OUT OF ORDER

I like to lead an orderly life. My day has order, my house has order, even my closet has order. My writing definitely has an orderly structure to it. I live my stories as if the events were happening--in order--one day, one scene, one problem at a time. 

Until yesterday.

I am presently writing a YA novel. It's 3/4 of the way completed. Then I tripped--I hit a roadblock. I was stuck--I didn't like the way I was taking my character and didn't know what she was going to do next. She was hiding from me, wouldn't even talk to me--God, teenagers can be touchy. So, I gave her some space to figure it out.

She's still avoiding me (what a brat), but on my morning walk (and it's downright cold here in South Florida, but I digress) my muse whispered to me and I knew how the story would end. YIKES--there goes my orderly world. How could I write the ending when I hadn't even finished the middle of the book?

Easy peasy - I sat my butt down at the computer and let my thoughts flow through my fingers to the keyboard. And, there it was--the ending...and a good one if I say so myself.

Now what do I do. I decided to practice out-of-order writing and write the story backwards. This should give my brain some good discipline.

I've got an idea stirring around for my next novel. Maybe--just--maybe I will try to write that one end to beginning.

Out-of-order writing--now there's a foreign concept to my orderly world.