October 9, 2012

Do you keep a journal specifically for each novel you write? I don’t, but I’m glad some writers do.

I’m even more glad that they willingly share their soul-baring angst with us.

Eye Opener

One of my favorite mystery writers is internationally bestselling author, Elizabeth George, writer of the Inspector Lynley books that have been made into Masterpiece Mystery movies. She writes “literary mysteries,” that excellent combination of fast-paced, intricately plotted whodunits and fully realized 3D characters in “you are right there” settings. The fact that they are set in England is the icing on the cake for me.

Lately I’ve been re-reading Elizabeth George’s excellent writing book, Write Away: One Novelist’s Approach to Fiction and the Writing Life. Throughout the book, she shares snippets from her work-in-progress journals.

In Her Own Words

At the time of this book’s writing, she had had thirteen novels published. (She has twenty-one now, if I counted right.) Keep that in mind as you read her journal entries (below) of her feelings about writing and the writing life.

“I’m trying to work for an hour each day. That’s all I can demand of myself…I became so incapacitated by fear that I was having trouble getting out of bed in the morning. I finally resorted to saying, ‘These are only words and I will not let words defeat me’ in order to get up and get to work. Thus I struggled to the end of the novel.”

and

“I have a love-hate relationship with the writing life. I wouldn’t wish to have any other kind of life…and on the other hand, I wish it were easier. And it never is…I would never have believed it would take such effort.”

If award-winning, mega-selling writers feel this way when creating fiction (and how I bless her for her honesty!), then it should come as no surprise if you and I also feel this way. Apparently it is common to those who strive to write fiction with excellence.

One Answer

Successful career authors find ways to work with and work around these fears and insecurities. Let me share Elizabeth George’s words of wisdom. If it resonates with you as it does with me, you’ll want to buy her book.

“Every writer has to develop her own process: what works for her time and time again. Having no process is like having no craft…Having no process puts you at enormous risk because writing becomes a threat instead of a joy, something that you are terrified to begin each day because you are at the mercy of a Muse that you do not understand how to beckon. If I had no process and no craft to fall back on, I would be paralyzed with fear every morning and, frankly, I see no fun in that.”

She outlines her 14-step process in the book. It makes good sense to me, and it’s similar to the steps I often now follow when writing a novel.

We All Do It Differently

Each writer has his/her own way of doing things. What your process is like doesn’t really matter–if it works for you. However, do find out what kind of process produces your best work. How?

That’s one big value of keeping a novel-in-progress journal (notes to yourself about the novel and your feelings and the problems or successes you have with it). You have, when finished, a complete description of your writing process!

Analyze Your Notes

You’ll have concrete information. You’ll know how much planning you did, what order you worked on things, what time of day and what places produced the most writing…your process. You can then repeat what worked for you–and eliminate what didn’t.

You can also later read all those angst-filled passages and realize you survived those writing days just fine. It will help when they roll around again–when you start your next novel!

How about YOU? Do these journal entries ring any bells for you? Is this ever your experience?

10 Comments »

1. 

   I don’t have a specific “work-in-progress” notebook for each piece I write, but I do have a journal. Since writing is such an intrinsic part of my daily life, thoughts, frustrations, and rejoicing over the highs and lows of the writing process invariably appear in my entries. I do like the idea of a journal devoted to that, however. It makes sense.

   Comment by Laura S. — October 9, 2012 @ 6:18 am

2. 

   Laura, I have the same kind of journal you have. I think I am going to try keeping a journal for each book, though, for a while, just to see if I find more things about my writing process that would be helpful. For example, recently I noticed from my journal that on the days I quit work and got offline by 6 p.m., I wrote more the next day (and I lost a couple pounds!) Go figure. But it’s been consistently true.

   Comment by Kristi Holl — October 9, 2012 @ 6:20 am

3. 

   Hi, Kristi — this isn’t particularly related to your post, today, but I wanted to let you know about some cool Writing tips I found this morning: 7 (maybe 8 ) things every Writer needs to know. I particularly liked #5 (don’t expect to write great the first time out). That’s my particular fear… not being a good enough writer. And, so I never start.

   Anyhoo. Enjoy.

   ~MizB

   Comment by MizB — October 9, 2012 @ 6:21 am

4. 

   MizB, thanks for the article link! That old “perfectionism trap” is a big one! Anne Lamott’s BIRD BY BIRD book has such a good chapter on that very thing. It sure is hard to do though–giving yourself permission to write a cruddy first draft.

   Comment by Kristi Holl — October 9, 2012 @ 6:41 am

5. 

   I love this book, and so much resonates, esp. the part about wishing it were easier. I have kept a journal off and on … and threw all those away when we moved, but when I began my third novel, I decided to keep all my notes about it in a separate notebook. It has been so helpful to have all these thoughts in one notebook instead of being scattered through 14, none of which are organized since they are catch all journals.

   I’ve gotten a wee bit smarter and if I find myself writing a new idea, I tear out those pages and transfer them into the computer. But most of the time, my journal entries are not worth anything to anybody but me … and yes, it does chronicle my process of figuring things out. Most of the time, I never go back, except to dig out some info/idea that slipped away.

   Comment by Vijaya — October 9, 2012 @ 8:23 am

6. 

   Vijaya, I think that’s one of the best things about my computer journal–I think it’s called LifeJournal. It’s not online, but it’s password protected, and it has an easy way to mark things that are about work, family, emotions, and any other topic you want to “tag” or “bookmark.” They even have a specific LifeJournal for writers. I think I will start my “book journal” on that one and have it automatically on my computer, yet private.

   Comment by Kristi Holl — October 9, 2012 @ 9:04 am

7. 

   Kristi, I looked at a couple of those online journaling sites, but just have this feeling that nothing is really private (not that I had hideous thoughts, no m’am).

   I guess I still haven’t recovered from my pencil scratchings of “I hate you!” along with ugly drawings being discovered. So, stuff we write online is accessible unless we have a huge magnetic reversal or something and then everything will be wiped out …

   Comment by Vijaya — October 9, 2012 @ 12:21 pm

8. 

   Sorry, Vijaya, I wasn’t clear. My journal is NOT online. I ordered it online. It comes on a CD that you load on your computer. I am not online when I use it. It is just software. I wouldn’t use a journal on the Internet either.

   Comment by Kristi Holl — October 9, 2012 @ 1:23 pm

9. 

   Interesting discussion! For my current WIP, I have a subfile for the novel called “Notes and Ramblings.” Currently, (I’m about halfway through the novel)it’s about 18 pages, single-spaced, small font. It’s a messy, messy collection of entries, some dated, some not, of free-writing about various elements of the novel–thoughts on plot, characters, themes I might be exploring–you name it, I’ve probably got it in there. Even thoughts about a book I read if they relate, somehow to the book I’m writing. Once in a while, a bolded, highlighted “BRILLIANT IDEA” jotted down so I don’t forget it, which naturally, looks far less brilliant when I read it later! Anyway, I never thought about it as a journal, but it’s probably close to being one, and I think I’ll call it just that!

   Comment by Pam Beres — October 9, 2012 @ 9:42 pm

10. 

    Pam, I think that’s exactly the kind of thing this author was talking about. I love the “Notes and Ramblings” title. I may steal that.

    Comment by Kristi Holl — October 10, 2012 @ 10:06 am

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