Today, I’m welcoming Hart Johnson to the blog. Hart is currently working on the third book of her Conspiracy trilogy and blogs at Confessions of a Watery Tart on writing, digressions, and her road to publication.
For those of you who don’t know me, I go by the Watery Tart in several areas of my life, and it’s true that I have trouble behaving myself, so why should my writing plans be any different? A few weeks ago when Elizabeth asked for volunteers to guest blog, though, I thought… well at least my approach is probably different than everyone else’s… and I do a few things right, so I thought I’d throw it out for your perusal.
The Ideas
Ideas are the precious resource of writing, and unlike certain creative types, I can’t force them. I don’t wander through my day noticing interesting things (I’m lucky if I notice my children) and the interesting things I think are more likely to get me arrested than published. I find that the big ideas most often come accidentally. I have to be COMPLETELY relaxed. That is one reason I do most of my writing in the bathtub. The fan drowns out my family and their incessant watching of The Office or Family Guy. The water calms me, a Sudoku puzzle releases my academic brain, and then I write, and often, just that will release some creative juices and something interesting will flow without me even being aware of the process. But the TRULY big ideas usually come in dreams, or in that lazy not quite asleep anymore space of early morning, or EVERY once in a while, in the midst of some silly conversation where the tart in my says, ‘hey, you oughta write a book on that’.
Those ideas get written down and put in a notebook, which occasionally I’ll thumb through, but more often I’ll get the SAME really great idea a SECOND time and think HEY! I already had that idea, but I will build on it a little.
And even more often than THAT, I get a completely unrelated idea. *cough * (this isn’t helpful, is it?), but here is the fun part…
The Power Walk
I try, four days a week, to exercise somewhat strenuously. I walk to and from work daily, but that’s not a ‘sweat-paced’ walk, because I work with people, and they appreciate it if I don’t stink. But four days a week I exercise before my shower, usually with an iPod, but if I don’t take the iPod, when I am walking, brain relaxed but body exerting, there is some sort of magical synapse connection thing that often happens. It will occur to me how to connect two ideas that alone were not quite a starting point, but together, they are a skeleton of a story.
The power walk also works if I run up against a brick wall in my story and I can’t figure out how to get from point A to point B, but that’s writing, not pre-writing, so I’m not going to talk about that!
Stewing
This actually falls in the idea stage, but would have broken my (somewhat) cohesive train of what I do, had I put it in there. In spite of flying by the seat of my pantslessness in most parts of my life, I need my ideas to stew… they need to germinate. Last February I had a dream about sitting in a house typing, and realizing there were kids watching me, and I thought, ‘what an interesting set-up…moving into a house that had kids hiding in the walls or attic for some reason… why would they do that?’ A little more thought brought out parents that were spies who had disappeared and the kids had just hidden, and I tried and tried to force out a few scenes, but it wasn’t happening, so I set it aside and started a different book.
In AUGUST, something I read sparked something else entirely and a power walk connected the two ideas, and I wrote the prequel to the above story in 6 short weeks. It had been in there the whole time, dancing around, promising to be a great story, but until that second idea and the connection, I just couldn’t make it fly.
Maybe someday I’ll get back to that OTHER story I was working on! That seems to be how it has to go for me, though—idea, work on something else while that stews, THEN I can work with the idea I’d been so in love with.
[A note on research because so many do it in prep—for 
me it is a rewrite thing. I find I am overly accommodating if I do it ahead, and just end up with a long mess. Better to get down my story and then tweak with the facts LATER].
That’s my story and I’m sticking with it!
Thanks so much for guest blogging today, Hart! I’m thinking I might try your power walking method for pre-writing…I’ll just have to remember not to mutter to myself as I do it (a frequent plotting activity of mine. :) )
Elizabeth – Thanks for hosting Hart : ).
