When I first began writing, I expected the process to be a linear one. I'd get an idea, make some notes, mull them over, write a first draft, do a few edits, and be on my way to fame and fortune. Reality intruded early on in this process and so I'll share the actual journey with you. It's turning out to be much more complex and interesting than I'd thought when I started.
Today's Activities
I returned last night from Seattle and the Pacific Northwest Writers Association Conference - my head full of ideas, possibilities, and potential plots. Today, I'm sitting at the computer, researching and writing on the work in progress (wip), answering mail, and exploring publicity venues for the completed novel, Headwind: The Intrepid Adventures of OSS Agent Katrin Nissen, that's scheduled for release this coming September.
All those neat and tidy ideas have been scrawled on three separate legal pads and the scraps and pieces of my mind have begun to litter my sewing room that doubles as my office when I'm writing. The room is getting messy, and that, I've discovered, is when my ideas take off. I can't write when stuff around me is neat and orderly. A clutterbug by nature, I'm at my best in a landfill.
Going back to work now. More shortly on the Conference and the process of writing.
Karen, somehow I can't see you playing in a landfill. But, if you say so (and you did), o.k.
ReplyDeleteJoyce
Hi Karen, I love finding other writers who work best when surrounded by chaos. I've tried organizing and clearing my desk, but like magic, it goes right back to messy within a week.
ReplyDeletePatricia