanted to build a cleaner arc for my characters. Better defined might be another way to say this. What I mean is, how the character changes over the course of the book. What is unique at the beginning that evolves as the situation arises, and how is it different after the climax of the tale?
Hopping around always helped me define these arcs on the fly. They evolved as I wrote, rather than having them in place from the beginning. By starting with Chapter 1 rather than Chapter 31 it was my hope that the character’s evolution would be more natural (cleaner) throughout. Was it a success? Partly. I’d say the same issues arose that typically do. Over the span of weeks some things were lost and will need to be picked back up, refined or recalibrated during the editing process.
For the most part, however, I would say it definitely helped keep the action at the forefront and the characters on a clear path.
Less repetition
Yes. This is a problem I have. I know it, and I am working on it. See? This is me working on it.
By hopping around, or starting with later moments in the story, sometimes I find myself providing a recap or mentioning something from a previous book or incident that has been mentioned multiple times already. I noticed this recently with DSA when Ben mentions Emily Wright’s disappearance. It’s important, and of course would be on his mind, but the reader is clearly aware of the incident and doesn’t have to hear about it constantly.
By starting from the beginning, through linear novel writing, I was able to weed out the repetition and focus only on the necessary details.
Trouble spots
One of the main cons I found with linear novel writing was getting tripped up a lot easier during the draft. By hopping around, there was always a chapter I was firmly invested in and ready to put on the page. Starting at the beginning, however, you have to write what comes next. You have to be in that moment and follow it through to the end.
This can be especially irksome when you really want to hit up an action scene and find yourself stuck in exposition mode. Could it be a flaw in the pacing itself? Possibly. But sometimes it’s just where your headspace is at the time, so the constant dialogue wears you down.
Or maybe you don’t have the setting yet. There is an image brewing, but hasn’t percolated in your mind when you get to that scene. Too bad. It’s up next, and you have to write it!
That was a tough lesson to learn.
Will I do it again?
Probably. It was tough. Writing should be tough! Challenging the process opens doors to new solutions, and new methods of telling stories. No writer should close themselves off, or be too set in their ways. It stymies the process, while also stripping the creativity from the work.
Evolve or die. Start at the beginning, or jump around. Find the method that works, then change it up to see if you can find something even better.
Process should always be growing.
