Yeh, typically I've always written the same way, which is start to finish. This is the first time I've had something only come in bits and pieces sporadically all over the timeline of the story. However, at one point while writing I also ended up on antidepressants and I've heard some people say they couldn't write while on them (I think that's a psychosomatic thing, mostly). Part of my issue was that I wasn't stable, either. I've more recently pulled together a great short story that I'm basically ready to submit to either Weird Tales or Asimov mag (I have a friend looking it over for me first.. I don't really have any people yet for that sort of thing). So I think I just have to sit down and tackle the long one again. I'm almost certain it will end up a novel. There's only one thing that I complain about to my characters.. they never tell me the story in advance. It's like watching a movie you've never heard of before.. you only find out who's in it and what happens as it plays out for you. When I write fiction, I feel more like I'm dictating something which created itself, rather than generating it manually. It sounds crazy to me, but others have the same feeling so I guess it's one type of normal.

I might have a bit too much perfectionism, so I will try out the notion of writing crap. It will get itself sorted out eventually, I'm sure.