On my writing process and advice to aspiring writers:
Another writer once told
me that my writing process was “organic.” I think this is a fancy way
of saying I’m a total pantser, but I’ll take it! I usually take notes
for research before I start, then do a rough (very rough) outline. But
I love to just dive right in and see what happens! The finished product
is always different from what I’d imagined at the beginning, and the
unexpected twists and turns a story takes along the way are a big part
of the fun.
I won’t lie: if my process sounds messy, that’s because it is.
Sometimes I think it’s that way because, with three small kids, my
life is messy! I keep trying to get organized, but my brand-new and
very empty day planner says I’m failing miserably at this point. Still,
what I do seems to work. I have written in every room in my house at
every hour of the day and night, holed up wherever I could find a quiet
space at whatever time I could manage it. I have fallen asleep at the
keyboard more than once, and I’ve had to accept that coffee is a
necessary component of my universe if I want to continue being a
functional human being. Sometimes I’m fried. Sometimes one page takes
an hour (or more). But I love to write, and I need to tell the stories
I imagine. So I do what I have to do to wrestle them out of my head and
onto the page.
That’s probably the
best advice I can offer to an aspiring writer: to make the time to
write! The dream never becomes the reality without some blood, sweat
and tears. And also chocolate and the occasional glass of good white
wine, in my case. However busy you are, there’s always time to carve
out for writing, even if it’s really early or really late, on the floor
or in a closet (hey, they’re quiet!). If you want the time, it’s
there. And if you use it, getting those stories out and honing your
craft, your dreams are that much closer to becoming a reality!
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