Blog Update: Writing Out Of Order

Veronica Roth talks about writing out of order, and how it actually helped her write Divergent, in this blog update:

The most common objection to writing out of order is that it will get too confusing. Understandable– but not necessarily true.

 

Let’s say I’m writing a story about zombie witch-kittens on a crusade across Nebraska to save their zombie dog friend, and I get the zombie witch-kittens to Omaha…okay, no. This hypothetical is way too confusing.

 

Let’s go with a real example: I wrote the beginning of Divergent first, up until she chooses her faction. Then I got stuck. I knew I wanted part of her initiation training to involve weird, nightmareish simulations, but I couldn’t figure out what they would feature, or what would come before them. I did know how I wanted her relationship with her instructor, Four, to develop– I wanted the relationship to come from curiosity and developing respect that turns into attraction, rather than the other way around. And I had a plan for how to do that.

To read the rest of the entry click here.

Tags: Divergent, Editing, Four, Tris, Veronica Roth, Veronica Roth Blog, Writing