A Writing Life
A Writing Life
In the last few years, I have become more serious about working on the fiction that lives in my mind. It’s always been there, but I wasn’t ready or disciplined to do it, until now.
As a newspaper journalists, writing was done on the fly. I had a fast and furious daily deadline that I had to meet. I came in at 9 a.m., found my story for the day and off I went, hustling interviews, fact checking, finding art or getting a photo assigned. By 5 p.m. my story was written and turned into my editor. And I was planning my story for the next day.
It was a grind, but I liked the pace. And the deadline forced me to write.
Fiction is a whole other animal.
Deadlines are self-imposed now and there’s no one to hold you accountable except for yourself. And guess what? You will forgive yourself for choosing gelator over sitting at your desk for hours. I do it all the time.
One of the best things that I ever did was to join a writer’s group. After years of thinking about it, I finally signed up, paid and started attending the Los Angeles chapter of the Romance Writers of America. Through the group, I met other writers,joined a group and suddenly had someone to be accountable too, it has been exactly what I need.
But what truly began to resonate is that the only way to write a book is to sit my ass down.
Here are some other little writing gems I’ve discovered since I’ve started working on my novel.
There’s always time to write. Even if it’s 20 minutes while the baby is napping and I’m trying to eat a piece of toast, take a minute and write a paragraph. A 100 words. Or jot some notes down that I can come back too.
The writing process begins in my head. A lot of times, I’m working on a chapter, flushing out character details or getting inspiration while I’m out living life. Washing my hair, pumping gas, changing a diaper, eating an apple. Ideas come from anywhere! I carry a notebook with me and write ideas down. Or I just let it marinate in my mind.
I read Anne Lamont’s book Bird By Bird years ago where she said that every first draft is a “shitty first draft.” That helps to say out loud. The first draft doesn’t have to be great, it just has to get done. This is my mantra when I start getting sidetracked and rewrite a page over and over again. Just get the first draft done.
Let music inspire. I often will find that a certain song will make me think of my book, a character or a mood that I’m trying to get across in a scene. Sometimes playing that song will help me when I’m writing.
Eat lots of chocolate. It inspires me!
What gets you writing? And what are some tips that have helped you?
I’d love to hear!