27 January 2012: Choose Your (Writing) Weapon

Just like I had a goal to ride a certain amount on the year long journey (60 minutes), I have a goal to write at least 1,000 words everyday.  And, just as with bike riding where the miles may not be the best, the most intense or pleasurable or pure, the idea is to get them done, get the words on paper so that it becomes habit.  I am happy to say that the words have been flowing rather easily and I've easily surpassed the 1,000 word mark since I made it a goal last week sometime.

I have written for many, many years now so I take for granted what goes on behind the scenes, not that it is some secret, glamorous world.  But, when I was massaging Joe the other day and he was asking questions about the writing process, I realized that others might have the same questions.  I hope this year as I write to share some of the thought processes that goes on, much as watching a building being constructed or being on an assembly line as a car is being putting together. The challenge will be, especially with the limited time I foresee I will have to work on the blog, making this an interesting behind-the-scenes glimpse.

One of the first questions is the mode of getting thoughts on to paper, computer (typewriter?) or paper.  The answer is both.

I love putting pen to paper and working what feels like the spur of the moment.  Thoughts come to my head in the car, sitting at the computer, at the kitchen table and I begin to write down some thoughts or scenes and I get lost in the text.  The downside is that I eventually need to transfer it to the computer.  And, then, I also have to decipher my own writing!  The type of notebook is important as well.  I may spend quite some time in the note pad section of a store, picking up various notebooks as I try to come up with one that feels just right.  One can't tell in the picture, but I like the smaller notebook as it's more packable.  Once I begin writing, I like to carry my notebook with me everywhere.   Even if I don't think I may end up writing, I like having it with me as the story is something I feel I'm living and breathing night and day. 

I can get lost in the computer as well when the muses flow.  The computer is better for throwing out ideas and seeing where they will go.  If I'm stuck, I'll have two characters banter around an idea that I'm wrestling with.  And, the computer is great because it tells me as I type the word count, sort of like an odometer for writers.

Well, time to work on dinner.