I don’t mean handwriting. What I mean is the journey my story makes from brain to page/screen. The process, rather than the actual act — well the act, too. Perhaps I should explain.
When a non-writer hears that I’m going to be spending the day writing, I think they envision me in front of my computer or hunched over my desk with pencil and paper. That would be the truth — sort of. Here’s the reality.
When I decided to become a serious writer, I pictured myself seated in front of my computer, merrily composing a near-perfect manuscript. The words would fly effortlessly from my fingertips into a draft that would need minimal, if any, editing. Or, I’d be sitting on the sunny bank of a beautiful stream with my pencil and paper, capturing the essence of a particularly significant scene.
Truth is, I spend countless hours in front of my computer, spewing scenes that will be cut or modified at some later date (I need a new chair). If the scene gods are smiling, one might practically write itself (cue the effortlessly flying words from my fingertips). When that happens, I enter a zone of detached reality — I have no concept of time or much of anything outside the realm of my story. I treasure those moments because they’re the exception, not the rule.
If someone were to set up a camera in my home on a typical writing day, (never gonna happen), they would be confused at what would appear to be disjointed, haphazard activities. Pretend you’re watching a movie on fast-forward: computer – laundry – computer – make bed – computer – wash dishes – computer – feed the cats. Get the idea?
The viewer might scoff at my lack of discipline and wonder how I managed to get anything on the page at all. The reality is that I am still writing when I’m away from the computer. I might be trying to figure out where the scene has to end, what needs to happen in the next, or decide if the one I just wrote has fulfilled its purpose in moving the story forward. If the camera found me outside doing yard work, it’s because the scene I just finished writing was emotionally painful and traumatic to one or more of my characters, and I needed to physically get away from it for a while.
The hunching with paper and pencil? I do that in bed, not at my desk. When I’m just starting a project, tossing out ideas, or am stuck somewhere along the way, I get away from the computer and relax with keywords, phrases, or scenario bits that have never failed to solve the writing problem I’m facing.
I have some other personal tactics that I’m choosing not to share, so that’s as close as you’re going to get to actually seeing me in the process of writing. Sorry, no cameras allowed.
Jennifer Lynn Tooker
Anne,
Thanks for the reality check!
Jennifer
Anne
Thanks, Jennifer! Glad you enjoyed it!
Paul Iasevoli
I too long for those moments “of detached reality.” They are rare, but they always lead the best prose.
Anne
I agree, Paul!
Pat Raia
This s absolutely true. I find that a the best way to conjure a lead, compose a poem to finish a news story, is to walk away from it. Great take.
thanks.
P
Anne
Thank you, Pat! I’m glad you enjoyed it – sometimes it ends up being a combination of efforts.
Gale Sandler
Some people say you must be disciplined and write a few pages every day. While I think about my plot and my characters all the time, life gets in the way. I too am stopping for a trip to the pool, laundry, cleaning the house and running errands. That’s why I write late at night when all the chores are done and I’ll sit at my computer and do 20 plus pages at a time. Once I get into it without the daily grind, it just flows. So my technique is like this author,s who wrote about all her interruptions. I’d rather do large clumps of time at night and write and write and write than force a few pages every day. I don’t think writing is a disciplined pursuit. We creative people have to write when the mood strikes. The results are very prolific then . At least that’s what works for me.
Anne
Amazing, isn’t it? Everyone’s creative mind works in his/her own way. And sometimes it’s a crazy combination! But, whatever works, right?
Tilly grey
I’m with you. I always try to keep a pad and pen nearby but have been known to scribble sentences on napkins, grocery bills or any scrap of paper near my bed for those four am bursts of creative genius.
Anne
Yes! I have to have something to get the ideas down or else my brain gets too full!
Tiberio Faria
Anne
your recount of haphazard activities in a 1924 movie on fast-forward: computer – laundry – computer – make bed – computer – wash dishes – computer – makes me feel that someone did set up a camara on miniscule drone with a motion sensor follower, it’s great to realize that we are really not alone, congrats
tiberio.
Anne
Crazy – how the creative force works! Thanks for your comments!
Ruth Coe Chambers
Often it was as though you and I were on the page together, Anne. However, I have never been disciplined enough to write a certain amount each day though I really immerse myself in my writing when I have that luxury. And oh the joy of those detached reality checks. I do a lot of reading and thinking out scenes. If only I were able to write long hand when I’m away from my computer. Something I used to employ daily.
Thanks for great, supportive insights.
Anne
Thank you, Ruth, for your comments. I appreciate hearing about a fellow writer’s experiences and processes.
Teri Pizza
Thanks Anne for blowing my cover! I actually always thought your way was the way all writers wrote because it’s the only way I know how to do it. But it’s the sleepless nights that blow my mind. Some characters just won’t go to bed!
Anne
Teri, you’re too funny! Yes, we need to get some sort of bedtime routine established!
Temple Emmet Williams
Excellent summary of what writing is all about. This is pretty much what we all do. When I re-read my books, there are parts I like that I do not remember writing. That is where the muse briefly visited me, always invisible, always on the verge of vanishing as it discovers another author.
Anne
Thank you, Temple, for your comments. I keep my muse close and he’s willing to bide with me.
Lisa Patrick
Thank you for these encouraging words, Anne. As a budding writer, I had trouble accepting that it’s okay to write when you can, as much as you can, where ever you can. Ernest Hemingway said, “The best place to write is in your head.” I finally accepted this and write when and where I can. I own an antique store and often times the flow of foot traffic provides a welcome break to gather thoughts and take a break from the drama going on in my head as well as offer characterizations and new ideas with every person who walks in the door. But at home, I, too, have that movie going in fast forward. And when my muse decides that she must be heard while I’m driving (which she does quite often), I have a digital recorder handy and ready to dictate what she says. It’s not a desire to write that drive us, but a need, an addiction, that must be satisfied any way we can.
Anne
Thank you for your comments, Lisa! Well said!