I do, however, have ideas all the time. Stories are always floating just under the surface, just waiting to be developed while I drive to and from work, or daydream at lunch. I carry around two black Moleskine notebooks, one for Into the Shadows Trilogy notes and one for notes for other projects.
When I actually sit down to write, look out. Writing for me is a super intense process. Once I dive in, I'm totally stuck there until it's over. It almost becomes an obsession. I can understand why they say writers must suffer from a certain amount of madness because all I want to do is work on what I'm writing. I don't want to work or go out with friends, I just want to write. I get crabby when the phone rings or someone interrupts me because I'm so in the moment, I don't want to get pulled out of it. That's probably why I did okay with NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). It's a rush!
I'm almost done with my latest novel, Darkness Rising. In fact, hopefully by the time you read this post, it will be done. I've been writing like a crazy person over the last week and a half to make a final push to get the book finished. The good thing is that I can write anywhere, provided I have headphones. I need the music to block out all the distractions. My album choices on Spotify for this book have been Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, Mumford and Sons, and Ellie Goulding. Without them, there would be no book!!!
So what kind of writer are you? Do you write every day? Or do you have bursts of writing madness?
Karly Kirkpatrick loves reading and writing YA lit. She lives in the Chicago area with her husband, daughter, and two dogs and teaches high school German and French. She is probably one of the world's biggest Harry Potter fans. Her current books include Into the Shadows (Book 1 of the Into the Shadows Trilogy) , Bloody Little Secrets, The Green, and EIGHT. Coming Summer 2012 - Darkness Rising (Book 2 of the Into the Shadows Trilogy).
I'm a steady writer, reaching the same word count almost every day. Though sure, some days I feel like I could write all day and wish I could!
ReplyDeleteI'm a spotty writer unless I'm under a deadline. But like you, I can write anywhere as long as I have headphones. Music moves my soul. Without it, I'm not sure I'd ever find my elusive muse. :)
ReplyDeleteI try to write every day, but I usually have to fit it in in 10-minute increments which is not the best way to go. I savor Saturday afternoon/evenings - my kids sleep over at my parents house and I get to write like a fiend.
ReplyDeleteI give you a lot of credit. I can't really get in the groove with anything less than a half an hour these days. I feel like I need to have an hour to be productive!
ReplyDeleteI just write my wee blog. Thanks for coming by it!
ReplyDeleteMy pattern of late is to write in bursts...the quality is better, but the volume is MUCH less overall, LOL!
ReplyDeleteI wish I could find the willpower to make writing every day work for me, but instead, I am most definitely the "bursts of madness" kind of writer. :)
ReplyDeleteI write nearly every day when I'm working on a novel. I've found that the more I discipline myself to write, the more it flows. I'm odd, I know. ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks for writing this. Sometimes it seems the message repeated from every sector is "Real writers must write every day. Anything less is failure." I call what I do "Binge Writing" and you have described it perfectly, "...all I want to do is work on what I'm writing. I don't want to work or go out with friends, I just want to write. I get crabby when the phone rings or someone interrupts me..."
ReplyDeleteLike you, I also work full-time and have kids. My only regular writing time is Saturday afternoons. Otherwise, I write when I can't sleep at night or when I wake up really early in the morning. Also like you, I carry around a notebook all the time because I *think* about my writing all the time.
ReplyDeleteI'm totally like you when it comes to getting sucked in by my writing. It's hard for me to transition in and out of that state, so I don't find it easy to write a few words here and there when I get a chance. I need a decent block of time to really get into it. And I don't write every day. I have too much else going on for that. I know some people say it's necessary, but I think so long as you can find your own form of discipline, it doesn't matter when or how you write.
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