Notes on Nonlinear Narratives

So earlier this afternoon, my phone informed me that there was a conversation going on 'round Twitter, and my name had been mentioned (and that's @JenniferBWhite for those of you who aren't already following for my super quality, if sporadic, ramblings). @CareyTorg was on the hunt for tips about organizing and writing nonlinear stories, and my best good pal @MireyahWolfe (who you really should follow if you want 90% of my tweets to make sense) recommended me.

So, @CareyTorg, here are those thoughts I promised:

My ideas on this one go for stories that are written out of order and pieced together later, stories whose events take place out of chronological order, and stories that just have a lot of "meanwhile, back at the ranch" events brought about by multiple points of view. So here goes:

I'm an outline and notes kind of person with pretty much everything I write, but if I've got a lot of subplots and storylines, or I have anything that's going on in a nonlinear fashion, my notes get ten times more meticulous. I write down notes and thoughts, and then I organize everything into a solid, chronological timeline. Doesn't matter what order things are going to be happening in the course of the story or what order I ultimately write them in, if it happens first on a timeline, it gets listed first. It helps me keep my head straight, and gives me a solid frame of reference. If anything's happening concurrently, I'll either list those events together under one entry, or organize them side-by-side as a visual reminder to myself that they're happening at the same time but are occurring in different sections of the story/different points of view.

I've known plenty of people who write down every major story event on a separate index card or sticky note, add a few notes, and pin them up in a timeline fashion. It lets them move things around easily, in case they want to change things up, and still gives them a solid frame to look back at and make sure they haven't forgotten anything or left it out.

If the events of my story are taking place out of chronological order, I wind up with two timelines: one of things listed out in chronological order, and one where the same events are listed in the order I want them to occur in the narrative. The first timeline helps ground everything for me, so I know when the hell Event A happened in relation to Event 7. The second timeline helps me keep track of what I've already done and what I still need to do.

A lot of my toolbox for this one is derived from my preference for taking notes and organizing thoughts on paper where I can see them. It's always very important for me that I get everything laid out from beginning to end, and I know exactly what I'm going to be working on. Everyone does things their own way, so there are a lot of different opinions and tips, but mine all ultimately go back to keeping good notes and solid timelines.

I went looking for some other advice around the Internet, and I turned up this article, which I thought had good points. I'm always going to recommend notes and outlines on this kind of thing, but if that's not your schtick, or you've tried that and it's not working for you, I'd try searching around and seeing what other writers have to say. All advice should naturally come with a grain of salt or two, but I've always found with trickier stuff like this, it's a good idea to seek out opinions and tips from a pretty wide variety of folks if it's not something you've ever done before.

In any case, I've got a lot of writing of my own to do. I hope my thoughts helped in some small way, and I hope to see y'all around on Twitter.

Cheers, and 'til next time,
J.

Slow and Steady

In October of 2008, I conjured up an idea for a book. It combined some minor elements of stories I'd been sitting on for a while, but for the most part it was fresh, and new, and exciting. I wrote it for NaNoWriMo that year. I fell in love with the characters and with the story. I edited and revised, and then I wrote queries (and I sent them way too soon, but that's another story). It was my baby, but eventually I had to shelve it. It wasn't going anywhere right then, and it was time to move on.

I never did forget about that story, though. It was constantly in the back of my mind and, in January of 2014, I revived it. I've been working on it off-and-on for just over a year now. I'm about halfway through the writing. It's not where I want it to be. I originally wanted to have it finished by now. I wanted to be working on edits and revisions and cleaning it up after letting my writing friends tear it apart. If I look at my original goals, I am so desperately behind.

But you know what? I've decided that doesn't matter. Life happens. Things get in the way, motivation waxes and wanes, and sometimes you just need to take a step back and work on something else.

Lauren DeStefano posted something on Tumblr this evening that really resonated with me:

you do NOT have to write every day to be a writer. I’m a writer and I have a designated day where I do nothing but eat chips in bed. [link]

I don't write every day. I go through periods where I try to, but some days I just can't, for one reason or another. Sometimes that reason is that all I feel capable of is sitting on the couch and watching Netflix. And you know what? That's okay. I'm not on a deadline. I don't have a magic date where if I pass it, I'll never be able to publish anything.

It's important to push myself, I believe, but it's equally important to know when other things have to come first.

So with that I leave you, reader folk. I'm going to finish this episode of Orange is the New Black, get some cleaning done before my in-laws come visit this weekend, and maybe, if I'm up for it, finish the chapter I'm working on.

'Til next time,
J.

New Year, Revised Goals

Well, folks, it's 2015. Wherever you are, I hope your holidays of choice went swimmingly, and if they didn't, I extend my most heartfelt e-hugs. I know how the holidays can be.

My holidays went well, though with all the chaos and running around, I had to set my writing to the side in order to get through everything. Now that it's the new year, I'm picking things back up, and I hope to have my current WiP written by summer. I started writing this time last year, and it's taken me much, much longer than I anticipated to get this thing written. That's not a bad thing, though. Stuff happens. I've had to deal with computer crashes on top of the normal ups and downs of life, and now that I'm back on my feet after the end-of-year mayhem, I think having this thing finished by June or July is totally reasonable. It's not a resolution so much as a revised goal, but I guess we can go ahead and call this one of my new year's resolutions.

I don't have much else to say at the moment. I've been sick and kinda worn out, so I'm taking it easy until I'm feeling better. My plan is to get some writing--actual writing, not just editing--done tonight before I call it a day, after I make a quick trip down to the grocery store for snacks. Can't have writing without snacks, right?

'Til next time,
J.