Wednesday, June 25, 2014

What I'm doing

Vicki Caine asked me to post my answers to the following questions:

Here's my post:

What am I working on?

I have a deadline of Labor Day to finish Diamonds of August.  This novel began as a class exercise long ago ... too long ago ... and has been written, re-written, thrown out, killed several characters and renamed other.  It is time to be satisfied with what it is and let the world respond.  

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

My story delves, not only into the mid-life crisis of the wife, but also the inner voice of the spouse.  Two good people whose marriage has hit the wall of indifference.  

Why do I write what I do?

Who knows.  I write to challenge myself.  I write to know myself.  I write to escape.  I write to entertain.  I write because I am a story teller.  

How does your writing process work?

It changes over time.  What once worked now is stale so I try new approaches.  Right now the system that works for me is as follows:

Write daily.
Five minutes of silent meditation.
Ten minutes of prompt stimulated writing using a pen.
Five minutes of staring at the blank page.
Setting the timer for forty-five minutes of story writing.  
Set the timer for a fifteen minute break.  In that fifteen minutes I might walk, eat, or do a house hold chore.  During that time I do not check the internet and try not to make phone calls.  
Then I repeat the above for the number of hours I have set aside to write.   It is important for me to have the pre-determined amount of time I will work for the day or I will be distracted by the sun rising, or the tomatoes growing.  I try to write at least three days a week.  I need to change the work try to do.

Thanks Vicki for reminding me of process.