Serial Monogamy, Open Relationships and Speed Dating—a writer’s world.

Carol Tanzman checking in! 

The other day, a writer friend, Jennifer Bosworth, posted on Facebook that she was starting a third Work in Progress  (WIP). I responded by saying that I thought reading three books at once was a lot!

I am a serial monogamist with regards to writing. I can only work one manuscript at a time until a draft is done. I wish I could juggle a couple of them. Conventional writing wisdom, if there is conventional writing wisdom, says that having a couple of projects in the hopper at any one time is good. If you get stuck on one, you can switch to the other.  I imagine it’s like the new TV show Awake.

The main character appears to live in two realities at the same time (which is the dream world, which the real?) and is a cop in both. So he’ll use a clue from one reality to solve the crime in the other. Talk about working all the time! You’d get so much done, so much faster.

Sadly, I can’t do that. My greatest luxury in life is having more than two days at a time to write. It always takes me a couple of hours, after being away for "real life", to get back into the world of a book. I want to be open to my characters so they can whisper their secrets—which for me, means not having other characters vying for my mental attention.

And then, of course, there is the “solving the problem” problem.  Oh, how tempting it is to think that if I worked on something else, the problem in the first project would somehow be solved. I know that happens for other people. Alas, not for me. I need to work it and work it. Try this, try that… come at the problem from a different POV or a different angle. I do have a trick or two (here’s my post on the 20 Stupid Things List that does help) but it all takes time. Time in which my mind has to be focused exclusively on one manuscript.

I don’t listen to music when I write. Unlike my friend Leigh Purtill, I don’t struggle with whether or not to unplug (her post here). I learned early on to shut off the internet and twitter whenever I’m working. The world can wait. My plot cannot!

Perhaps it’s my theatre background. Whenever you go into the rehearsal room, that’s it. Shut the door, rehearse! There’s nothing but the text, actors and sometimes the playwright to interact with. Although not as lonely as sitting at your desk with only your computer for company, the idea is the same: you are in a sacred space, for a limited amount of time, in which your sole job is to create.

What’s your process? Are you a serial monogamist—staying with one project until it’s done? Or do you have an open relationship where you can see others? Perhaps you are a speed dater, trying out different ideas to see which one you really want to spend the next year of your life with.

Let me know. I really am curious as to how others do it…

Guest Post: Unplug Yourself!

Carol Tanzman checking in. Today, I'm excited to introduce you to my awesome friend Leigh Purtill. Leigh is truly multi-talented. Both a YA writer and a ballet teacher/choreographer, she's choreographing the absolutely fun Zombie Ballet. You can see an excerpt in this first, decidedly low-tech book trailer for DANCERGIRL. She was also a dance consultant for the book, making sure that the dance combinations I described were actually danceable! 

Without further ado, meet Leigh!

I’m not addicted.  I can quit anytime I want to.

~Leigh Purtill

A few years ago, when my first two novels, LOVE, MEG and ALL ABOUT VEE were published, bloggers and readers would often ask me the same question: “Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?”

Without fail, I would respond: “Just finish it.” Finish the first draft, don’t worry about how messy it is, and then rewrite.  For years, that was just about the only piece of advice I had to offer anyone.  I can’t tell you what to write about or how to write it, but I can suggest you do that one thing.  Finish the darn thing.  Only then can you go back and start the real work, which is rewriting.

But now, I can offer a second bit of wisdom: “Unplug yourself.” Close your browser, turn off the wireless, and shut out the noise of the ‘Net. Well, finish reading this blog first and then close it all up. Sounds simple enough but it’s hard - harder even than finishing that first draft. But if you don’t, you won’t.  That’s even more simple.

When I first began writing novels, I was working a full-time job (I watched television for a living so it was a cool job but still, full-time is full-time).  I didn’t have a laptop computer so on my lunch hours, I would write in a steno pad that I could carry to a park bench or a bus stop or anywhere I could find an empty seat.  I’d scribble for an hour each day, five days a week, and then on the weekends, I’d sift through my horrible chicken scratch and type it all up.  That worked really well for me for seven years.  Then I left that TV job and began working as a ballet instructor which gave me a far different schedule.

It also gave me the opportunity to write indoors on my laptop.  So very close to my internet. As writers, we do a lot of research so naturally, I would keep the ‘Net open behind my document so I could quickly look things up (what’s the street value of a prescription drug? What’s an overdose look like? And more fun, lighthearted things like that.). But I have a hyperlink habit. I see blue-highlighted hypertext and I can’t help but click on it.  One click leads to another and another and soon, I’m at Huffington Post laughing at cat videos.

I continued to write, of course, and getting my words per day regularly. But I never realized what writing in bits and pieces was doing to my story until I didn’t have internet access.  I was down for over a week, with very limited ability to get to email and Facebook.  This left me with big chunks of time to just write.  I finished my draft in days.  Thousands of words flowed out of me; I never once stopped because I had to look something up.  I just kept on writing. Before the week was up, the draft was done. 

And then I discovered the second best thing about no ‘Net access: the work itself was more cogent.  I felt more in touch with the material and I could see connections between characters and plot points that I hadn’t seen before because I was always writing a few words or a sentence at a time. Because I had been getting my word count each day and was progressing enough to give my writers’ group pages regularly, I believed I was actually writing. When I stopped internetting, though, that’s when it all started to make sense.

Some addiction experts say that when you are serious about quitting something - like smoking or eating a bag of Fritos in the middle of the night - you should tell people.  That’s exactly what I did.  I told my friends how much cutting out the internet helped me finish my draft (and finish this blog post, too) and asked them to remind me if I began complaining that I was behind on my work.  They are free to use profanity if necessary to get me back on track.

HINT: If, like me, you find yourself constantly “needing” to do research, keep a list of what you need by the side of your computer.  Jot down, “Find ‘R’ name for brother character.” And, “Miles from Alaska to Seattle.” Use placeholders for the missing details and then when you’re finished for the day, spend some with Google.  Just keep the flow going.

So my draft is done and it’s about addiction, ironically enough.  It’s got a touch of the supernatural, too, and some ghosts.  I have to rewrite, of course, and when I do, I’ll be unplugged.

Remember: Friends don’t let friends hyperlink.  But before you unplug, check out my website: www.leighpurtill.com.

FAT GIRLS IN LA is the story of Veronica May, a plus-size actress with plus-size talent who moves to Los Angeles to become a star.  But in LA, no one notices Vee's talent, only her size. Can she stay true to herself and navigate Hollywood on her own terms? Or will success and love elude her? (First in a trilogy.) 

After a dozen years in the film and television industry, Leigh Purtill left the business to write and teach ballet in Los Angeles. Her first two YA novels, LOVE, MEG and ALL ABOUT VEE were published by Penguin/Razorbill.  She is independently re-releasing her novels along with a slate of brand new books. When she's not creating, she's bored.