Writing with Energy: The Haphazard Approach

In the last two posts, I discussed why starting a writing project at the beginning of the story or at the end, can have unexpected challenges. In this post, I’ll discuss what the haphazard approach is and why I think it produces works with more energy.

The haphazard approach to infuse energy into your writing

Seems a bit silly to call this an approach but it’s the only term that comes to mind. And being haphazard, it also seems a bit odd to be listing the steps to follow. But here goes:

• Close your eyes. Think about your story or memoir. What comes to mind? The day you found out there was no Santa (I hope I’m not giving anything away)? When the heroine finds out she has been betrayed?
• Whatever comes up, write about that. Just start typing.
• Keep going. It doesn’t matter whether it’s in the middle of the narrative you want to tell or if you’re unsure of the exact surname of Aunt Mary’s third cousin by her second marriage. Make a name up and keep going.
• Write as much of the scene as you can, investing all your energy and creativity into making this the best scene you can.
• When that scene is done, repeat the process with a different scene. Doesn’t have to be the prequel or sequel to the scene you’ve just written. Just anything that interests you at this moment.

It can’t be that easy

It isn’t easy, in fact. It’s very hard work to get down the emotions, action, and settings in a way which reflects what you want to depict. But it ups the chances that you are writing from a place and about a subject which energizes you and your writing.

So, you continue this haphazard way, not worrying about continuity of story, possibly changing the name of your hero half-way in, perhaps writing a scene which is very similar to one you have already written. Doesn’t matter. This is all stuff you can fix later. Just get down as much as you can in as vivid a way as you can.

One problem

I am basically advocating separating the creative process of generating the story from the equally important but different process of developing a narrative which hangs together and makes sense from the first page to last.

But the astute among you will have figured out that, while this haphazard approach helps get the story down, there is a point where you have got all the component parts but not in a form which others would recognize as a story. Next post.

Not the only way

Naturally, this isn’t the only way to tackle a writing project. One writer I know has to have the first line before he can start. Dickens had to have all of his characters named before he could get going. Other writers plot the whole thing out before they write a word (I’ll have more to say about this in another post). You can even actually start at the beginning or end of your narrative if you take into account the caveats I’ve outlined previously. But I encourage you to give my method a try. I have found it works not just to write the story but occasionally, even allows magic to strike.

Do I Start the Story at the End?

In the last post, we discussed some of the disadvantages of starting your story at what seems like the natural beginning. So if the beginning has problems, the obvious question is What about starting the story at the end?

What is it?

Although this seems oxymoronic, it can be effective. Stories Told Backward? gives examples of novels which use this device.

Basically, your opening scene is the end of the novel or memoir. Where the protagonist triumphs or goes down to worthy defeat. Where the boy gets the girl or they part with a memory that lasts forever.

From there, you can start at the beginning of the story and unfold the story as you would normally. If you are really tricky, you can move backward in time so that the second scene is the event immediately prior to the ending, and the last scene is the introduction of the characters. If you can do this, more power to you. I’ve never been able to figure out how.

But there are downsides to starting with the end

I want to make a distinction between starting your initial writing with the end and, after much thought and editing on your final version, choosing to start with the ending. The latter may be an excellent decision but I’m discussing the first draft here.

You give away the end.

Obviously, the reader knows what’s coming. This can work if you can infuse the story with a sense of an impending and inevitable doom. Readers will keep reading even if, or perhaps especially if, they dread the outcome. However, if you can’t keep up that level of engagement, your readers may lose interest as they know (or think they know) where the story is going.

And of course, the resolution is no surprise. An exception would be if you are able to change the meaning of the ending. For example, when the reader experiences the ending as a first scene, they might conclude the main character is getting the comeuppance he deserves. Writing skillfully, you might weave the story so the reader realizes by the end that the protagonist has been wronged. The ending stays the same, but its meaning changes.

There may be an impatience to get to the end.

This can be true for you as well as the reader. Because you present the end first, you may be tempted to take a straight line route to it and thereby perhaps miss out on the interesting byways and character development which you might otherwise be open to.

It can have the same effect on the reader. Readers who don’t know how the novel will end are more likely to follow you wherever you want to go (within limits). But if they know what has to happen, they may be impatient with scenes which, at least on the surface, don’t seem to be building to that ending.

You pre-determine where you are going.

To my mind, this is the biggest drawback to this approach. I believe that a story which unfolds as the situation, characters, and your creativity dictates has a much better chance of being compelling than one where you go in with blinders on.

Next post: My preferred way to start a writing project

Fixing Conversation with As-You-Know-Bobs

The seduction of a conversation with As-You-Know-Bobs

In a previous post, I talked about As-You-Know-Bobs—information which the characters already know but the reader doesn’t. A short-cut but not very effective way to inform the reader is to use an As you know, Bob, my life was shattered by the recent death of my grandmother.

They’re easy, efficient, and let you get onto more interesting bits of the story.

And sometimes, they’re even OK to use. If the point is unimportant to the main plot and not worth spending a lot of time on, you can get away with an AYKB. However, the example in the previous paragraph demonstrates where you probably shouldn’t use one because it’s hard to believe that this isn’t going to figure in the plot line (otherwise, why bring it up at all?).

Identifying when you are falling into As-You-Know-Bobs

It can be quite subtle. Here are some times when you might be tempted:

• Establishing info. You want to give background on a character. If the character is major, a couple of short flashbacks or a conversation of the ramifications of the background on the present situation might work better.
• You need to remind the reader of an earlier event. Remembering readers will not necessarily read your work in one go, it is often helpful to remind them of a past event which is the basis for the present action. A character not at the previous event could be informed by one who was. Or a one liner by the protagonist (Drat, those Munchkins again) might be enough.
• ‘Tell’ in disguise. Dan says to Bob: “Remember our treks into the hinterland when we were younger? I know that your wife Marj never liked you going on them. But they were great fun, weren’t they? I’ve never felt so free.”

You get across a lot of information in a telescoped format. Again, if it’s unimportant, might be okay (although I’d lose the ‘your wife’—that’s an AKYB within an AKYB). Otherwise, a flashback or a more back-and-forth dialog between the characters could bring out the information more naturally.

• Want to move onto a more interesting bit in the narrative. You know where you want to go in this scene and are eager to get to it but have to establish some point first. There is an excellent possibility that this is an AYKB in the making. Again, if the point is small, no prob. But if it’s big (AYKB, I was assaulted on this mountain and never wanted to come back), stifle your urge to get through this bit quickly to get onto the character dealing with the aftermath of this trauma.

How to avoid As-You-Know-Bobs

Two suggestions, one practical and one a bit airy-fairy. But the airy-fairy one is the better, I think.

Slow down. Remember, the intent is not for you or your reader to get to the end in record time. The intent is to create a fully realized world where the characters act naturally and credibly.

Get into the character’s head space. You are probably already writing from the protagonist’s point of view but I’m suggesting a little more. If you can immerse yourself in that character so that you see the world through her eyes, it’s much harder to commit AYK-B. In her head space, you don’t fall prey to the temptations outlined above. You wouldn’t tell Bob things you know he already knows but would take them as givens and move on from there.