July 8, 2008
Writing and the Unconscious
Written by Shana in Writers and Writing
I’m doing something different with the new book I’m writing. Usually I’m a nose to the grindstone kind of writer. I start writing and do my 10 pages a day without coming up for air. This time I made a conscious decision to come up for air.
And not just to breathe but also to evaluate.
I don’t really like to think about something when I’m in the middle of it. I just want to get it done. I want to try my idea out and see if it works. I guess this is why I’m a pantser. I don’t think about how this plot element will work or if the conflict is strong enough. I write it it. I’ll make it work when I have something to work with.
That’s my process. I know it’s not the way everyone works. It’s not the way everyone should work.
But I decided to make a change to my process this time around. I’m about 150 pages into my new book, and I decided now was as good a time as any to evaluate where I am. I printed everything out and started reading and revising. The thing I’m finding so helpful in doing this is that by about page 75 or 80, I’ve forgotten a lot of the groundwork I laid in the first 20-30 pages. The plot starts to take over, and the characterization and internal conflict gets put aside.
But as I re-read the first few chapters of the book, I saw that I gave myself a lot to work with character and internal plot-wise. One example is that I have my heroine wearing spectacles. Later in the book she has to take them off to disguise herself. I never came back and made any issue about those spectacles. Can she see without them? Is this a problem for her? What an opportunity for a conflict or a funny scene, and I wasn’t making use of it because I’d forgotten she wore spectacles at the beginning of the book!
I’ve got to pay more attention to those interesting characterization tidbits my unconscious gives me. A good writer works all of that in seamlessly.
So back to the revising—for one more day at least. I can’t let that grindstone get too much rest.
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Emily McKay Says:
Kuddos to you for trying something new! I’ve had a definite rhythm for writing my past four books or so that’s very much like your nose-to-the-grindstone approach. I’d be a little worried about trying something new, I think. So I’m impressed that you’re brave enough.
It’s funny, I don’t think of myself as superstitious, but as I’m writing this, I’m realizing that I am. I’d worry about jinxing myself or something.
Cindy Kirk Says:
Shana,
When I get to the middle of a book, I always try to go back to the beginning and read through (editing as I read). It is amazing to see what I’ve forgotten that I put in there (that I haven’t done anything with) and how sometimes I say the same thing five different ways–enough is enough!
Good for you for trying something different!
Margo Maguire Says:
It’s tough to change up your process, isn’t it? Although I’ve found that sometimes it helps me to re-energize my writing. Good luck with it, Shana!