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Time to Get to Work
Oct. 26th, 2010 10:17 amI'm not really sure what's been up with me lately, but I haven't been writing much. I finished a re-draft of a synopsis for the third Ana book, but I need to have Shawn look over it before I send it in to my editor. I hope to do that this week. If for no other reason than that that book is due at the publisher in April.
Once, many (and I mean MANY) years ago, I was at a Minicon where Alan Steele was on a panel about "Books as Bricks." The general theme was supposed to be: why are books getting bigger and bigger and is that a good thing or not? People talked about the price of books and how consumers want more bang for their buck, and I think Alan talked about how he was working on trying to work against the trend by writing as tightly as he could. At some point in the panel the conversation wandered (what? On an SF/F convention panel? Never!) into process. And I was struck by something he said about how he has two modes: input and output. And, how, for him both were equally important. If you don't put some words in, in his opinion, you can't expect to keep getting words out reliably.
Or he never said anything like this.
However, I remember someone whose writing I respect once, maybe, saying something like this and it's always stuck with me because I used to fight these "fallow" writing periods, because I mistook them for just that. Now I trust that I'm doing some kind of input or percolating or some other much more nebulous, zen part of the writing process.
I know one thing for sure. I've been reading like a fiend, and not just fiction -- everything. I'm clearly in some kind of absorbing mode. But I may have to artificially end this input time because on last count April is only six months away, or five depending on how many days into April the book is actually due (I think 15. I'll have to consult my master schedule.)
But, just to distract me from achieving my get-back-to-work mode, my editor over at ODDyssey sent along two graphic novels: THE MARTIAN CONFEDERACY (Volume 1) McNamara/Braddock and ASTRONAUTS IN TROUBLE: LIVE FROM THE MOON Young/Smith. I finished the first and am halfway through the second. I think that one of my favorite things about graphic novels is that I can often read them in one sitting. For someone who is mildly dyslexic like me, this is hugely satisfying. I know there are people out there who can read an average sized novel in one day, but I couldn't do that if my life depended on it. I just can't absorb/sort words that quickly.
Mason says he averages 100 pages a day. At school. Which must mean he reads at a phenomenal rate. He comprehends it too. He just passed an AR (advanced reading) test for TREASURE ISLAND a book, frankly, I find confusing at times (he and mama are re-reading it out loud at night and I've been listening in.)
I've been trying to get Mason interested in reviewing books on the blog I set up for him, but he resists pretty much everything that interferes with his reading. I'd love him to find a community out there of other readers, because, for me, talking about books is at least as fun as reading them. (Well, for me, it's more fun, but that's only because of the dyslexia.)
Ah well.
Okay, back to work.
Once, many (and I mean MANY) years ago, I was at a Minicon where Alan Steele was on a panel about "Books as Bricks." The general theme was supposed to be: why are books getting bigger and bigger and is that a good thing or not? People talked about the price of books and how consumers want more bang for their buck, and I think Alan talked about how he was working on trying to work against the trend by writing as tightly as he could. At some point in the panel the conversation wandered (what? On an SF/F convention panel? Never!) into process. And I was struck by something he said about how he has two modes: input and output. And, how, for him both were equally important. If you don't put some words in, in his opinion, you can't expect to keep getting words out reliably.
Or he never said anything like this.
However, I remember someone whose writing I respect once, maybe, saying something like this and it's always stuck with me because I used to fight these "fallow" writing periods, because I mistook them for just that. Now I trust that I'm doing some kind of input or percolating or some other much more nebulous, zen part of the writing process.
I know one thing for sure. I've been reading like a fiend, and not just fiction -- everything. I'm clearly in some kind of absorbing mode. But I may have to artificially end this input time because on last count April is only six months away, or five depending on how many days into April the book is actually due (I think 15. I'll have to consult my master schedule.)
But, just to distract me from achieving my get-back-to-work mode, my editor over at ODDyssey sent along two graphic novels: THE MARTIAN CONFEDERACY (Volume 1) McNamara/Braddock and ASTRONAUTS IN TROUBLE: LIVE FROM THE MOON Young/Smith. I finished the first and am halfway through the second. I think that one of my favorite things about graphic novels is that I can often read them in one sitting. For someone who is mildly dyslexic like me, this is hugely satisfying. I know there are people out there who can read an average sized novel in one day, but I couldn't do that if my life depended on it. I just can't absorb/sort words that quickly.
Mason says he averages 100 pages a day. At school. Which must mean he reads at a phenomenal rate. He comprehends it too. He just passed an AR (advanced reading) test for TREASURE ISLAND a book, frankly, I find confusing at times (he and mama are re-reading it out loud at night and I've been listening in.)
I've been trying to get Mason interested in reviewing books on the blog I set up for him, but he resists pretty much everything that interferes with his reading. I'd love him to find a community out there of other readers, because, for me, talking about books is at least as fun as reading them. (Well, for me, it's more fun, but that's only because of the dyslexia.)
Ah well.
Okay, back to work.