Writing Is Hard

Having never written anything remotely novel-length— by far the lengthiest attempt was my undergraduate thesis, which maxed out at eighty-five pages— I'm spending a good deal of time trying to figure out how I write.

The conclusion is turning out to be fairly boring: I write linearly. There's a first scene, then there's a second scene, and a third and fourth, and damn if I don't have to write one following the other in precise order.

I've tried to write out of order, I really have, but I the inspiration isn't there. How am I supposed to know what the character is feeling/thinking/wanting if I don't know what happened immediately preceding? The mix-and-match scene thing just doesn't work for me, which is something of a disappointment. It means I have to slog through what I consider 'boring parts' before I can get to that snappy scene with the good dialogue.

In my immediate future, it means Katherine is going to have to go interview her friend the whore (name not yet determined— suggestions welcome!) and then decide that she's going to take things as they come before she runs into Nolan again. Two whole scenes before she runs into Nolan! Blaaaaaaahhhhhhh. Necessary to advance the plot, but blaaaaahhhhhhhhhh. Although I can probably get some good lines from the whore, and I might frame the Inner Think in that whiskey/pharmacy scene I've been wanting to do. Le sigh.

I kind of wish I could write like Cirque does, all brilliant scenes and intriguing characters not yet tied to a plot...

Okay, sorry, this post has to be interrupted: I just saw a naked man walk across the alley I can see from my window. Naked! Man! In public! I laugh.

Right, what was I saying? Oh yes, writing is hard, but at least it doesn't mean being naked in public. The end.