How’s the Writing Going?

I have a love/hate relationship with that question, and I think many writers would agree with that sentiment.

At the beginning of a new book project, it takes a while for my writing to begin. I plan. I research. I play— a lot. Some days I’ll only write a couple of hundred words instead of my usual 1,000-1,500.

You see, it takes me time to get into the world. It takes me time to hear the voices of my characters. Sometimes I’ll journal in their voices just to make sure the idea and the essence of the character are one in the same. If they aren’t, I keep tweaking.

Because of the creative energy I’m pouring into this fictional world and its characters, I make sure to get plenty of creative rest. That means I carve a ton of extra time out to do creative things that aren’t writing. I color. I paint (poorly and love it). I craft. I listen to anything from movie scores to wild dance music. I play my djembe (again, poorly) or my tongue drum. I pull out board games. I ask my daughters to give me random sentences so I can free-write something wildly silly.

Then, the world clicks together. The characters align. I can hear them. Then the real writing begins. I tweak whatever I’ve written so far to pull it into alignment, and I pour forth over the remainder of the chapters.

When people ask, “How’s the writing going?” They rarely want the real answer. They don’t understand creative rest, or play time, which is needed to help me create. They don’t understand why I walk the same street over and over again with a notebook in hand, capturing the sounds, smells, and ambient noises. They don’t really find it fascinating, at least as much as they’ve shared with me.

But it’s all necessary to create the kind of book that has a setting and characters that a reader never wants to leave.

“How’s the writing going?” depends on the stage I’m in. Some days, it’s a very slow climb up a steep incline. Other days, it’s the out-of-control bicycle that your friends dared you to ride on down that same steep hill without touching the pedals or brakes.

I enjoy every bit of it because once the world is alive, it doesn’t quiet down until “The End.”

At the moment… I’m smelling the street and listening to sounds because Hannah is about to arrive…

Stay tuned for more on Hannah and where exactly she is arriving.