You know, if I were smarter, I’d’ve set up some posts to go up while I was at GenCon*.
I didn’t do anything book related at GenCon except for when a new friend gave me their Insta I immediately friended them from my writer account and we’ll all just have to hope they’re okay with werewolf smut. I don’t do anything from my personal account, anyway, on account of being bad at accounts.
But I promised you something coffee-adjacent, didn’t I?**
When I mention in conversation*** how much I produce in a writing session, the most common response is “Whoa,” and the second most common response is “Damn,” and the third most common response is “How?” And only one of those is a question, so that’s what we’re going to be answering today. And by “we” I mean “me” because you are in the future at present, so we’re all just going to do our best.
The answer is, sadly, a combination of boring things and irreproducible things, and I think it’s important to be upfront about that. I think that, a lot of the time, when someone asks “How do you do X?” the question that they’re actually asking is “How can I do X?” and that’s a very different question that I have no way of answering.
The unhappy truth is that any individual’s process for making art is going to be individual, so you have to find your own combination of inspiration, discipline, and brain hacks. Borrowing mine is more likely to lead you to frustration than fortune. But I will tell you anyway.
First, my known obstacles.
- I’m autistic as heck. Like, super autistic. Autistic as a jigsaw puzzle tournament.
- I have a flirtatious, but noncommittal relationship with “inspiration.”
- I have one gear and it’s “full throttle.”****
- There are no breaks and no brakes.
- I have a high-needs toddler, which puts a bit of a limit on my time, and also means that I can’t really snag bits of time here and there. She is determined, strong, smart, and quiet, so if she doesn’t have my full attention, I will find her on top of the fridge eating bananas.*****
My advantages
- Over twenty years of GMing experience. I think I’ve talked about this before. Let me know if I haven’t, I love talking about myself and I’ll do it again if I need to.
- A wonderfully capable co-parent.
- A supportive early reader who can supplement my dopamine when I reach 30k words and look at it and go “why am I so ass at this?” She will pat me on the head and say “No, no, it’s great, I love it.” and she has an Australian accent, on account of being Australian, so it sounds even more soothing when she says it.
So first, I lean into my advantages. I don’t even think about writing anything substantial unless the gremlin is with my coparent. If I have an idea, I pop it in the Google doc I have pinned to the home screen on my phone.******* I have to get things out of my brain or they will rattle around in there and it gets real loud, so I don’t try to remember a damn thing. Into the doc it goes, and then I ignore it.
I keep my early reader apprised because she’s excited about everything, and that helps so much.
And I lean into my strengths. Outlines don’t help me, so I skip them. I follow things that seem interesting and don’t stress about it. If I write it down and it’s dumb, I move the heck on. No amount of prep will save me from first contact with the players (characters), so I don’t bother, but I do keep detailed notes about the things that I have written so I can reference them later when I need to shake things up.
To address my weaknesses, I have put in place a series of triggers that tell my stupid brain that it’s Writing Time ™. There will be a cup of coffee, no matter what time of day it is, even if I don’t drink it. I will light a candle.******** I will put on headphones, but I don’t play anything in them unless I need to play white noise.
That’s it.
Told you it might not work for you.
But this is how I sit down and write around twelve hundred words an hour.
I might look up a synonym or do a real quick Google so that I can properly name the anatomy of a feather, but that’s all. I don’t pick up my phone unless the name on it is particularly exciting. I don’t scroll Instagram. I just don’t do those things.
Because the candle is lit, so it’s Writing Time ™.
Does editing count as writing? Yes, yes it does, and thank you for asking. I did finish my third round of edits on Depth Rose and now I’m letting it chill until I get either reader feedback, or Faces of the Moon is no longer in agent hands and I can do the BIG EDIT.
Does writing these posts count as writing? Yes, yes it does. The candle is lit, the engagement machine calls for aid. End of story.
Nothing special, just basic brain tricks, and the fact that not planning means never having to figure out how to make the writing follow the plan. I just follow those lil idiots around and write down what they do.
And I hope you like it.
Recent Writing
She tapped the toes of the bronze statue of the turtle and the otter that stood between the doors to the administration building. The metal’s patina was touched away by hundreds of passing hands, until the feet of each animal gleamed, as well as the curve of the otter’s tail where it dipped on the right side of the statue. Charlie preferred the turtle, and always entered on the left.
Next time I’ll talk about how I go about editing.
Do good, friends.
*but I’m not, so I didn’t
**I did, I checked my last post before coming over here to write this one
***which I try not to do because people get weird about it
****Also my favorite energy drink, btw. Original citrus slaps, but the red ones are chef’s freaking kiss.
*****True story. She was eighteen months old. Now she’s three. She has as much chill as I do.******
******Which is none.
*******I would love to be the sort of person who has a day book, but I’m not, and no amount of finding, buying, and/or carrying the perfect little notebook will overcome that.
********Currently it’s Haunted Library by Cascadia Candles. I know you were interested. Tell them I sent you, they don’t know who I am so they will be entirely embaffled.
Then They Kissed 