Jessica Ferguson

Author, Writing Coach, Speaker

IWSG Day: Making Time to Write

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Insecure Writers Support Group BadgeToday is IWSG Day. IWSG stand for Insecure Writers Support Group and was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh.  The purpose of IWSG is to share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! You can follow other IWSG members here or on twitter using the hashtag #IWSG. We also have a Facebook page.

Today our question is How do you find the time to write in your busy day?

We all know the answer to that: we just do it, because we all find time to do what we really want to do. Okay, I know you’re all expecting a better answer than that, aren’t you?

Being retired, I guess it’s pretty easy for me to find time to write, so let me tell you about a guy I met a few weeks ago at the Killer Nashville Conference.IMG_8188

Robert Randisi (standing beside KN founder Clay Stafford and dressed in the I’m a Big Deal tee) writes something like 25 books a year. He’s written close to 700 books with 15 pseudonyms. He was born with the ability to write fast and works on two books at a time. Specifically, twenty pages of a western during the morning and 20 pages of a mystery at night. Sounds insane, doesn’t it? I can’t imagine. Well, yes, I can imagine and it sounds mentally painful. Oh, how I wish I could do it!

Randisi says he has a “natural speed” and if he slows down he can’t get anything done. He doesn’t call it a talent. He says he has an ability. He can write 10 pages in one hour.

Quoting from my notes, he says character comes first and he never writes from an outline. Don’t ask him where he gets his ideas:

“If you can’t open your eyes each morning and see an idea, you shouldn’t be writing.”

Randisi believes in writing his stories all the way through. No revision as he writes but overall, very little rewriting. Someone asked what he did if he realized he made a mistake while writing the story—did he go back and change it?

No, he doesn’t. He explained that if he sends his cowboy out of the boarding house without his gun, instead of rewriting the scene, his character says, “Dang, I forgot my gun,” and goes back to get it. It works for him and adds to his word count.

He’s often invited to participate in anthologies. He told us that once he finishes the short story, he’ll write it as a novel. No, he doesn’t change names, plot or anything … he just makes it a bigger story.

Robert Randisi co-founded Mystery Scene Magazine around 1985. (I’ve been a subscriber off and on for years. Check it out.) He also co-founded American Crime Writers League, founded The Private Eye Writers of American and created the Shamus Award which is awarded by the PWA for the best detective fiction genre novels and short stories of the year.

As you’ve figured out by now, Randisi doesn’t waste his time. Most of us do. No, he doesn’t have little feet padding through the house, and yes, he’s been accused of being a hack. From his own lips:

“I view the word hack as a good thing.”

We should take a few pointers from Robert Randisi. Focus. Write. Don’t mess around with editing as we go. By his own admission he’s not a wordsmith—he’s a storyteller. What are you? Ever thought about it?

I can find nothing wrong with the Randisi writing method. I picked up one of his books in his Rat Pack series and it yanked me in and kept me reading. The guy knows what he’s doing.

And he’s a good guy. Granted, he was perplexing at the conference. An enigma. We stared at him as if he might, at any point, laugh and say “Gotcha! No one can write 40 pages a day!” He never did.

He answered our questions over and over again—the same questions put to him in several different ways. We didn’t understand him. We still don’t.

Doesn’t matter though, because while we write and revise and think awhile and run to the kitchen for a snack, blog and tweet and post on Facebook (he does none of those things) he’s pounding the keys. And he doesn’t understand us, either.

When asked how he wants to be remembered, Randisi said: “As someone who told a good story and usually didhonky tonk the right thing for the right reason.”

Wow, Robert Randisi. He really is a big deal. I liked him a lot.

Take a look at his latest book, The Honkey Tonk Big Hoss Boogie.  Set in Nashville, it’s gotta be a good read.

 

 

W is for Working On It

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WAll through this A to Z Challenge, when friends and hubby ask if I have my post finished, I always say … “Working on it…” even if I’m just thinking about it. I’ve noticed I do that a lot… no matter what is being asked.

“When are you going to make the salad?”

     “Working on it,” I say, as I walk past the kitchen and down the hall.

“When are you going to write a note to Aunt Lou?”

“Working on it,” I answer, and pop another bon-bon in my mouth.

“Are you going to iron my white shirt?”

“Working on it,” I say while sitting on the couch.

“Have you written your W post?”

“Working on it,” and accept a new FB friend.

Working on it means nothing to me. Sort of like when you asked your mama if you could go skating next Saturday and she said, “We’ll see.” My kids knew that we’ll see usually meant no.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned during this A to Z Challenge, it’s that waiting to the last minute to write a post can introduce us to bad habits. I think working on it might be one; it’s my procrastination phrase. It’s a way of making myself sound busy—even when I’m not.

My rationalization is that by writing our posts late, we train ourselves to think and create fast. It works. But when it introduces us to bad habits, beware.

What have you learned during this A to Z Challenge? Developed any bad habits?

