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| This is right outside my apartment. |
It doesn't matter how old you are. The words "snow day" can still bring joy and glee to your heart. Today I have a snow day. It's snowed a whole three inches and as a result, I don't have to go to work. The towns in the area are pretty much shut down.
I know those of you in the colder regions are laughing. When we lived in New York, if the snow fall was less than several feet nothing closed. They got the snow plows out and life carried on.
Here in Georgia, it's another story. We don't get snow very often, so they don't have snow plows and salt. So when the snow falls, or the roads ice, it just stays there until it melts.
Last night my manager called me and said we were closed in the morning. It was already sleeting/snowing outside. I did a happy dance, and resumed working on my book.
Which is going well. I decided that constantly stopping to brainstorm for what's going to happen next is putting a cramp my creativity though, and there are some events that I actually need to plan out in order to be able to write the book, so I stopped writing for a few days to plan out said events. I find that as the book progresses I am planning more and more out.
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| Cold white stuff on the ground! What is this? |
I guess I am really not a pantser after all. I tried, but as time goes on, I am planning more and more out. I do think it was a success to cut back on the planning, since now I am only planning what I have to know. I think as writers it's good to test your process. Figure out what still working for you and what isn't.
Also, in case you didn't know, the wonderful Sara Megibow is hosting a webinar! She is an agent at the Nelson Literary Agency. Seriously, this agency is on my dream agent list. Agents Kristin and Sara are so sweet, and smart, and really seem to know the industry. I am very excited about Sara's first three pages seminar. It seems like a great way to get feedback on your book.
Speaking of pages, it's back to the work in progress!
How do you figure out parts of your writing process? Trial and error? Habit?
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| Snow day! |
AH HA HA HA HA!!!! We had 12 inches where I lived (16 in Boston) and my office didn't close. *points and laughs at Georgia*
ReplyDeleteI think as writers it's good to test your process.
This is the fundamental truth of it all. I figured out my process after many failed attempts. I basically kept trying until something worked. Then I tried it again and it worked. Again. And again, and so on.
Laughing, but only slightly. I've lived in NY, VA, FL and ID - and only in NY did we think snow was nothing. Or rather, the people around us. In VA, they acted like they never get snow, then acted shocked when they got 6" or more - which seems to happen yearly. In FL, we didn't get snow. Big surprise, huh? In Idaho - well, Boise, anyway, we don't get much snow - but we usually get one or two snows that muck things up, since they rarely plow, and never the side neighborhoods like where I live. So when we had 7", we couldn't get out.
ReplyDeleteFor writing, I like to plan, but sometimes I have to stop, research, think about things, whatever. I meander.
I think I'm still learning what might work best for me. But that's on hold for now. Tomorrow is surgery day. And that has been taking over my thoughts.
BTW, I can't work on multiple projects well, I find. I like to immerse myself in the world of whatever story, which makes it too cumbersome to jump from one project to another. (Not counting doinky spelling and grammatical changes, that is. Those I could work on, regardless.)
@Joe: *points and laughs at Joe* Yeah, so it would take a real storm to close your work. Here all I need is a few inches and I am golden. HA! SNOW DAY FOR MEEEE!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI have found things that work, but maybe I just like to test things out. I am still experimenting, even though I have successfully written three books.
@Linda: Oooooo, good luck with your surgery! I noticed I can't juggle two projects either. I always tell myself I can, but I always wind up working on one more.
I'm not laughing, I get it :P I mean, yeah, I live in Scotland and it takes a lot to stop anything up here. Like, a lot. But I guess I understand all you people with your excitement about snow. Hehe.
ReplyDeleteUmmm. I think I have somewhat of a reputation for pantsing by now. Um. Heheh. Yea. Trial and error I think is what works for me. I quickly figured out what was stopping me progressing and then I stopped doing it (planning).
Hope you enjoy your day!
:D
@Mia: the fun thing is I have been there in both situations. I remember going to school in New York, and there being several feet of snow on the ground, and we still have school. We didn't even get a lousy delay.
ReplyDeleteThen we moved down here, and gleefully found out that all we needed for a snow day was a few inches or some ice.
You must have lots of revisions!