Do you write in chronological order?

When I'm writing 'for real' I do it backwards, forwards and all over the place. For NaNo novels, I usually just start at page one and keep writing until I think it's finished. I am afraid to start writing parts and scenes which I know will appear later in the novel, because I don't have time to really map everything out, and so I want to be able to do whatever I want in the story without it affecting the parts I've already written.

In terms of going back, I only go back to expand on paragraphs or scenes that I feel are too short. Word count boosts only!

I also ramble on Twitter (though sometimes in Dutch).

2008: Junior Boys (won)
2009: Guilt (...?)

I write in order because I blog my novels. However, if I hit a roadblock, I'd be more than happy to jump ahead to a scene I'm looking forward to writing in order to blast out the cobwebs. I can always just hang on to it without posting until it's relevant. :)

"If you wish to be a writer, write." - Epictetus

Read my novel here: http://holyrollers-immortals.blogspot.com/

I write in order until the novel is completed. Following that, I might go back add a scene here and there.

2007: Camp Strange-50,006/50,000
2008: Blue Rose-50,154/50,000
2009: Double Trouble-50,447/50,000

I write all over the place. If I think of a scene that's out of order, I'll write it and fill in whatever comes between later. If I suddenly develop a sub-plot that could really use some hinting at in the first chapter or two, I'll go back and add some stuff there. If I remember something I want to add, I add it and then go on.

The point of NaNo is to get 50,000 words on paper. It does not matter what order those words are in. If you thought of something last night that you want to add in, by all means, go back and add it. Those are NaNo words; do not wait 'til December to add them, when they will be too late!

Right now, I'm writing Part One on my laptop at home, while when out and about I'm writing Part Two in the notebook I carry with me. That's mostly for coherence so I can see what I'm doing while I'm using two different methods, it's easier to keep them separate. It also means that I can 'edit' - at least mildly - the handwritten stuff when I'm typing it up, as well as check for consistency.

I do tend to dot back and change things when it's on the computer but mostly to expand or clarify things that influence later events - I'm rather unlikely to keep all the facts and timelines straight in my head for the whole month so it's easier to correct mistakes as I become aware of them!

This is my first NaNo though, so feel free to take anything I say with a hefty pinch of salt.

The point of Nano is to write 50K words of a novel. However the words get there they get there. We're well past the days of working with typewriters, and this isn't telling a story out loud, so any claims that one ought to start at the beginning and continue from there are codswallop.

For what it's worth, I plan out my scenes in advance so I can jump around when I feel like writing one scene more than another. If I'm in the mood to write dialogue I'll jump around adding dialogue. If I'm in a mood to write description, I'll do that.

In past nanos I've written in order, but in past nanos I've had time to think about what I'm writing. This year I've got hardly any writing time and I'm all over the place. I've split my story into three parts (3 separate word docs) but I've not planned the details of those three parts equally (I know way more about 1 & 3 than 2). I also get bored easily. So this year I'm just choosing a bit of a chapter in one of the parts and just Write Or Dieing a scene or two, then choosing another one. This means I'm mostly writing dialogue because that comes much easier to me than prose. I've not numbered the chapters yet - won't be able to do that till I've written tonnes more - I just put 'chapter' as a heading to demarcate them. I figure the story will take 150,000 words in total, but 50,000 might make a workable summary. If I get anywhere near that far, which I clearly won't.

2007: 28,513 words
2005: 50,916 words
2003: 12,078 words

I have always written in chronological order. When I gave writing out of order a try I ended up just confusing myself and having a lot of plot holes.

That's a good point. Might as well use computers for the abilities that they have.

I have been mostly writing in order but I did have to go back and insert a cat who will play a role that I hadn't anticipated. The other day I found myself computer-less so I handwrote a brand-new scene. I couldn't remember exactly where I left off in the typed section.

Thanks. I like to see the variety of how people work.

Slow Food Murders: When gardening goes bad
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I think Nano is more about just writing, rather than "how" you're "supposed" to do it. Just like some people wrk from outlines, and some prefer pantsing.

I do it pretty much what how you're describing; start off with page one and move forward from there, but sometimes I find myself going back and fleshing the story out. This is the first time I've done this during Nano [this is my 3rd one] and I first I thought it felt a little weird, but it actually is ending up helping to add to my word count, so I figure I'll keep on working this way and see what happens. So far, so good!

I don't know if I'd make a note for later, if you have an idea, just go ahead and write it in at the place where it would fit in. If it works, it'll probably spin off into other paths you didn't think of before. This is pretty much how I wrote my outline.

I am rushing straight through and keeping notes of things I forgot to add. BUT my novel keeps threatening to end early, so I may be going back in and adding scenes later this month :P

I am for this book. For my last book I wrote entirely out of order, both in the original writing and in the final copy.

Great hearing about everyone's processes. I'm keeping a notebook of scenes/jumping off points which helps to keep the writing happening. As for how I'm getting the words down and the story advancing, I open a new word doc every day and am pretty much moving fwd. I figure I can go back and add any necessary bridges and extra scenes later.

Comfortable with this method - It's easy to both track my words and to see where I left off. At the end of each day I jot a couple of lines of what I covered that day, as my record.

