#methods of writing

Methods & Goals in Writing

I don’t know when I decided I want to be a writer, when I thought somebody might actually care to read what I wrote. Other than teachers and professors who got paid to read the drivel produced by hundreds of teenagers and twentysomethings every semester, of course. Gosh, I could never be a teacher and have the patience to wade through that. Kudos to all who do, I learned a lot from you.

I…

Pup acts up...runs after her. House falls apart.

Sit down to write-pup sneaks out the room with clothes "waiiittt!" runs after her.

Sit down to write, pup sneaks out with a shoe, "how do you even get in my room?!"

Sit down to write, pup cries...

Jane Austen wrote at a small walnut table set close to a window for the best light. Pen and ink, of course. Diana Wynne Jones started first draft in ‘the most comfortable chair I can find in the sitting room, in everyone’s way’, and went on to the second draft in her study. Truman Capote supposedly wrote lying down, with a pencil in one hand, and a glass of sherry in the other. Flannery O’Connor…

Butt In Chair . . .

You know what you want to write. You know where the story goes. You’ve got a handle on the dialogue, and the ending is well within grasp. And yet, the thing just doesn’t get written. Why?

Well, if you’re me, it’s because you type a few words, or sentences, or paragraphs (if you’re reallydedicated) and then get distracted. Or reward yourself with some internets, or a bit of tv. Or you have a blog…