Wow, this is inspiring for me. Thanks for sharing more of your creative process. I’m particularly interested in the ‘dislodging the rhythm from the body to write consistently’. (Forgive the misquoting, that’s how I’m remembering that section). And I want to know more about how you figure out what the story wants to be!
I’m two years into a writing a thing that I’ve never dared label with a ‘what it’s going to be/wants to be’ and I’ve started to recently realize it’s holding me back. I’m listening. I’m generating/drafting. But I’m not deciding /discerning. And I’m struggling to move through the revision into finishing any essays or poems. Everything lays half finished.
I really appreciate your musings on process. It helps me remember it can be other than the way I experience it! Or other than the way I give myself a hard time around the creative process.
I'm so glad it was resonant, Alison. I will say, "dislodging the rhythm from the body" is a phrase I explicitly borrowed from one of Virginia Woolf's letters (have written about that, and her, elsewhere here in the newsletter). So: all hail Woolf!
I am saving my pennies for a third house reading with you, because no-one I've ever met writes the same way you and I do, and I'm starting to think it might not be a bad thing! What if I was actually fine all along?????? It's a wild concept for a Virgo Sun.
A reminder that books take the time they take and nothing is ever wasted is always good to hear. Letting go of the idea that it is a linear process and learning that all we do is part of the things that have helped me keep writing. Thanks, Jeanna! 💖
It's always interesting to me how the stories of quickly-written novels are valorized and acquire a larger-than-life mythos. Especially since most of those are, themselves, not written by first-time/debut novelists! There's something to acquiring the craft of writing over time, too.
Absolutely. I don't believe there are hard and fast rules for any project, but I *do* think that more projects than not require years (and years, and years).
This is so similar to my own process. It's like I have to go through the compost, into the fog, then come out with *something*, then I can start thinking of what it actually is and of deadlines!
Thank you, Jeanna, for this encouraging post. Books are strange creatures and each one is different. The gestation period is a long adventure. Persistence, patience, and trust are central.
Wow, this is inspiring for me. Thanks for sharing more of your creative process. I’m particularly interested in the ‘dislodging the rhythm from the body to write consistently’. (Forgive the misquoting, that’s how I’m remembering that section). And I want to know more about how you figure out what the story wants to be!
I’m two years into a writing a thing that I’ve never dared label with a ‘what it’s going to be/wants to be’ and I’ve started to recently realize it’s holding me back. I’m listening. I’m generating/drafting. But I’m not deciding /discerning. And I’m struggling to move through the revision into finishing any essays or poems. Everything lays half finished.
I really appreciate your musings on process. It helps me remember it can be other than the way I experience it! Or other than the way I give myself a hard time around the creative process.
I'm so glad it was resonant, Alison. I will say, "dislodging the rhythm from the body" is a phrase I explicitly borrowed from one of Virginia Woolf's letters (have written about that, and her, elsewhere here in the newsletter). So: all hail Woolf!
I am saving my pennies for a third house reading with you, because no-one I've ever met writes the same way you and I do, and I'm starting to think it might not be a bad thing! What if I was actually fine all along?????? It's a wild concept for a Virgo Sun.
This means so much to me, honestly. I look forward to seeing you in the client chair!
A reminder that books take the time they take and nothing is ever wasted is always good to hear. Letting go of the idea that it is a linear process and learning that all we do is part of the things that have helped me keep writing. Thanks, Jeanna! 💖
Appreciate you, Lynn!
Inhabiting your story, living with your characters creates the best possible book. None of that "write a book in a week" stuff.
It's always interesting to me how the stories of quickly-written novels are valorized and acquire a larger-than-life mythos. Especially since most of those are, themselves, not written by first-time/debut novelists! There's something to acquiring the craft of writing over time, too.
I don't align with a lot of them because the characters are missing emotion and inner monologue, so I can't relate. AI, anyone?
I love this, thank you for the reminder that the timeline for "writing a book" is not necessarily weeks or months but years.
Absolutely. I don't believe there are hard and fast rules for any project, but I *do* think that more projects than not require years (and years, and years).
This is so similar to my own process. It's like I have to go through the compost, into the fog, then come out with *something*, then I can start thinking of what it actually is and of deadlines!
Thank you, Jeanna, for this encouraging post. Books are strange creatures and each one is different. The gestation period is a long adventure. Persistence, patience, and trust are central.
Always good to hear from you, Nancy. Persistence, patience, and trust — yes!