Category Archives: writing process

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Don’t forget your notebook

I took a few days off work to spend some time writing, and wrangle the kids on my own for a couple days. Naturally, since I’ve got all that quiet time during school, I’m doing virtually everything, but writing.

This morning, after getting the kids off to school, I went home, got the computer fired up, found the place where I was working on some revision, and immediately got a distraught text from my wife. This proved a big distraction, and as she was already not pleased with stuff, I wasn’t going to get any “thank-you’s” when she got home to dead chickens and or ducks. So, I went on to feed and water them (Which sucks at 30F in 35mph wind by the way, but as we’re in Alaska, though hard, that’s actually pretty damn good conditions for the time of year.) Soaking wet and covered in duck $***, I marched back to the shed to find there wasn’t any chicken feed, don’t think we’ve had any for a few days. No big deal, the gym is on the way to the feed store, I could squeeze in a quick run on the way. I wanted to run anyhow, right? In any case, I decided they were chickens and a few more hours weren’t likely to hurt. So, I went back in to a phone call from my wife to continue the text conversation we’d started just a bit before. Once we’d got all that sorted out, the dishes were calling, along with the finding of appropriate attire for the children to wear to their Christmas concert.

Finally, I managed to get back to the computer, just long enough to get distracted by you-tube movies on guitar making (check out crimson custom guitars if you’re into that sort of thing. That guy is good.) Needless to say, before I knew it, it was time to think about running out for that feed and exercise, so I pulled a comb through my hair, found my red rocket-ship underpants, and headed off for the gym.

After struggling my way through a 3 mile run on a tiny track, I stood in the shower for waaay too long before deciding it was time to get under way again. Time check after loading up the feed gave me an hour and a half before it was time to get the kids. It was just enough time to try out that new sushi restaurant and maybe scribble some notes in my notebook, because that’s writing too… and yeah that sounded real nice. Sushi and writing, actually hell yeah! Wait. Forgot my notebook… UGH…

Don’t forget your notebook – EVER.

PS – I bought a notebook on the way to sushi and wrote this post, the sushi was good, can I call it a win?

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Writing before bed

The limited number of hours I get in the day to spend writing usually get tacked on the end, somewhere between 8 and 10. Which is fine, except when I get on a roll. Then, after I’m cajoled into retiring to bed with my laptop. I find myself in one of two places. The first place is where I’m just too tired to think. This is the where I am most often. Nothing for it, can’t be creative when I can’t keep my eyes open. The other thing that happens is I gain the kind of focus usually reserved for those college students cramming for an exam or putting the finishing touches on (actually doing) a project. I think about it as problem solver brain (more accurately known as being manic). I get so focused on solving a problem, I can’t rest until it’s done or I have a solution in mind that will work – I just can’t stop thinking about it.

Even though it makes for some rushed mornings and tired days, it’s this sort of manic focus that has gotten me as far as I have. No matter what is going on in my life, and there have been times when I’ve just not even been able to think about writing for weeks or months, I keep coming back to my story, and writing in general. I don’t know if this is one of the things that helps to make a good writer, but this sort of persistence is certainly going to help cross the finish line.

 

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What the hell is it with all these note cards?

Not that long ago, I confided in a friend that I was stuck in my story. It wasn’t so much that I didn’t know what was supposed to happen, it was more a matter of how to order events or introduce more events to bridge the gap between two things. Her suggestion was to use note-cards like a story board. So, I went through and wrote down the basic subject of each chapter, sometimes splitting up the chapters according to action that could possibly be separated. Then, I wrote down action I wanted to add, and started sorting those note cards. It was a breakthrough for me. I could suddenly see how to organize things and plot a course to the end of this story.

Like anyone else, I’ve got piles of notes stashed in places all about the house. Three-ringed binders, stacks of papers, spiral notebooks and so on… Everywhere. Plus, I’ve got all of my digital notes. However, these didn’t help for the storyboard. I did try to map my story out, it just didn’t work on a static page. Even in a digital file, it didn’t work. I think this has a lot to do with all of the extra detail you can scribble on a note-card, including characters, setting elements, or information that needs to be revealed in that scene. Plus, if a chapter doesn’t seem to fit or work, I can just remove it from the story board and set it aside – perhaps it might belong elsewhere.

Since that helped me better understand my plot, I figured why not apply that to other stuff. Now I also have a stack of note-cards with basic details about each character and place. This way, when I’m writing about a character I can just quickly refer to the cards instead of trying to remember where in the digital notes I might have put that stuff, or sift back through earlier chapters. So, that’s what’s with the note cards, and it’s working very well, thank you.