Like the advice I give in TIME TO WRITE, I have a writing schedule. I don't believe in waiting for "the muse" to arrive or to be inspired to write. I write every morning from 4-6 AM before I leave for my day job, whether I have a book under contract or not. I also write on Sundays (I usually take Saturdays off). As I approach a deadline, I will write in the evenings, on my lunch hour, and all day on weekends if necessary to meet the deadline.
What a wonderful question! We are brain wired by our experiences and writing and the creative process is no different. That is why it is so important to keep that that creative process that all kids are born with, intact in schoo.
I sit down and just start letting ideas flow through my fingers. My creative processes were squashed until I was 22 years old, and started working at Newsweek Magazine. Then I realized the power of creativity and thought--and the order!! So, I always start by letting the creative juices pour out on paper without any filter. It is chaotic and wonderful.
I think this question is hilarious. I have no idea. Of course I am there for the whole thing, and pretty much lucid, but really, it's a mystery to me. I have thoughts, I have a pen. Paper is also involved. I can tell you this much, I do feel like good ideas are random gifts; random gifts that disintegrate if you don't grab hold and pin them down with words. So seriously, I don't have a routine - much of my writing happens on the sly when I should be doing other things. I kind of like it that way, because what comes out when I'm in a squeeze seems to be pithier than words that happen when I have a lot of Writing Time set aside.
I write early in the morning and tend to pose a question or frame a problem in the hours before I go to bed. I generally wake up with an answer, or at least a direction. If I'm working on a book I work every day. Momentum is all.
Well, before I sit down to write I normally have an idea of what I'm going to write about. Not an entire story outline in my head or anything that grand, but a general idea of the beginning of the story. Then I just see where that takes me.
My creative process? Hmm, never really thought about it. The stories just...happen. I do have a shoebox of story ideas that I go through periodically, but some inspiration hits from only one line, as with 'Justyn Thyme, the StoneAge Wizard' became the book, "The StoneAge Wizard". "Pole Shift" all started with an idea about ticks. Too often I have to stifle, slow down the thoughts, the "inspiration", because the time is not right.
But, for the most part, it just happens. Even going through the shoebox, something will just grab me.
I don't really do a whole lot of preparation to write. Mostly, I get "hit with inspiration" and sit down at the computer and start typing. But, since I still have to hold down a full-time job, when I write it is cut up into spurts: I awake and start writing until it's time for work. Upon returning home, I write until exhausted or I notice the time. I repeat until the story is done. I've done this schedule for up too eight months. Not much else gets done during this time, unless it's a "have to". Dishes pile up, laundry falls behind, my dog has to hound me to go outside, etc., etc.
I'm still waiting for that "big break" with that "six-figure offer". Then, then I will be able to write all I want without the creative process being interrupted, and I have so much to write. That shoebox is stuffed.   | | |
The first inkling of writing fiction happens long before I sit down at the computer. Usually an image comes to mind. A few years back I was captivated by an image of a full moon shining down on white snow. From that pinpoint an entire novel unfolded.
I dislike plotting and planning ahead and much prefer to just start writing and see where it goes. If I have too much thought out, I tend to lose interest. I like to be surprised with how it turns out. I do spend a fair amount of time on character development before starting to write but this tends to be a fluid process subject to change. (I love when that happens!) It is not until the revision process that I worry about structure and plot. Writing historical fiction allows me to use historical events as a frame to stabilize the story line. I tend to do my research first over several months and then put the research away and write it out. In my revision process I go back and double check the research. If I try to do both processes at once, I feel less creative. Don't ask me why.
It's different with poetry. Often I'll create a poem while commuting or doing the dishes. The idea comes and then the words. It's a much different process for me than fiction but similar to how I write inspirational pieces. A thought occurs to me and I mull it over in my mind until it finally spills out on paper. | | |
I " see" the story in my head.
It's always different. Sometimes I'm at a funeral or a movie and I get a rush of words I can use in my head. I try to memorize the ideas, try not to lose them. Sometimes I can sit in front of a screen in a quiet room unable to produce a single word. Writing is rarely convenient, more like trying to run between raindrops. I am often inspired by reading other poets. I fall into a poetic dialog with them, and that's great. I grab Wallace Stevens, John Ashbery, Anne Sexton, Leonard Cohen, and many others from the shelf to get myself into that mode.
Idea would pop up in my head and usually in the middle of night. Then I would think it over. That takes a while. Ideas often change in shape and size. Then, at one point I really like it. That's it. I am ready to try writing it down.
When writing my poetry, I often get a word or a phrase in my mind and it will not leave me until I write about it. I title my poetry after I have written it. With respect to writing my inspirational passages, I often pick up pen and blank piece of paper and let my words create themselves. The metaphysical book that I am currently writing is an entirely different experience. I get a feeling or a vision and the best way to describe it is when I sit down to write, the words seem to come through me. It is effortless, really.
I have to have my surroundings clean and uncluttered. A cup of coffee at my left hand.
I generally have the whole picture enter my mind's eye, then i sit and write as stream of consciousness. I generally have to work through the details as I go, then I revisit what i have written and make my tweeks and revisions.
I really do have to be in the right "mood." The "Muse" has to be singing, so to speak.
I try to start as soon as I'm fully awake, which is not too early in the morning, but often take it up at night as well. I go to sleep thinking of the loose ends at where I left off and usually wake up with fresh ideas. I'll start with them.
I make a pot of tea and get to work, every day.
If have an idea before I sit down to write, the piece is usually easy to flesh out. But if I sit down to write and don't have a topic or approach, developing the idea is paramount. Even with a an idea in-mind, it's sometimes useful to analyze my approach to the topic and try alternative points of view. |
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