Do you write in order?
I dialogue my scenes before I write them. I get a conversation or other big moment stuck in my head, and I'll sketch out maybe a piece of that dialogue, maybe the entire scene worth of dialogue.
I definitely only write one chapter at a time, but that chapter may have two or three scenes that I might work on semi-independently of each other. (I define scene here as separated by a page break and a jump between POVs; strictly, a scene might be two short scenes and a sequel or such). Also, I find that I write a scene like this:
Sitting one: Dialogue.
Sitting two: Opening.
Sitting three: Flesh out the dialogue.
Sitting four: Write the bridge between the opening and the dialogue.
I might do multiple sittings in a writing session.
As you can see, this process involves a little bit of jumping around. But it's not wild or random. It's a serious process.
How do you know when to begin?
For me, it's the characters' dynamic. When the emotions and interactions between the key figures is super compelling, you can start. If it's not, I don't believe you're to going to find it as you go. The dynamic is built out by the plot and the setting and all the different story elements you bring up. Assuming you're a decent writer, a bad dynamic means your story needs to add or subtract different story elements. That can mean massive rewrites and changes to your premise. But if you feel the dynamic between your hero and your villain and the other key figures is solid, you can basically throw anything at it and have it bounce around that dynamic and hold up.
Think of a long-running TV show or one of those big exploration novels. In the Last Airbender, for example, the dynamic between Avatar Aang and his comrades and Prince Zuko and his mission to stop the Firelord before the comet arrives.... that dynamic makes all sorts of random filler events super compelling. It's a dynamic you can sit with, and enjoy the way it plays out.... even over a random thing like a bogus fortune teller or something cool but off topic like a group of goofy freedom fighters. The events themselves don't matter except in the way they let that dynamic play out in kind of a fresh way.
If you have the good dynamic, you can write. The dynamic will carry you through all sorts of spontaneous moments. But a bad dynamic will sink even the coolest of plot points.
I dialogue my scenes before I write them. I get a conversation or other big moment stuck in my head, and I'll sketch out maybe a piece of that dialogue, maybe the entire scene worth of dialogue.
I definitely only write one chapter at a time, but that chapter may have two or three scenes that I might work on semi-independently of each other. (I define scene here as separated by a page break and a jump between POVs; strictly, a scene might be two short scenes and a sequel or such). Also, I find that I write a scene like this:
Sitting one: Dialogue.
Sitting two: Opening.
Sitting three: Flesh out the dialogue.
Sitting four: Write the bridge between the opening and the dialogue.
I might do multiple sittings in a writing session.
As you can see, this process involves a little bit of jumping around. But it's not wild or random. It's a serious process.
How do you know when to begin?
For me, it's the characters' dynamic. When the emotions and interactions between the key figures is super compelling, you can start. If it's not, I don't believe you're to going to find it as you go. The dynamic is built out by the plot and the setting and all the different story elements you bring up. Assuming you're a decent writer, a bad dynamic means your story needs to add or subtract different story elements. That can mean massive rewrites and changes to your premise. But if you feel the dynamic between your hero and your villain and the other key figures is solid, you can basically throw anything at it and have it bounce around that dynamic and hold up.
Think of a long-running TV show or one of those big exploration novels. In the Last Airbender, for example, the dynamic between Avatar Aang and his comrades and Prince Zuko and his mission to stop the Firelord before the comet arrives.... that dynamic makes all sorts of random filler events super compelling. It's a dynamic you can sit with, and enjoy the way it plays out.... even over a random thing like a bogus fortune teller or something cool but off topic like a group of goofy freedom fighters. The events themselves don't matter except in the way they let that dynamic play out in kind of a fresh way.
If you have the good dynamic, you can write. The dynamic will carry you through all sorts of spontaneous moments. But a bad dynamic will sink even the coolest of plot points.