Struggling to Write Chronologically

I've been writing this little fun story (you can check it out in my profile), but unfortunately I'm really struggling to write in a linear fashion. I mean... I have ideas for other points of the story, but not chronologically if that makes sense?

Any advice or suggestions on how I can post my writing if I can't write in order?

Maybe write it, then sort it, then post it in chronological order...

or...

Once you have it written, make the out-of-sequence events obvious flashbacks.

It is possible to do some really weird shit with timelines when you're writing but you need to be careful. Those weird, out-of-sequence stories (vs. a simple flashback or flash-forward) requires a ton of skill.

I like krystal's suggestions, though. I have written stories where things were out of sequence and then sorted them out later.

I am also prone to using the flashback story framing device, where I open with a current state, then have the narrator tell the story of how things got there. My latest Recommended Read on StoriesSpace is one of those.

There is no rule book. Is there a real need to make this a linear story? As Krystal suggested, you could use the flashbacks to explain their motivations slowly, keeping the reader interested, which might make the ending more powerful. I empathise with your dilemma and do not be afraid to try both ways.

I can’t do it piecemeal. I just had a story crash and burn trying that very thing. I have to start from the beginning, and write to the end.

One of the things I get small-scale irritated by are authors who publish their stories in 500 word installments as they write it. Often what happens is the authors write themselves into a corner, can't figure out how to get out of it and abandon the series (look what's happened to George RR Martin and his Song of Ice & Fire series for example - or my own aborted "Interest" series for another). A better practice would be to write out the entire story from start to finish and then break it into chunks for publication knowing that it's a complete, coherent, and cohesive finished piece. That would also allow you to retroactively insert or edit early parts of the story to support later bits and details without doing a whole 'reboot' to accommodate them.

Quote by Just_A_Guy_You_Know

One of the things I get small-scale irritated by are authors who publish their stories in 500 word installments as they write it. Often what happens is the authors write themselves into a corner, can't figure out how to get out of it and abandon the series (look what's happened to George RR Martin and his Song of Ice & Fire series for example - or my own aborted "Interest" series for another). A better practice would be to write out the entire story from start to finish and then break it into chunks for publication knowing that it's a complete, coherent, and cohesive finished piece. That would also allow you to retroactively insert or edit early parts of the story to support later bits and details without doing a whole 'reboot' to accommodate them.

I agree with this wholeheartedly.

The one series I published here, I wrote everything out first and combed through it for continuity issues and the like, then published chapter by chapter. Took months but was worth it.

A good thing about writing that way is it aids you in creating cliffhangers.

Quote by Just_A_Guy_You_Know
A better practice would be to write out the entire story from start to finish and then break it into chunks for publication knowing that it's a complete, coherent, and cohesive finished piec

This.

It's a lot of work but that's what I'm doing with a trilogy. And as I think up later plot twists, I can easily tweak earlier segments that would have otherwise retconned my original ideas.

Quote by AmuseBouche
There is no rule book. Is there a real need to make this a linear story?

And this.

Telling stories using flashbacks is a wonderful device to hook people on an act, throw them into a scene, and then reveal how people got there. Reservoir Dogs is a great example of non-linear storytelling.

Write it all down in a notebook. It doesn't hafta be the actual story, but a synopsis of what each chapter, or whatever important points are about. Doesn't even need to be in order, just get it all out on paper, so it can be sorted out when it's time to actually write it. That's what I do, although for a different reason, I do it when I'm already writing too many things and this new thing won't give me peace to work on what I already am, so I write it down to get it out of my head and not forget it. It also lets you see how viable it is to actually write. I had an idea once, that I wrote down and after reading it well later, found it just wasn't going to work, like I thought when fantasizing about it.

Storyboard it. I do this to keep track of larger works. Even if they aren’t presented chronologically I have a paper with very basic details the major or minor points I feel are important listed in the order they happen.

Sometimes I’ll do smaller story boards for certain parts that get a little more advanced. Example is my largest project I’m working on is takes place in early 1700’s France. The undergarments and dresses are normally layered and tricky to get on and off. For the first love scene I blocked out in unadorned fashion what happens in the scene. When does the dress come off, the shape wear, the undergarments… this helped when I was writing because I could ask questions like ‘how naked is the character in this moment?’ I had that a nipple was licked here but it’s still trapped in the stays, how do I change this to make it work?

Quote by RowanThorn

Storyboard it. I do this to keep track of larger works. Even if they aren’t presented chronologically I have a paper with very basic details the major or minor points I feel are important listed in the order they happen.

Sometimes I’ll do smaller story boards for certain parts that get a little more advanced. Example is my largest project I’m working on is takes place in early 1700’s France. The undergarments and dresses are normally layered and tricky to get on and off. For the first love scene I blocked out in unadorned fashion what happens in the scene. When does the dress come off, the shape wear, the undergarments… this helped when I was writing because I could ask questions like ‘how naked is the character in this moment?’ I had that a nipple was licked here but it’s still trapped in the stays, how do I change this to make it work?

So pretty much what I was saying, despite going off on a tangent. lol.