Om att skriva kapitel

Diana Gabaldon och andra om att skriva kapitel:

Rule # 1 is that you don't actually have to have chapters at all. I don't. Or rather, I do, but I don't write them. I write the story--in pieces, because that's the approach that works best for me--and arrange all the pieces in a pleasing and/or sensible fashion. Then I take out anything that looks like it's unnecessary, whether that's a word, a line, a paragraph, a page, or a scene (this is the phase of work that I call "Slash-and-burn." It doesn't have anything to do with making chapters; it just clears out the undergrowth).
Then I go through the text, decide where chapter breaks should be, and think up the chapter titles (which is one of the most entertaining parts of writing the book, since at that point, the work is all done). But making chapters is just about the very last thing I do to a book before I send it to my editor.
Now, people who write in a more linear (i.e., "organized" ) fashion may find it easier or more appealing actually to write in chapters.
Barbara Rogan, who writes excellent mysteries, suspense (Suspicion, published by Simon and Schuster) novels, and straight literary novels, is one of these admirable people.

She says:
"What I don't like about mysteries is that you do have to plan so tightly. It's good discipline, I guess, like writing sonnets for poets, but I miss the freedom of straight novel writing. My method with mysteries (actually, it applies to other novels as well) is to plot the whole thing loosely, then work on it chapter by chapter. Before writing each chapter, I write down a list of goals: e.g. advance the relationship between A & B, advance this characterization and that subplot, reveal a secret, etc. Then I make a list of possible scenes that would achieve these goals; and then I write the chapter scene by scene. Works for me, in part by breaking the work down into managable bits, allowing me to just slog along without thinking how much lies ahead."

Beth Shope, an epic-fantasy writer says:
"Everyone writes differently--some don't decide where to begin and end chapters until the book is finished. Others, like myself, write within the framework of chapters, each having their own shape and goal, which in turn affect how the chapter ends. When I begin a chapter, I have a general notion (usually) of what that chapter needs to accomplish in terms of plot and character development (though often enough I end up with surprises ). Then I write along and when I can see that the chapter has accomplished what it needs to, then I know to end it. (Hopefully gracefully rather than abruptly.) Some end as cliff-hangers, some end quietly, but I like to end any chapter with the feeling that the bow has been tied on that particular package. The nature of the bow is determined by the shape of the chapter--i.e. whether some aspect of the plot has been brought to a temporary conclusion, in which case the bow has a quiet, neat feel to it; or whether it's been left open-ended, and thus the 'bow' may be nothing more than a pair of loose ends dangling in the breeze, tempting the reader to turn the page to find the resolution. At any rate, it doesn't matter how long or short the chapter is, as long as it accomplishes something."

If these approaches work for you, more power to you. I couldn't do it that way to save my life, but fortunately, nobody insists that I do.
See, one important thing that nobody ever seems to mention when talking about writing is this: Once the book is printed and bound, nobody can tell how you wrote it. Did you work with an outline? Did you write it backwards? Did you work on it every day, or once a week? NOBODY CAN TELL. All they can see is that here's a book, period.
Which means that you can do it any dang way you want. Anything that lets you get words on the page is the Right Way to write.

"Is There a Right Way to Write?" intervju med Diana Gabaldon, samt hennes allmänna råd till författare. Artikel i Aftonbladet.