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02/24/2005: "Method Behind the Madness"

I was talking to a normal friend (translate: not a writer) last night, and she asked how the book was coming--obviously I have yet to train friends and family NOT to ask that question. Anyway, I told her I was at the fun part where I just wrote the dialogue. Her comment: That's such a fascinating process that you go through and then come out with a book.

To me, the fascination lies in that each writer I know has her/his own unique process. You can borrow and beg, but never replicate, because the key is finding what works for YOU as a writer. Once I'm past the first couple of chapters my process is a bit like writing a screen play. Page after page after page of dialogue. Only the occasional tag. No beats. No sensory experiences. No introspection. No scene. No setting. I often write an entire chapter this way. The closer I am to the end of the book, the further I can glide along this way (sometimes two or even three chapters). Maybe it's because I like to talk that the dialogue flows easiest for me--I don't really know. I only know when I trying weaving it all together simultaneously that it seroiusly distracts me and impedes the flow.

Once the dialogue's in place, I go back and start to layer in the parts that give the book texture and form. The analogy I carry in my head is that of a painter. She/he readies the canvas and then it becomes a process of brushstrokes, often layering one atop another, to create a story or simply evoke a mood. Within each scene, there are a number of *stills* or *frames* in my head that I'm translating to paper.

I know several writers who work best this way. Half the battle is finding the process that works for you. That said, the process often shifts from book to book. Neurotically, I used to need absolute silence to write. Now, I work best with music--and it's pretty loud. It helps me focus--drowns out the other *noise* in my head, a bit like running with my MP3. I know writers who keep the television on for background noise or listen to the radio. No can do here. I find the chatter and dialogue distracting. Writing is often like stepping into quicksand--you think you're cruising along on terra firma and all of a sudden you're sinking. And sometimes when the process you know, isn't working for you, mix it up. Try something different. And perhpas the bottom line is the method is really just a chimera.

Jen

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