I was musing on my current WIP, and noticed a pattern. I shift between plotter and pantser, and there’s some correlation between those and the type of project I’m working on. If I’m doing a write-by-numbers book, like most of my regencies, I tend to plot more. The story arrives in my head already in some kind of order. I make an outline, and write straight through. Not all at once, of course; I haven’t yet reached the point that I can write a novel without stopping to sleep, and I’m not sure I want to. But the scenes show up one after another, in reasonable order, and minimal structural editing is needed.
But most of my books aren’t like that. Some of them… well, ‘labor of love’ is a decent descriptor. These are the books I write as escapism for me. Not just for the reader. The Garia Cycle, the Mercenary Series, my current WIP- all are extraordinarily fun to write (Usually. I still refer to the WIP as What the Fic, because of its propensity to make abrupt and frustrating 90-degree turns at random intervals. It’s also the series that has around 300k words of discarded material. Yes, you read that right) and make it onto the page in a rather different fashion from the write-by-numbers books.
Scenes from ‘labor of love’ books show up out of order. They also tend to start out as thought exercises and metastasize into series. So I’ll be working on a scene in book one, and abruptly shift to book four or five, which might take place in an entirely different time, place, and point in the characters’ relationships. And by ‘abruptly,’ I mean, anywhere from ‘overnight’ to ‘fifteen minutes while I was eating lunch.’
This isn’t surprising- I’m writing these books mostly for me, and since I need to escape from different things at different times, it only makes sense that my escape will look a bit chaotic. But it is interesting. And, unfortunately, not very productive. When one enjoys writing a book, there’s little to no incentive to actually finish it. None of the aforementioned series are anywhere near completion.
So I have to find ways of integrating the two strategies; I’d like to get some of these books out eventually. And I’m not quite crazy enough to force myself to hate a book that I love, just so I can feel some relief when I finally finish it.
I’m in a bit of a pickle. But I’m enjoying it. So that’s something. Maybe I’ll get a few books out of it. Eventually.
Mad Genius Club 
I take notes on out of order and possibly not the same work scenes.
On one of my stories, I had Chapter 12 completed long before Chapter 4. Then had to make major changes because of stuff that happened in Chapters 8 and 10.
Another story saw Chapter 6 finished, then almost completely rewritten because of something that happened to a major character when I wrote Chapter 5.
When I get words in my head, I type them, because they’re too likely to not be there when I get to where I ‘should’ be typing them. Sometimes it’s a few sentences, sometimes a scene, sometimes a whole chapter just pours out.
I’ll take it!
Each book is different. Mine only share the fact that they all arrive at the worst possible time, like babies born at 3 am….
Pantser to Story Police: I was just standing on the street corner, minding my own business, when Sumcharacter came up out of nowhere and hit me!
I currently have Duke Henry the Lion wanting a story. Dude, I have no idea where to put you, or how to . . . Merchant universe? Just at the end of the Great Cold? And you are overshadowed by the goddess Waldher which is part of what leads you to collide with one of the first Great Northern Emperors? *whimper whimper whimper* Moooooommm, make him go away!!!!!
*laughs in sympathy*
The WIP keeps doing something like that to me. All I wanted was to write cute little regencies and an occasional fantasy! Not… whatever this is.