During interviews, I’ve found one of the favorite questions asked is: how do you write? So, I’m here to give you a little insight into my process.
First, I must say I’m always amazed at the writer who can sit down and just write, letting the characters or the story blaze the trail. The few times I’ve tried that method my brain refused to cooperate. It’s such an anal grey mass, it shuts down if it doesn’t have a plan. I sit in front of my ’puter, my fingers at the ready, and my brain is just there, not a thought anywhere in sight.
So, to get anything done, I’ve had to adjust to my brain’s whims and give it what it wants. Its first demands are always a theme and a major conflict. Once I come up with those, the brain is adamant I give it a beginning and an end. You’d think it would be concerned about the middle, too, but it’s not. I can create the characters, instead, if I want. Usually though, I’ll go ahead and give some thought to the middle and what’s going to happen there, because I want to create characters that will work with the action.
It is mandatory for me—my brain doesn’t seem to care, which I find odd since it’s such a stickler for other things—that the characters be fully drawn and that their actions make sense.
Before the brain will participate in any writing at all, I have to do an outline. It might let me write a few lines if I think I have the perfect opening sentences, but that’s it. The outline can become rather detailed, because sometimes, I’ll think of the perfect line for a character, but since I’m not allowed to write any story at this stage, it becomes a part of the outline.
Once I’ve finished the outline, the brain is happy to settle in and let me write. Oops! I forgot something exceedingly important. Jazz must be playing in the background before any words can find their way onto the screen. And it must be jazz. I tried listening to something else once, and the brain showed its displeasure by making me get up for a singing and dancing session. No writing got done. The dancing was okay, but the singing—so not pretty. I got the point, and now, it’s just jazz.
Though I’ve written the outline, it isn’t cast in stone, and I’m allowed to change it once the story gets under way. But only if the brain agrees the change is better.
One last thing…the brain is adamant I act out some of the pivotal scenes. And I can see its point. The acting does make for better descriptions, especially, of facial expressions and body movements. Accuracy benefits from the acting, too, though I’m not convinced the brain is all that concerned about it, so it’s a good thing I am.
Finally, at this point, the grey matter and I come together, make peace and enjoy getting the story written.
Check out the new book video for The Aura of Love at http://youtube.com/watch?v=uym0fJ6dD7c
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