Writing Tips from a Neurodivergent Brain

Last Fall, when I wrote about writing a novel “scene by scene,” I received a ton of interesting feedback. Most of it was a variation on these three questions:

• How can you possibly write out of order?
• How can you keep things straight when you write like that?
• I get hives even thinking about writing out of order!

I’ll give you my answer in a nutshell.

I don’t write out of order to be different or creative. I write out of order so I can finish books. When I wrote like all my writer friends – opening a Word doc and writing until the book was done – the book(s) NEVER got done.

Seriously, I had 13 unfinished novels and a truckload of self-loathing by the time I stopped banging my head against that wall.

I had to break a book down into tiny little pieces, or the process would break my brain and make me loathe writing. But, there are a few caveats to this approach. Even a disorganized ADD brain like mine had to implement a little bit of order.

Must-Haves for the “Scene Writing” Approach

You don’t have to have every one of these mastered, but it really, really helps if you at least have the first one. I tend to use them all when I get to the editing process.

You must have a good grasp of writing structure.

Otherwise, you end up with a pile of scenes, or “story blocks,” you can’t use. It also helps to know the 12 steps of the Hero’s Journey.

• Here’s a great link from Grammarly on the hero’s journey.
• I work with more with 3-Act structure because I can keep track of it better in my head.

Two words – conflict lock.

According to Bob Mayer, “If you don’t have a conflict lock, you don’t have a story.” He’s the author of Warrior Writer and co-founder of Cool Gus Publishing, and the Conflict Lock is a very cool tool. Here’s a blog from Shannon Curtis to tell you more.

Scene-dissecting tools like Margie Lawson’s EDITS system.

If you don’t have tools like the ones Margie teaches you, it’s difficult to figure out where you missed with a scene, especially if you’re a pantser. I really appreciated her EDITS system, because it is so visual.

My recommendation: Invest in yourself with classes or lecture packets from Lawson Writers Academy…you’ll be glad you did.

Understand your story’s DNA (theme) before you get too far.

I think hard about theme pretty early in my process for an important reason. If you have a strong visual of your story’s underlying message, I believe you will automatically write to it. That story DNA will inform every scene choice you make because it has to.

John August, the screenwriter for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Big Fish, says it much better than I do in this post.

Some Pros and Cons of Scene Writing

And yes, these are all going to be completely subjective. However, if you’re on the fence about your process, I thought it might be helpful to see why you might like or dislike this writing method.

The advantages.

1. It’s a great way to avoid writer’s block.

There’s always another scene to write or edit. Those scenes can jump start you back into any story that is stalled. You don’t even have to use it in the story…it can become a “throwaway” scene that you use as a newsletter giveaway.

2. I’m able to fall into the writing and stay immersed, because it’s “only one scene.”

3. Tools like Scrivener and Plottr allow you to store scenes separately and move them around.

4. The story theme is naturally interwoven when you write this way.

5. This method allows you to move between fiction and non-fiction pretty easily.

The disadvantages.

1. The biggest downside to this method is that I often need objective eyes to tell me when the story is “really done.” If you are focused at the scene level for a while, you might “lose the forest for the trees.”

FIX: If I’m feeling lost, I compile the whole thing into a Word document so Word can read it to me in that super-boring computer voice it uses. It’s far easier to spot the problems when you see or hear your story in a different medium.

A few other authors have told me that even changing the font when they read helps them catch errors.

2. Continuity edits are a must for long works. Sometimes, you need another set of eyes to check and be sure that all the loose ends are tied up.

3. Scene transitions bug the heck out of me (and I’m pretty sure I’m terrible at them). The story quilting method stitches those glorious scenes of yours together with whatever quick  transitions you use to open a scene.

FIX: If you also feel like you’re not good at transitions, my solution is to find a writing pal who loves them and run the work by them.

Final Thought

My approach is certainly not for everyone. Believe me, I am super jealous of all you linear, organized writers.

There are times when going the “scene-writing route” is beneficial. Who would I recommend this non-linear method to?

• People with neurodivergent brains like mine that get paralyzed by too many details.
• Writers who feel stuck. In my experience, the best way through writer’s block is by tricking yourself into any writing. Writing short is a great way to do that. You can always use any extra scenes as marketing giveaways.
• Big picture thinkers, who see the 50K foot view, but have trouble zooming in close.
• Writers who get a story idea and want to write some scenes before they commit to a whole book.

I’m sure there are other populations of writers I haven’t even thought of here, so I’m going to turn this over to all of you. When do you think the non-linear approach could be helpful?

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