Which means right now, much of my writing is pen on paper. Over the course of writing a novel, I fill up about half a composition book on notes, ideas, branching decision trees, outlines, etc. etc. I draw little arrows between characters to see who links with whom. I make lists of what each character wants, fears, is willing to do. It's very messy and very necessary to my process. This is a page from the early part of planning HID FROM OUR EYES:
Over the years, I've tried doing this work on sheets of large paper, on index cards and on fancy plotting software programs. (Not judging - I was finally forced to upgrade from Word 97, so just about any program from the 21st century is fancy to me.) I've enjoyed bits and pieces of brainstorming on these different platforms, but I always come back to the old composition book.
I'm also doing some old fashioned pen-and-paper work for book store owners. My publisher is sending out ARCs to certain booksellers, in the hopes of getting quotes for their sales catalog.* Up until a few years ago, Minotaur still had physical catalogs; now it's all moved onto a combined sales presentation and ordering site, enabling them to link to cool things authors are doing or to insert rave reviews from other booksellers. I'm writing personal notes for each of the ARCs to be sent out. The beautiful cards are from my friend, Maine artist Shari Goddard Shambaugh.
If you're a reader, you're used to the idea that authors and publishers are trying to market to you, but publishers spend as much time flogging books to the book shops and libraries you'll be getting them from. (Please consider pre-ordering from your local independent book store!)
This What We're Writing Week has been one of the most interesting ever, because you can see so many different types of writing that makes up a career, and so many stages of the process - Hallie is freelancing and Hank is writing reviews. Rhys is finishing a first draft and Lucy is revising one. I'm sending mail off to book stores and Debs is getting ready to visit them. And, I'm assuming, Jenn is doing ALL of the above! Writing a book is one (great!) thing, but making a living as a professional writer is another.
So my question, dear readers, is what part of the writing life surprises you? And what sorts of things are you writing this week?
*If you're a bookseller reading this, don't worry - there will be LOTS of ARCs going out. The first batch is just for quotes.
