I always imagined people who write books to sit down and start at the beginning, and then keep going until the end. Somehow I feel that is how books ought to be written, so I try and follow that pattern.
But so often I suddenly veer off in my head and have a really cool idea for something that’s going to happen much later on. Before, I would try to keep the idea in my head until I got to that part, or I would jot down ideas on a notepad and keep it for later.
I would then distract myself with that thought until I had to stop writing altogether.
Since I worked out my rough plot-line, I don’t do that anymore.
Now, when I suddenly have an idea, I stop writing, save, and start writing out the new scene. When I have it out of my system, I return to where I left off and continue. That means that every now and then, I get to a point where all I have to do is connect what I’m writing to the next chapter that has already been written, and BANG I jumped 12 pages towards my goal in a paragraph.
Feels really good, and I no longer stop myself in the tracks when an idea floats by.