"Do you write books sequentially?" A writing tip.

Also: a sad update about The Millennium Book Award.

Millennium Book Award: I did not place as a semi-finalists. Oh, well …

On to today’s post: The question that gave me this day’s ponder:

Do you write your books sequentially (first scene first and so on) or out of order?

I've only completed two books. View them in their current states:

Each happened in its own way. The first, As Far as You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back, is a chronological progression of a childhood trauma survivor traveling in Asia. Chronological because that’s how it … came out?

As Far as You Can Go … contains a grand total of two flashbacks. Each is told as the MC un-represses the memory. That choice moved the plot forward while further developing the character. I didn’t plan this as a technique. It made sense, as that’s how memories come

I failed for years at sequentially writing the second novel, Crazy Medicine.

Flashback and changes in POV turned out to be too critical to the story to write it sequentially. I had to uncover each character’s backstory and character arch, to see how those elements clarified/affected/responded to the MC’s journey; all while struggling to move the plot in a revealing direction.

That exploration turned into writing lots of crap that I cut to maybe one or two sentences, dropped in here or there. But I knew the information. That knowing shaped things that happened later — or earlier!

(Let’s hear it for revision.)

The next step was to futz around with chapters and scenes before Crazy Medicine began to solidify. Draft 18 and counting. Sweat emoji.