D is for Driving

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DLast week hubby and I made a quick trip out of town to see family. When I leave home—my messy office, my books piled in every corner, the creative atmosphere (and dust) I breathe on a daily basis—I’m about as far away from writing as I can be—mentally and emotionally. It’s as if I’ve entered another dimension, one that drains me of my life blood. That sounds melodramatic—even to me—but it’s exactly the way I feel.

When we travel, I usually drive. Hubby can read, write, text, sleep … I can’t do any of those things without getting car sick so it makes sense that I drive. I can think.

There’s a specific anthology I want to submit to but the deadline is looming—April 15th and I haven’t had a pinch of an idea. On the way back to Louisiana, it hit me: my characters, the plot, the dialogue and the ending. I used to get all kinds of ideas while driving but never like this—never a complete story. I could see their faces. I could hear their voices. I could smell the flowers—wisteria— growing on their property.

I wrote it over and over in my head for four hours, listening to what the characters had to say. Watching them move. Four hours–that’s how long the trip is. The moment we unloaded and I settled onto my favorite corner of the sofa, I grabbed my laptop and captured the story. I couldn’t afford to lose my momentum. I wrote it in its entirety, then put it out of my mind for several days.

Would I like it when I went back to it? Would it make sense? Are there holes I can’t see? Is it too sparse?

I’ve tweaked, added a few things here and there, but I’m finished. I’ll be emailing it later this week.

I can’t help but marvel at how this story came to me, almost perfectly intact. What made it different from other trips and other stories? I haven’t a clue.

Tell me how you write—where? Do you write your short stories in snatches of time or all at once? Do you think about writing constantly or am I just obsessed? Do you ever put writing out of your mind? Tell me how and when you’re able to do that?

B is for Backlog

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BB is for Backlog because I’m wondering if you have a backlog of stories, poems, and novels that you’ve given up on. Are they hidden in a drawer or file cabinet, unfinished?

I have many. I think of them often and vow I’ll get back to them. Chances are I won’t because I get fresh ideas that I do start and finish.

I have so many rough drafts, it’s almost ridiculous: first drafts, fifth drafts. One manuscript has been taken apart so many times, chunks are missing. The reason these books are still drafts is because I didn’t plan. I plunged head first into NANOWRMO or some other exciting “Write Fast” activity and I neglected to give sufficient thought to my characters, their GMC or my beloved 3-Act structure.

Yes, I know there are successful seat of the pants writers out there. I’m not one of them, unless you count eleven rough drafts a success. I definitely know how to finish a book–it’s the grunt work of a SOTP manuscript that I don’t particularly enjoy–the  rewriting of a book that’s got too many holes.

And that’s where planning comes in. The more you plan, the easier the rewrite.

The late Stephen Cannell planned extensively. He stated that sometimes he wrote 60 page treatments of his novels, then he’d never look at those pages again.  He knew his characters and story so well, he didn’t have to refer to his treatment.

I especially like his outlook on unfinished manuscripts.

Cannell said, “You get nothing from an unfinished project, and you learn nothing.” At some point he made a deal with himself that he would never abandon another project; he’d write to the end. That’s when he started on his road to success.

So what are we going to do about our backlog of poems, stories and novels? Any ideas?

A to Z Challenge Reflections

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As you can see, I took a few days to recuperate from the A to Z Challenge. While participating, I let a lot of things slide. I think I’ve proved to myself that I’m one of those people who have trouble walking and chewing gum at the same time. Maybe not that bad, but I tend to over-focus at times–especially when it comes to A to Z.

I lived and breathed A to Z this year. Probably because I shared so much of myself and my family. I didn’t intend to focus on my quirky memoirs but once I chose that first word–Ancestor–that was it. I was hooked. I began to get bored with my own postings when repetition crept in. If you were bored too, I apologize.

My first post was written the night before posting; the second one was too. After that I wrote each the morning of. I put myself through the proverbial wringer, forcing myself to think and write fast. Why? Because I tend to do the opposite: slow-mo. I take too much time to think and plan.

I’ve always envied newspaper reporters from the old movies. They get a story, rush to the newsroom and crank it out. I loved how they two-finger-typed it then yanked it out of the old fashioned Underwood without even ripping the paper. So… that was in my head. Write the story (the blog post) fast.

The A to Z Challenge is an excellent opportunity to grow our followers, but it’s much more than that. We have an opportunity to learn, and train ourselves in a number of areas: writing fast, research, networking, socializing and making friends, meeting deadlines, self-discovery, self-discipline … and learning from others.

For me, the real challenge is hopping around visiting the blogs of others. I got behind and never fully caught up. My apologies to all my A to Z friends.

I treasure the A to Z Challenge. I’m already looking forward to next year! Much love and laughter forever to Arlee Bird for such a brilliant April party.  

Can you tell me what you learned or discovered about yourself during this 2013 A to Z Challenge? Why did you sign up to participate? Share!