My good writer pal Jenny blogged yesterday about process, and how she's still figuring it out. I'm kind of with her in that respect. I thought I had it all figured out when I got ready to write DOUBLE VISION: I would drop the kids off at school, and then I'd write in the morning, and deal with random domestic nonsense in the afternoon. Simple, no?
Well, no. As it turned out, selling your house, dealing with all the stuff that comes with that, preparing to move--it's time consuming and brain zapping. Even when I would carve out a few hours to write, Lincoln Baker wouldn't show up for some reason.
So I tried getting up at 4:30, before Life is up, and before my brain is taken over by domestic nonsense. And it worked! I'd easily write 2,000 words before the rest of the house was even up, which was a sweet deal. Okay, so I ended up a little sleep-deprived, but it was worth it. And my cat Xena (see pic) kept me company, which made the whole early morning session even better. I still don't know why it's so much easier to write at that early hour (maybe because Lincoln Baker (my main character) is in Paris, and it's eight hours later there?), but it worked like magic. So that was an interesting lesson learned about my process.
How 'bout you, writer pals? Any surprises for you when it comes to process?
I'm soooooo beyond impressed that you tore through that draft with all the other stuff going on in your life! And now I'm even more impressed because you did it at 4:30AM. (Should we just round to 4:00AM?)
ReplyDeleteI giggled at your theory that, since the character is in Paris, you're on that schedule. That's cute. Remind me never to write about China or the Middle East or Russia. I like my sleep. =)
That made me laugh, too. Ya never know with those characters.
ReplyDeleteYou are just all kinds of inspiration for just getting it done. I have no good excuses here.
I can't say I was surprised by it, but getting into the habit of writing every day does work for me. It's also an easy habit to break, unfortunately.
Thanks for your sweetness, guys. It's nice to get the first draft done, and now I'm almost done with edits. So yippeeee for getting up at 4:30 (who woulda thunk I'd ever say that? Not me).
ReplyDeleteAnd I fear Linc will probably make his way to China at some point. That'll really hurt :-)
I though quitting my job in December would mean a world of difference. But I think I did my best writing at work. Or the day was more carefully delineated. Or something.
ReplyDeleteI think being home makes it hard to avoid the neverending to-do list, Patti. I've seriously considered renting a cabin for a week to get more writing done...
ReplyDelete