Comments on: Trudy and the Woman With A Lot On Her Mind

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 23 Dec 2005 15:34:37 +0000

After reading all these post I’m feeling like a nerd for being a linear writer. I start from page one until I type The End. The reason that works for me is because I hate conflict. If I just wrote all the easy parts or the parts I love I would never get a story done at all or better yet forget what I needed to jab in to staunch the hole in my plot or better yet I would just have ten sex scenes and then the wedding.

By: Micki

Micki — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 15:34:17 +0000

Bless you! I really needed to hear this about letting things steep today.

By: Brooke

Brooke — Mon, 12 Dec 2005 15:33:53 +0000

SO basically when you write, you’re mentally collaging, really: gathering bits that the girls in the basement think are vital and collecting them, and then puzzling them together when you hit a certain stasis.

It may not be efficient but it sure pays off. Your books seem organic rather than plotted half to death.

Also I think the price of those Aguilar figurines are about to spike. That one you photo’d is terrific.

By: PG

PG — Mon, 12 Dec 2005 15:33:21 +0000

I haven’t done much creative writing, but my academic writing and columnizing and blogging tend to work best that way: letting things work out in my head and in pieces on paper, and then all coming together. At least with creative writing, there’s no professor or journal editor demanding an outline by X date!

I’ve always thought about it as letting the paper stew — new pieces get added in and eventually there’s something that has the common flavor of all the parts, such that even if you picked out all the chunks of carrots and chicken and such, there’s still what they made together.

By: Nora

Nora — Sun, 11 Dec 2005 15:32:47 +0000

Ok, so I’m REALLY nosey and this is NOT my business, what could a person possibly write that would cause the comment to be “DELETED” !!!???!!!

I’m wondering if maybe it’s Jenny’s tattoo artist describing the what and where of this body art?

Is it someone writing pornographic notes to Bob?

hmmmmm…

By: talpianna

talpianna — Sun, 11 Dec 2005 15:32:21 +0000

Folk art animals? Any moles, perchance?

By: inkgrrl

inkgrrl — Sun, 11 Dec 2005 15:31:46 +0000

You are more than completely efficient, actually. It’s the difference between laying down one measured layer of thin color at a time, stroke by careful stroke unwavering, or letting the colors fall on the canvas where they will, then deciding the proper perspective to decipher the story from. Getting it all on the page how it wants to go is a good thing, IMHO, because you can’t help but be true to the story that way. Too much outlining and the juice leaks out… at least it leaks right out of my brain when I try it.

By: Bob

Bob — Sun, 11 Dec 2005 15:31:20 +0000

Ok, I used the word daft long ago and far away.

By: Bob

Bob — Sun, 11 Dec 2005 15:29:24 +0000

I have never used the word ‘daft’.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 11 Dec 2005 15:28:50 +0000

Re the steeping.

Heh heh heh. Heh heh heh heh heh heh heh.

Sorry, just glad to find out that there are other people (outside of my siblings) who exhibit this process also.

Maybe there is some kind of recognised term to describe this process? Does anyone know? (In order to facilitate the finding of more information on this subject).

I find this way of doing things can produce impressive results, (I’m a scientist, and colleagues say “How on earth did you think of that?”), but also a certain amount of anxiety (it is very difficult to make up in advance the kind of timelines/proposals/plans that are deemed acceptable/necessary by linear thinkers). Well actually, MAKING the plans is easy. But you don’t know what the endpoint is until the steeping/gestation has occurred. So the USEFULNESS of said plan is really very limited, except for workplace rivals who want to beat you over the head because you discovered something interesting and unexpected about genetics/neuroscience/whatever, rather than STICKING to the PLAN that you NEVER WANTED TO WRITE IN THE FIRST PLACE. Sorry, now I’m just venting.

“Give my X amount of time, and I’ll come up with some good stuff for us that is pertinent to Y” is what I would like to say to colleagues/lab heads (only if I never want to work in science again!).

I also find that this applies to my writing (haven’t done much of that lately).

Now I’ve learned to accept that this is a style of thinking that works for me, I’m much happier.

Instead, my lovely and highly intelligent partner (whom I frequently describe as a “linear” thinker) bears the burden of frustration of dealing with my (seemingly incomprehensible) way of solving problems.