This is my first NaNoWri and I am writing in chronological order ... Just seems to be easier for me. But I have written some descriptions of some stuff I want in the story and when I get to a place where it might fit in ... I just add it.

The point of NaNo is to write a first draft of a novel (50K words) in a month. Most people tell you not to edit, because you can get so caught up in editing that you never get to the goal of 50K words. However, that doesn't mean you aren't allowed to go back. Nor does it mean that if you have ideas for things to add to earlier scenes, you have to wait until December. Write those scenes now and put them in where you need them - it'll add words, which is a good thing for your word count.

I often write out of order - writing a scene because it's on my mind and then going back to fill in the space between the two scenes, so that they're connected. Several times this year, I've backtracked and inserted scenes. If you don't feel like you can actually write the scene you want now, put a note in square brackets where you want the scene to appear. Keep writing, keep increasing your word count, but as long as you do that, don't feel like you have to go from beginning to end without changing anything.

Death toll: 9 named, about 181 unnamed

I wrote my first novel The Good Daughter by jumping around. As soon as a scene bored me, I went to something else. The purpose of the first draft was to get as many words down as possible, and then the second draft was about creating a cohesive narrative where I knew who the players were, what they were doing and how to structure the chronology.

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I write all plotty pages in order, but disconnected monologues I write whenever I please and insert them into context later.

As others have said, I don't think there's a "should" about this. If going back and adding more helps you, do it. If writing something that won't come into play for another fifty pages helps you, do it. If you try it and find out that it just confuses you, stop doing it.

I'm plowing straight forward from beginning to end, but that's just me; there's no reason anyone else has to do the same. I'm doing it that way largely because I'm not sure of the way many things are going to get accomplished, and I don't want to write a future scene and then find out I can't use it because I write something tomorrow that contradicts it. Sounds as if you're just interested in tweaking past events, which wouldn't even cause that problem.

And back in the day when I was writing college papers, I usually started with the conclusion paragraph, then jumped back to what would end up being the second or third paragraph and wrote up to the conclusion, and then wrote the introduction to foreshadow all the stuff I'd already done ... and then, if it ended up needing it, tweaked the conclusion to better fit the middle. Heck, if I NaNo again next year, I might try that: write the last chapter or three and then go back and see how things got to that point.

(Title may change at any moment.)

Like the previous poster, I'm usually feeling my way through the story somewhat blindly, so writing in order is a necessity. I may know the next major event, but how I get there will affect the event itself, and I won't know that until I write it. For example, I just wrote a scene with a group of new characters who turned out to be quite different from the way I had been thinking about them. For me, writing is very much a process of discovery.

I do fill in scenes later, during editing, to more thoroughly develop my plot and character arcs. Before NaNo I was editing a previous NaNovel, and I had to write about three chapters in a row that didn't exist before because I'd just skipped some of the buildup. But I wouldn't have known they were missing until I wrote the climax.

What comes after NaNo? National Novel Publishing Year! http://www.nanopubye.org

Nanowrimo doesn't dictate how you writ besides saying you need 50,000 words in 30 days (and one hour if you count the daylight switch for those who have it). There is no wrong way to write a book. There are many ways and they produce different kinds of books.

I've written stories backwards. It's because the thing would not write forwards and once I wrote it backwards, then typed it in forwards it was a lot better and flowed much better. (For the type of story it was it just worked since I was building up to a specific event in which I had to drop clues.) Plus it's one of those stories that messes with your head.

I've written out of order, I've written just structure parts, I've written forwards with an outline. I've written the beginning and then the end and filled in the middle. I've written a middle and then gone back to the beginning.

I do whatever works for the story, because I'm a- story-driven writer and I find it's harder to out guess a story-driven writer than the character-driven or event-driven writers.

But there is no wrong method to write a story except for not writing one at all.

Novelists are a conscienceless lot.--Diana Gabaldon (An Echo in the Bone)

Disjointed, crazy, and WRONG is how I write. Don't tell me I can't do it wrong, or I'll prove us both wrong. Somehow.

And it totally works, so I must be right. .....crap......

But, yesh. I take individual "episodes" (collections of scenes) and write them out chronologically for consistency's sake. But most of the episodes aren't connected yet, by anything other than the characters participating. I've only just started to fill in the gaps now, as each episode gives me new inspiration for a different one.

"This is going to be the worst day of your life. I'm bringing nunchuks." H. Freeman

I'm still wondering how different writers, eventually, weave all the lovely wayward, out of order bits, together.
When I think of this I feel a bit of terror, and I'd love to feel wonder.

Thank you

laurel

http://www.symbolicbridging.com/
http://www.aislingnano.wordpress.com/

Yes and no.

I start with a very loose outline. Then I start jotting down notes for scenes, sometimes even entire scenes. The earliest parts and the later parts are usually the first things done, and I'll have some notes as to what happens in the middle. So everything is in order in the document (thank goodness for computers), but it just needs to get written. Then at some point, I have to start from the beginning and make sure everything is consistent. And sometimes I end up with ideas for chapters that end up getting cut.

"What you create doesn’t have to be perfect. So what if the eggs are greasy or the toast is burned? Don’t let fear of failure discourage you." - Dieter F. Uchtdorf

I write in the order it's intended to be read, but it's also non-linear, with scenes taking place all over the timeline.