Please give a warm Tracy’s Place welcome to Riptide Publishing author, Cat Grant!
I find it difficult to write during the day, even on weekends. Errands, housework, all this other stuff keeps vying for my attention. I wish I were better at multi-tasking, but my writing brain just won’t focus until I have everything else out of the way.
Most of my books were written between 10 PM and 2 or 3 in the morning. I’ll sit on my couch with my cat curled up next to me and let it rip. It’s so nice and quiet at that time of night – no phones ringing, nothing to distract me from the story at hand.
It sounds funny – even a bit schizo – to admit that my characters talk to me, but they do. In fact, when the story’s flowing, I feel more like a transcriber than an author. I’ve been known to carry on conversations with them too, so it’s no doubt a good thing that I don’t haul my laptop down to Starbucks to write!
Wish I could write faster, but about a thousand words a day – two thousand if I’m really rolling – is about all I can manage. I’m one of those pesky word nerds who’ll sit there staring at the page until I find the precise right way to phrase something. I also tend to edit as I go, which saves time later, but slows down the initial drafting process.
Wish I could outline too, but actually writing down my plot ahead of time sucks all the magic out of it for me. However, that’s not to say I don’t plan out my stories. In fact, I do TONS of brainstorming with a couple of my best writer-buddies before I get started. We work well together, filling in for each other’s weak points. Then, once I’m so excited about the story my fingers are literally tingling, I know it’s time to get to work.
For good or ill, this is my process. It’s done well by me for the past 13 books, so I really can’t complain. 🙂
It's not unusual to read that your characters talk to you. The fact that you sometimes talk back is a bit unusual…although your cat probably thinks you're talking to him!
catherinelee100[at]gmail[dot]com
I think that if you have a process that works for you, then keep going. *cheers* Here's to the next 13.
-Sabrina
sabrinayala at gmail dot com
When you find something that works for you then you stick with it, right? I think 1000 words a day is incredible.
Thanks for being on the blog today, Cat. 🙂
So happy to see you here today! I too find that late night is my best time to get stuff done. Which works perfectly with my insomnia. I look forward to what you'll bring us in 2012.
joderjo402 AT gmail DOT com
I'm always fascinated about the writing process. Thanks, Kari, for sharing with yours! I think if I were an author, the process would be very similar for me. 🙂
japoki at inbox dot lv
I enjoyed the post; it was an interesting read.
Thanks,
Tracey D
booklover0226 at gmail dot com
Thanks for stopping by, everyone! Have a Happy – and SAFE! – New Year!
Best,
Cat Grant
I'm definitely not complaining about your process. =)
Great post! It's always interesting to learn an author's writing process 🙂 Bet things are entertaining in your house when you're conversing with your characters!
smaccall AT comcast.net
Great post Cat! And I so relate to:
I’m one of those pesky word nerds who’ll sit there staring at the page until I find the precise right way to phrase something.
Because I do the same thing in my day job 🙂