For anyone who is interested there is some discussion of this “different way of thinking” at the following link:

http://helendowland.terminus.net.au/getting_ideas_down_on_paper.htm

By: Gennita Low

Gennita Low — Sun, 11 Dec 2005 15:28:22 +0000

Hi Jennifer,
Congrats on getting Trudy done! I so totally get the monster in the mind process and the crunchy and golden feeling afterwards. Although I write linearly, I do it without a plot outline, and my mind monster stew in my brain (hmm…now I know where the gray matter went) in between scenes. My writing buddies call it procrastination. Ha. Now I can tell them it’s work!

I love those Mindful Women figures you collect! Now I’m going to google for them. I’m looking around my house at my STUFF and going, oh yeah, surrrre, all this mess is really a reflection of my glory . I do have a sweet collection of tall “genie” bottles–they look like perfume bottles for giants. Which suits my writing personality to a T, because I’m always making three wishes:
1) Please let my hero be strong and handsome
2) Please let my writing be rich
3) Please give me more time because I can’t make the deadline!

Umm…be careful what you wish for, though. The last time I asked for #3, I had three hurricanes come through my neighborhood in 3 months. I kid you not. I still think about that wish with lots of guilt.

Thank you for sharing your process so I know I’m not the only crazy one!

By: Jean

Jean — Sun, 11 Dec 2005 15:27:34 +0000

Your writing process makes perfect sense to me. Very logical. And Woman With A Lot on Her Mind illustrates it perfectly. Keep up the good work.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 11 Dec 2005 15:27:10 +0000

Well, Zaz got my word down before I got here, but I so. grok. this process. You’ve gone into the, the… process isn’t the right word — whatever wizards or alchemists did to bring the ethers into solids — anyway, you gone into more detail in this blog. That’s how I cook, too. It’s done when it looks and smells like it’s reached it’s doneness and not before or after that. I suppose that is how I do any art project, too.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 11 Dec 2005 15:26:29 +0000

I know exactly what you mean. I write that way, and I learn that way too. I always start out slow and despair, then one day I read a paragraph about conflict in stories and I think “oh! conflict! This story needs conflict!” just like I’d never heard of it before, and everything falls together and lives.

It used to happen all the time that I’d be in class at school, not getting something, and then I’d go to another class and hear something completely unrelated and the stuff that wasn’t making sense suddenly did.

Most people don’t make a strict plan for their lives and stick to it no matter what — they make general plans and bend to circumstances beyond their control and change their minds as they gather opportunities and life experiences. Why not write the same way? It’s more fun in the long run, I think.

By: Christine Keach

Christine Keach — Sun, 11 Dec 2005 15:26:03 +0000

Ditto what Kaitlin said! I tried once to write from page one with my detailed outline. I was bored to death by page thirty. Give me the chaos any day! You are an inspiration!

By: ZaZa

ZaZa — Sun, 11 Dec 2005 15:25:29 +0000

Couple things…

So, I had to go to eBay and look, and this was one of the first I saw:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Josefina-Aguilar-Christmas-Gift-Doll-of-FRIDA-KAHLO_W0QQitemZ7728958529QQcategoryZ13741QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

It’s one of her Frida Kahlo, and, wow! Talk about right on.

Also, you collage. Have you ever thought of doing something like this as you’re prepping for a book, since it seems to resonate so clearly with you? You could use kiddie clay or something else that would air dry and wouldn’t even have to fool with firing it. And think of the fun you’d have painting it.

I’ve never quite grokked the collage thing, but this I think I could get. ;+) I knew I took sculpture for a reason. I’m buying clay! It was thinking about the painting that did it, though, not the modeling.

By: Kaitlin

Kaitlin — Sat, 10 Dec 2005 15:24:46 +0000

You know, I’ve been writing for a LONG time (not published though) and I think you just described my writing process to a “T”. I’m not a linear writer at all and I finally realized just recently that it seems to work best if I just write a bunch of stuff down. It doesn’t go together; it’s just thoughts, dialogue, etc. but it seems to work for me.

I see it works for you too. So, thank you for letting me know I’m not the only nonlinear writer out there. Have a great weekend!