I have a longer story in the works, and I've hit a bit of a block. I generally have written sequentially (other than basic notes), but that obviously means that a block is a real problem. I'm curious as to how you handle writing larger pieces especially those you know are going to be multi-part ones. Using TbS as an example, it's clear that you didn't initially expect it to be a 3-part piece (or multi-part at all), so I'm wondering how much actual writing work you've done on pieces of part 3 vs. just making basic plot notes.

Extending that further, it's clear that you have had large pieces of the Symphony plotted out for over a decade, and I'm wondering how much of the was written in scene form out of order (not asking for scene details, that would be rude) and how you dealt with integrating it later when those scenes were actually being integrated into the pieces they were intended for.

The reason I'm asking (I think, I'm still learning how my mind handles the writing process :)) is that I have future scenes going through my head, but I know from experience with what I've already written that a number of them have changed so radically from my original concept to what I actually put on "paper" when the time came that I don't know if writing them down before I got there would have been a good thing or a bad thing - the changes evolved organically, and I wonder if I would have tried to force the story to fit the original scene of I'd already written it...

So I'm just wondering how you deal with it, and if you have any advice on how to handle it for myself? And yes, I know everyone's different, and I won't blame you for anything that doesn't work (or does!) if I try it.

Thanks,
Offsides

P.S. I've already experienced some of the odd muse issues you've mentioned: I had one story just show up fully formed one morning on the way to work and refuse to let me much of anything else until I got it all out, and I had another that paced around in the green room for a couple weeks before banging on the door and telling me enough was enough and to just get on with it... :)

[...] in order to be a realist you must believe in miracles.
-- David Ben Gurion
EPU RCW #π
#include <stdsig.h>