May 6, 2008
The Thing About Cleaning (and writing too)
Written by Shana in Jaunty Post
Ultimate Sportsfan and I had friends coming over for brunch on Sunday, which meant we had to get ready for our guests on Saturday. And of course, that meant cleaning. Lots of cleaning.
I hope I can feel at home confiding to all of you that I don’t clean much. My house isn’t a pigsty or anything. I wipe off the counters, do laundry, run the dishwasher…but the heavy stuff like mopping and dusting and polishing the silver only get done when we have people coming over or I just can’t take it anymore. I’d like to do more cleaning, but the bottom line is that I can either clean or write, and I choose to write.
But Saturday I had no choice but to clean, and I started thinking that, in some ways, cleaning is a lot like writing. See, the thing about cleaning is that the more I clean, the more I see that needs to be cleaned. For example, if I clean the counters and the sink in the kitchen, then the stove looks dirty. Then the refrigerator doesn’t look spiffy. And what about the inside of the refrigerator? And if I’m cleaning in there, I’d better do the inside of the microwave too. And how long has it been since those windows were washed…
I think in the cleaning world this is called the dustball effect.
In the writing world, it’s called overwriting.
Right now I’m on page 354 of a book that really shouldn’t go over 375 pages. I’m generally a pantser, but at the end of a book I try to map everything out clearly to ensure I don’t forget anything and the pacing stays tight.
So after cleaning all day, I sit down to write. I know exactly what scenes I need to write, their purposes, the point of view, everything. And yet, as I write I can’t resist putting little extras in there.
Why not give this character a few lines? Why not throw in another kiss? Why not have the hero talk to his best friend one more time? Pretty soon what should have been 5 pages turns into 12. If I allow myself to do this unchecked, I’ll get 550-page books. I’ve done it in the past. But since I’ve been published and realized that no one is going to buy 550-page books, I’ve tried to save myself the anguish of cutting huge sections and written to publisher guidelines.
And so just like when I’m cleaning, and I think, “Why not pull out all the refrigerator shelves and wash them?”, when I’m writing I have to say, “No, best friend, you can’t have a part in this scene. Or a subplot. Or a love interest.”
Save that for the next book. Or the next Spring cleaning.
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Margo Maguire Says:
Shana - you’ve got such great instincts with your writing, I’m sure you manage to cut just the right things…
Not so sure about your cleaning, though
RobynDeHart Says:
Okay, Shane, I totally get you with the cleaning thing. All of it. Write or clean. Yep at my house too, especially right now while I’m fast approaching my deadline. But your problem with writing, I have the opposite. I tend to write on the shorter side and while doing my rewrites I’m always looking for things to add. Not random, mind you, but still areas where I can add so that I don’t end up with a 250 page book. The health department might condemn my house before I’m done with this one… :shocked:
Helen Says:
Totally with you on the cleaning thing Shana I really don’t like housework but I love reading and once I start a book I don’t like to put it down.
Have Fun
Helen
Rainy Says:
Shana,
I know exactly what you mean about the overcleaning. I tend to be perfunctory (I cannot tell you how much I hate to dust…it just keeps coming back!!) But when I get into really cleaning stuff, it becomes a project that is worthy of FDR.
Maybe that’s why I avoid it so much.
Emily McKay Says:
Oh, I’m so with you on the cleaning. My in-laws are coming next weekend and I’ve been trying to clean. bleck.
and can I just say how unfair it is that cleaning and in-laws come together?