Hi All!

Today I’ve chosen to chat about my writer self vs. my personal self. I decided on this topic because, in the process of starting my next book, I realized I go about writing much differently than I go about life. You see, in life, I’m a researcher and a planner. We want to go on vacation, I’m on the computer looking for the ideal destination months in advance. We want a new television, I’m on the computer researching the best brands, and I’m scanning store advertisements for the lowest prices.

I’m also a compulsive list maker. Heck, with a husband, three children, four cars, a house, a job, and a dog, I need to keep organized somehow. And let’s face it, there’s something deeply satisfying about crossing items off a to-do list. I’m actually getting a warm, contented feeling just thinking about it!!!

But when I write, all I start out with is a brief character summary for each of my main characters, ideas for a few random scenes (usually scribbled on scraps of paper – if they’re written down at all), and a short synopsis (that my editor insists I do! (Even though I typically stray from it by chapter 2!))  

That’s it.  I don’t do chapter by chapter outlines or even a  full story outline. I don’t have lists of story ideas or witty sayings I’d like to include. And aside from knowing the book will end in happily ever after, I usually have no idea what the actual ending will be or how I’ll get there until I’m deeply involved in writing the story. Which is why, throughout the murky middle, I can usually be overheard, grumbling some not-so-nice things to myself for not doing more planning ahead of time!

When I first started writing I used to do extensive research before I started a manuscript. Then a friend and mentor, multi-published author Janet Lane Walters shared that she doesn’t do research until she’s written the rough draft. I was flabbergasted! “How is that possible?” I blurted. To which Janet matter-of-factly answered, it made no sense to research something that may not wind up in the book. And she didn’t know exactly what would wind up in her book until she’d written it. Well, that made good sense to me. Then she added how, on occasion, she’d spent so much time exploring little side areas of her research that the story she’d been planning to write ended up not being written. (I’ve lost hours of writing time on research, myself!)

But, on the other hand, my good friend, author Aimee Carson, does hours of research before starting a book. When I questioned this she shared she’s gotten some great ideas for her stories by doing research. Well, that sounded good, too.  

I find somewhere in the middle works best for me. Aside from a bit of preliminary research to assure a topic I’m unfamiliar with will fit into my plot, I research as I go.  

So what about you? Are you a planner? A researcher? A list maker? If you’re a writer, do these traits carry over into your writing?

As an aside, on my to-do list for today is: Update blog. (Ahhhhhh) Apple Core for fresh apples. Post office. Bank. Pay school taxes. Grocery store. Buy food to donate to soccer collection and temple collection. Write 2,000 words.

What’s on yours?