Josephine wrote:
First off, let me just say that Elsewhere is one of my favorite books. I teach children's and young adult literature and I have used this book in my class many times. Students (who will soon be teachers) are always intrigued with it.
But that's not what this conversation is about.
I wanted to tell you I cried during Amnesiac because of Naomi's desire to NOT admit her love for someone else. I can understand that, but you can't always help it. I thought the way you captured her frustration with that was very real.
But I'm more interested in your writing process. Every author I have talked with has a different process, so what's yours? I attended a dinner with Sarah Dessen a few years ago, and she told our table that she knew everything pretty much she writes. She always know the endings. Some writers don't.
Do you? Do you know where your books are going when you begin?
Also, when do you write? What do you listen to while writing? Just tell me a bit about your process.
Oh, and how long have you been writing for?
Thanks!
Thanks so much for teaching my book! How wonderful!
Re: Process
I don't believe in process. I think one of the worst things that can happen to a writer is to fall too much in love with one way of working. Like, to get obsessed with a dark room OR a specific chair OR always on the same computer. All of this is just superstition and it can really get in the way of the actual writing. I used to say that I needed a computer to write a book, but now I know that isn't true. If it weren't a computer, I'd be writing on a cocktail napkin somewhere. For me, the process of working on each book has been a bit different, and that is a joy. Some books require research; some do not. Some books require extensive revision; some come out in one easy burst. Some take six weeks to produce a good draft; my last book (that I just finished) took about two years in starts and stops and intermediate bursts of all out despair.
I do sometimes (but not always) like to plot out my books on index cards. I do need to convince myself that I know how it's going to end though I don't think any of my books have ended exactly the way I thought when I began them. I tend to write for character (not plot) and if you're being true to characters, they ought to change the story as you go a bit.
I don't listen to music while I write, though sometimes I listen to music right before I write to sort of psych myself up for tackling a certain character or scene. For instance, in MEMOIRS, James was always the Bright Eyes' song, FIRST DAY OF MY LIFE. I also listen to music throughout the day for sort of the same purpose.
My joke about process is that the only thing I know for certain when I begin any book is that, at some point, I will want to quit.
