Writing Habits

I enjoy visiting other author websites to learn their habits in the craft. Whether or not they write by the seat of their pants (like me) or if they plan everything out, and whether they edit as they go along or just write the story first and then go back and edit (like me). Personally—and I’m not too sure I should share this—I have an alter ego when I’m working on a project. In the zone, my niece calls it. Once I begin a story I’m consumed by it, all day, every day, until it’s told—I get so caught up in it that I sometimes forget to eat or sleep. When I’m ‘in the zone’ I’m in my own little world with the characters and they’re telling me who they are and what their pasts are. They don’t always share with me where they want to go with their story though, but that’s okay, that’s one of the exciting things about being a panster. Imagine riding a roller coaster blindfolded. Your heart feels like it’s going to explode in your chest. Beads of perspiration peppers your forehead. Adrenaline sours through your veins. You don’t know where the next turn is, and you’re terrified it’s going to derail any second. Sound exciting? It is. It’s why I love to write. And why I love writing suspense. Thankfully, my stories seldom derail. I think the reason being is that I often write scenes out of sequence. Often times I’ll have five to ten scenes catalogued before I even begin the first chapter. They come to me by dreams, pop into my head throughout the day—they come at me from all different directions. I know that sounds confusing and unorganized but it’s not really. My characters always tell me when it’s time to add them. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve completed a project and while editing it I find myself surprised by how it all fit together perfectly. There’s even been times when I come to a point in the story and stop and think, ‘did I really write that?’ and feel like I’m a puppet being manipulated by an unseen force. Every writer knows that unseen force. They have many names for it. Stephen King refers to it (him) as the little man in the corner. No matter what you call it it’s a force to be reckoned with. You can ignore it for years (like I did) but sooner or later it gets hold of you and you realize that you’re not complete without it. It’s a part of who you are. That’s why when people ask me why I write I say, ‘Because I have to’. Sure it would be nice to sign a three book deal with Random House or another big NY publisher but that isn’t what drives me from one project to another. It’s that unseen force that lies inside of me. The one that’s telling me right now to shut up and get to work—I better do as it says. Talk to ya later.