I have a problem lately with my writing. Instead of going down on paper, it’s all going in my head.
I was having lunch with my honey yesterday when we overheard a conversation between two other customers. It was a perfect Valley Girl rendition – so amazing in fact, that I had no idea what she was talking about. Thad said he was pretty sure SHE didn’t know what she was talking about.
So what did I do with that exchange? Stuck it in a book, of course. (That’s where I get most of my material. Anyone who says they have writers block should just go sit at a coffee shop in a college town for fifteen minutes.) The only problem is I didn’t really write it down…I’m just kind of thinking about it.
Arnie has been written almost entirely in my head. I hand wrote a 14-page outline for Arnie three summers ago. I think I might even have transfered it to my Life Journal for Writers. Beyond that, I have dozens of scenes outlined, but all in my head. The scene where the Dr. comes home and argues with his teenage daughter while his son watches, the scene where the Dr. makes THE discovery of the novel, the scene where Arnie overhears conversations at his mother’s funeral…all meaningless until I actually get it down on paper.
I have Chain of Fools mostly written, too, and mostly in my head. The opening scene (which mostly IS written and actually in print), Karl and Gina’s wedding, Gina’s car chase, Karl’s move from Seattle, the prison visit from the greasy lawyer…tons of details between a half dozen characters. What am I doing sitting here? My boyfriend used to work as a financial rep and has access to all sorts of great research I could use, for this book especially. Chop chop, people!
The Legacy of Cademus Brown. Started in January 2006. Total words in print: 17,000. Total words in my head: a million more. I really need to get started.
Like most writers, I think a lot about what I’m going to write. I spend a lot more time thinking than writing, sometimes, and that’s a problem. My goal for this summer is to get more of it down in print. 80,000 on each of my three biggest books by September 1st, 2008. Then I can spend the fall editing them.
Oooh. I gots’ta lotta work to do!
