I think the biggest obstacle to great writing is self consciousness. You've got to basically be fearless in that initial purging. It should be like journaling without regard for other eyes on the paper. Not sure at what point but we lose that childlike brilliance to observe without self consciousness. I think all great writers are looking to recapture it.
i write 1000 words on day! :)
Before I write, I listen to my thoughts. Thoughts and feelings determine what I write about.
I will often write on many different topics throughout the day. Mostly, because my thoughts are often fleeting ideas, memories, or solid strong opinions or views.
If I find something to be of public value, I will share it or write about it.
Usually happens late at night for me. When I can't sleep.
The hardest part of writing is thinking. I like to do my chores when I'm writing--cook, clean stalls, work horses, tend the dogs and cats. Then I sit down and write furiously for twenty minutes. Then I get up and do more things until I work through whatever needs to be figured out.
The creative process for Crossbow was quite unusual. Mystery writer Ridley Pearson had tried to convince me to write a novel in 1999, after our mutual friend Dave Barry had success with Big Trouble. I let that idea sit on the back burner for 8 years, thinking about it every so often.
In 2007, I was cast in the Canadian TV series, The 3-Day Novel. Twelve writers, including me, were locked in a big-box bookstore in Edmonton, Alberta for 72 hours. We each had to write a complete short novel. All we were allowed to bring in the way of an outline was a single 8-1/2 x 11 sheet.
During the taping of the show I wrote about 30,000 words, thanks largely to an almost complete lack of sleep. (We were given child's size Ikea bunk beds, and my 6'4" didn't really fit.) Throughout the 3 days we were constantly followed by the camera crew (yes, even in there!), and had to deal with the train of thought derailing interruptions from the store customers, and the producers of the series who set various challenges for us. In the months following the taping, I added flesh to the bones of the story and turned it into a full-length novel.
When I sat down to write the rest of the story, I set daily goals for myself and kept track of how I was doing. It helped spur me on, when I had a specific number of words I wanted to complete each day.   | | |
My creative process is simply walking through life. About 70% (if not more) of my current work comes from really life situations. Ever a dream I had, walking and talking with friends, or just standing in line to buy a drink.
My creative process is very simple, I think about something and I just begin to write. Before I sit down to write I grab myself a coffee my pad of paper and a pen.
I don't write from Chapter 1 to the end. I write scenes and ideas. I may spend six months to a year working through that. Then when I feel I have everything I need, I shut myself away and put it all together. I always have to go back and change sections to make sure everything at the end makes sense and comes together.
My process is basically unconventional. When I get a character in mind, I take out my notebook and start jotting notes, who they are, physical characteristics, mannerisms, likes and dislikes, their strengths and weaknesses, etc. I try to get inside the character's head. Then I sit down and write the chapter forming in my head. Sometimes it turns out to be something that winds up in the middle of my book. Rarely is it the beginning. I belt out a few chapters and then sit back and see where it leads me. I usually do not plan out the rest of the book until I get about half way through.
Next, I start to think about how it should begin (the story) and where it should be going. I write a rough outline of the Table of Contents so I have some direction. Then it develops from there. I'm the kind of person that has to write longhand. After my manuscript is complete, then I type in on my laptop.
I write with Peter Spinetta. We talk and talk and talk out ideas. Conversation triggers ideas. I see images that I elaborate on. Narrative design is tricky and difficult. Tone is hard to keep to. It's all a delicate balancing act.
I take some time, dependent on the urgency of the project to understand who the audience is and what the desired outcome of reading my work is and what the best method of delivery is.
For example: the Ovi Developer Library is aimed at developers of apps for Nokia devices and the Ovi Store and the goal is that the readers will be able to understand, quickly, how to create and publish apps to the Ovi store and to reduce questions / calls on and to the Nokia Forums and support centres.
a pot of fresly brewed coffee, clustering and brainstorming and then i begin with a rough draft.Joyce carol oates gives great advice. one that I have pasted in front of me at all times is this "one must be pitiless about the matter of "mood"
art is a transcendental function- a means by which we rise out of limited, parochial states of mind. wrtiting will not create the mood. it does not "matter" what state of mind we are in." Joel saltzman advises brillantly "Perfectionism leads to paralysis which leads to procrastination. "Progress not perfection!" These seemingly simple quotes have spurred me all the way through
The earphones go into my ears, the ipod goes on, and I start to write. On a train, in a cafe, at a desk; it does not matter where I write as long as the music is good.
Good atmosphere, music, food, wine and my thoughts. When I sit down to write, it usually takes a bit before anything comes to mind, but when it does, it poors out. |
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