Top-down writing

My enthusiastic idea of getting up at 5am every morning and writing for at least two hours every day hasn't worked out yet. I got sick. I feared it might be another form of procrastination, because my brain can be sneaky that way, but my brother is also ill with similar symptoms so I figure maybe it's a viral thing. It's still annoying though. All I want to do is sleep... and that won't pay the bills or get my novel written.

So, since my last blog posting, I've managed only a few hours scattered here and there. I have, however, managed to finish the first chapter. At just over 12,000 words it feels more like it should be split into two, but there isn't any logical place to split it. Em has read it and given me feedback and I can hardly stop smiling. She's always honest with me, and I trust her inherently... and, she represents my final reading audience. If it works for her, I know it works. And that is a great feeling! Finally, I feel as though I know Codee. Really know him, and it seems that is now evident in what I write. I can't even begin to explain how great that is!

I have also settled into a writing approach to each new chapter (each new scene). I'm using a top-down approach (to borrow a software development term). That is, when I start writing I know the starting point, the end point and an overview of what needs to happen in between. I put that all on the page, and often it's about 500 words or so. I then nibble into that depending on what takes my fancy. Over the following weeks (I'm hoping to get this down to one or two weeks rather than four or five), I flesh this out by building up each scene segment, layering, expanding and moving things around. I view the entire scene as individual blocks. I work on each block, commit myself fully to that single block, until I've got it as good as it can be. Then I move on to another block. I connect them as I go, or sometimes, if I'm struggling with a connection, I highlight the text in yellow and leave it, knowing I'll have to go back at the end.

It's an approach that I'm sure other writers use. It's not the 'keep writing and don't look back' approach that is often recommended. I've tried that approach, and it's just not me. Living each scene for several weeks is the only way I can really engage. It feels good to have reached this point, to finally know my writing style and be able to honour it. To know it works and the end product is something I am proud of.

Now, I just need to routinely get up at 5am and work for two solid hours every morning. Using this top-down approach every day will make my writing even stronger. I know it will. I just need the energy to be able to do it.