Writing - a Difficult but Glorious Process

A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people. 

— Thomas Mann

I love this quote. I find it hilarious because of the absolute sheer truth in it. I do think writing is more difficult for writers...because for us, writing isn't just the process of putting words down on paper. Getting the words down is just the tip of the iceberg. But while it may be more difficult for us, I also think it's more rewarding than it is for other people. There really is no feeling in the world like finally finishing a completed, polished manuscript.

I always find it interesting when I discuss writing with non-writers. I remember being surprised at the amount of work it takes to get a complete, polished novel out. And, being someone who has at least dabbled in stories my entire life, and being an English major who has spent the vast majority of my life writing in some form or other, I knew in advance that it would take more work than just sitting down and writing the actual story.

I knew there would be edits and revisions and rewrites. But I still never fathomed just how much work it really was until I wrote my first book.

Non-writers really don't understand. And it's kind of fun to watch their reactions when you explain it :D

Our neighbors came over for dinner last week, as they often do, but this time I had just gotten a brand new corkboard (that I am sooo in love with!) It's big and shiny and BIG :D My last one was small so when I chunked out my scenes I had to use both sides of the board - and it fit neatly underneath my desk. This one fits the entire book on one side and must sit loud and proud on top of the desk (as I have no available wall space in this house to hang it).

So when my neighbors came over, they saw it and asked about it. And I explained how I chunk out my scenes so I can see where I need to change things, add things, delete things, rearrange things, etc. Their eyes grew rounder and more glazed as I spoke (I do tend to get carried away...it IS my favorite topic after all lol)

I've talked with my mom about how I agonize over finding the exact right word, the exact right way to say something, to describe something; the exact right scene to evoke the emotions I want or to get the results in the plot I want. How I go over and over and over everything to make sure every little comma is in exactly the right place at the right time :)

Writing for a writer isn't just sitting down and writing. It's so much more than that. Every word really is a labor of love, agonizing and exhilarating at the same time. There is nothing simple about it.

Have you ever had the "what it really takes" discussion with a non-writer?

How does your writing process work?

Quote of the Day:

It’s like making a movie: All sorts of accidental things will happen after you’ve set up the cameras. So you get lucky. Something will happen at the edge of the set and perhaps you start to go with that; you get some footage of that. You come into it accidentally. You set the story in motion, and as you’re watching this thing begin, all these opportunities will show up. ~Kurt Vonnegut

For my first novel, I wrote in order (with a few exceptions). I started as close to the beginning as I could and worked forward. For my second novel, I just wrote as the scenes took me. I started somewhere in the middle, wrote forward and backward and sideways. If I got stuck, I moved on to another scene. Then I filled in the holes. It worked really well for me.

My mother thought my writing process was both interesting, funny, and totally confusing. I brought her my notebooks on our recent visit so I could show her how the book started out. She was amazed I could write like that. Yet, I know many authors who skip around.

I also know quite a few that outline their books. This isn’t something I’ve ever been able to do. Even when I try, things turn out differently anyways, so there really isn’t a point to it in my mind. For me at least.

However, my new project (brand spanking new, not much more than an idea right now) is one that, due to the nature of it, I will have to outline. And it’s torture for me. I know there will be some additions that won’t be outlined, but for the most part, I simply HAVE to know what will be going in the book. I need to know what each chapter will contain, in detail, or this project is never going to work.

I don’t want to say that this has taken the enjoyment out of it for me, because it hasn’t. This project is sort of a mix between fiction and non-fiction, so the preliminary research and outlining is necessary, interesting, and fun in it’s own way. But it isn’t the type of free “let-the-muse-take-me-where-it-will” kind of writing I usually immerse myself in. Once I start writing, I hope that part will come, but for now, it feels more like work than fun.

While I think this project will suck me in just as much as any other I’ve done, *sigh* I just don’t like the outlining which I actually find sort of funny. In real life, I’m a list type person. I go shopping, I have a list. We go on a trip, I make a list of what we need to do before we go, what needs to be packed, etc. My non-fiction book, I have my Table of Contents in front of me at all times and check off the chapters as they are completed.

But fiction…that is the one area of my life that ISN’T planned out ahead. I have the idea, of course, the basic storyline, characters, plot twists…but I like to fly by the seat of my pants and let things just happen. So it’s weird to try and enforce a structure where there previously hasn’t been one. I’m sort of interested to see how I handle this ;-D

How about everyone else? How do you write? Do you outline? Just let your fingers fly and see what they come up with? If you write different genres, do you handle them differently?