Thread: Writing 'in bits and pieces' a good or bad thing?

I've been trying to work on my story for the past month and I've kept encountering issues. I write in bits and pieces...that is...I picture one scene in my head and write bits of it...only to come back to it later to add more pieces...then move onto a different scene and do the same. Because of this, I think I've had a little bit of a problem writing. I tend to skip around so much that I don't even know where I'm writing within the story. Is this an effective way to write? Of course, there will be surprises...because I haven't mapped much out. I have a general idea of where my story starts and ends...I'd like to make it into a trilogy for I know this story is too big for one novel. Any suggestions? Should I take more time and map more things out and try to start from the beginning and progress towards the ending? Or should I stick to what I'm doing, but try to focus on finishing up one scene via my bits and pieces format...write one scene, then write another after that, etc.? Thanks!

The danger of your approach is that the bits and pieces could each take on a life of their own, and you could end up with a disjointed manuscript with no single unifying plot or theme. Your story could also end up moving backwards. Certain character traits should be revealed in a certain order, otherwise the characters regress not progress. Your characters should deal with a progression of increasingly complex problems. If you write scenes in bits and pieces without a plan, you might give your characters a big problem early and a smaller one later. In this situation there is no suspense. The reader knows the character can succeed because they have already dealt with larger problems. Outlining or mapping could minimize these risks. I'm a big fan of mapping/outlining, and I write from beginning to end, not randomly.


It sounds like you have just started writing, so the most important thing now is that you keep writing something everyday. Over time, you will develop more discipline. It couldn't hurt if you want to help that process along by forcing yourself to adhere to a stricter, more organized, more linear approach. If that is not what you want to do, your best writing/creative style/technique will eventually emerge by itself whatever it is. Good luck. C.M.

I see where the impulse to write like that comes from (that's kind of what I do, or did), and I also share your concerns. I've finished the first draft of my novel -- here's a trick I used so that I can write like that but still keep things unified.

The first time through, I don't write my scenes out, I just describe them in [brackets]. Then, when I've mapped out the whole plot (to varying degrees of detail), I can skip around everywhere and be sure that it will all line up. For example.


[intro scene. Mr. Ermin is pacing anxiously in living room. telephone rings and we hear one side of conversation. cryptic.]

--

[Lady Bergal is watching a man play piano at the bar. She (etc, etc)]

--

[description of next scene]

--

[description of next scene]

etc....


The benefit to this is that you can make sure everything fits together before hand, and can jump in anywhere you want and begin replacing the brackets with actual storyline. Then again, every writer has their own method. You have to find what works for you.

When I first started to write I did write in bits and pieces, I allowed myself to get carried away with various parts of the story. I ended up getting nowhere with it but it was good because of the practice. My second story I wrote from beginning to end and it seemed to work well.

I just finished reading an article in this month's Vanity Fair on Joseph Heller's Catch 22. It applies to your question, I think. Try checking that out.

Regards,

Karl

Thank you everyone for the help! I have gone away from the 'bits and pieces' practice and have started the beginning-to-end practice. I am finding this method rather useful and I'm progressing fairly smoothly. I suppose it would be alright to write down a scene if it flashes inside my head? One that's coming in the future, but far from where I'm writing in the story?

Originally Posted by Marthix2011

I suppose it would be alright to write down a scene if it flashes inside my head? One that's coming in the future, but far from where I'm writing in the story?

Absolutely. In fact, you should do exactly that. If you have a great scene in mind that fits well into your story, you should definitely write it down in some form. whether in notes or a complete chapter.

To ignore a flash of brilliance is to risk its escape.

I think whatever works for you is fine. However, writing in bits and pieces like this could mean you're missing out important pieces of plot and plot development and you might end up having to cut and paste all the bits and pieces together, which might reveal no cohesiveness.

I find the "bits and pieces" approach works only when I have an established story. For example, 10 chapters of a novel. I know what I want to happen in chapter 15 and I have a rough idea of what will happen in chapter 12 but I need to get from 10 to 12 and from 12 to 15.

It can be quite fun linking up such disjointed bits but challenging nonetheless.