Hart – I know exactly what you mean about the way ideas come to you. I can’t force mine, either, and I often get my best ideas when I’m not looking for them, so to speak. I find, too, that like you, I get “recharaged” when I’m doing something physical. A real advantage of having dogs, as I do, is that it requires you to walk them regularly. So I try to make the most of that exercise time to clear my mind. Thanks for sharing your ideas; they really sound useufl.
It’s always interesting to see the different styles authors use when writing. Hart, sounds like your style is working great for you. Enjoyed the post.
Nice post, WT. Like recalcitrant children, ideas just can’t be forced. At least now without a lot of yelling and carrying-on.
This is GREAT! I love your writing style in this post–self-deprecating, honest, blunt. And your process is truly unique to you, another great thing to know. I especially love your suggestion about saving research until later. That is something I can really get bogged down in, and maybe your approach is the one for me.
Thanks, Elizabeth, for having such great guest bloggers. It’s nice to be introduced to new writers and blogs.
Have a great weekend, Hart & Elizabeth!
Michele
SouthernCityMysteries
Wow,thanks for this. Love finding wonderful new writers/bloggers. Love the idea of writing in the bathtub.
karen
I’m with you on doing research later on rather than before digging in. I also find that I accommodate (force?) things if I know the research indicates I must do X or must not do Y.
Thanks so much again for guest posting, Hart!
I’m with you on the research–not only does it slow me down, but it also distracts me. I’ll look up one thing on the internet and the next thing I know, I’ve written 6 emails, tweeted 5 tweets, and checked on Facebook!
Elizabeth-thank you so much for having me! You have such nice readers!
Margot, I’m glad to hear I’m not completely insane! At least in this particular domain–your dogs must be better behaved than ours. When I walk Joel I am more often having to tug at him or coax him–no clear head there!
Mason-it does seem to mostly work, but it’s so true everyone is different (and it’s possible I’m more different than most).
Jill-My biggest research problem is I keep thinking ‘oh, yeah, that fits! Oooh, and that too! and adding and adding and adding –I kept adding majors in college too, rather than changing… it’s my FOMS (fear of missing something)
And back to Elizabeth–yes, I SWEAR by the power walk! Those ideas get jostled and I think when two that have never been next to each other before hit, sometimes magic occurs.
How bizarre! I wrote my Friday Challenge and then headed over to catch you at Elizabeth’s – and once again we are somewhat on the same path of thought. My power walk is aimless wandering but to the same affect. So nice to see you in this different spot like meeting one friend at another’s. I walk, I bathe and I sit (meditate) – all cause great ideas to leap about.
I agree with Hart. You can’t force ideas. Many of mine come to me in the shower and dreams also and walks help me bind them together. Perhaps I should walk more often. The problem is, when I decide to walk, my husband wants to join me and I can’t get him to stop talking. How can I listen to the voices in my head when the voices outside my head are overpowering?
ann
Elizabeth and Hart, thank you for this interview! I love the power-walk technique. There’s something about exercise that gets my mental juices flowing too and I always resort to it when I’ve hit a roadblock in my writing.
Haha! Jan, I’m following you. I just sneak ahead when you stop to do that mellow thing you’ve mastered that I can’t seem to do just yet! Not at all surprised we have similar processes.
Alan–when I yell at my ideas they tend to revolt and do something much worse (and there’s an echo when I yell in the bathtub) teehee.
Ann Elle–there are worse things than a husband who wants to go for a walk with you! But yeah… not so good from creative thought… Mine runs a string of neighbor critiques, though he can’t keep up with me, so it’s rare we walk together (he says I run, I say he lollygags)
I find it so funny that there are several people these all work for… and here I was thinking I was a little freaky.
Though I haven’t tried writing in the bathtub – yet -our creative process is similar. I’m quite sure if it wasn’t for the ideas that pop into my head while I’m walking, I’d have nothing to show for my work but unfinished bits and pieces.
Michele, I’m blushing! Thank you! And glad something I say might be helpful!
Karen–the bathtub thing was born out of necessity–it is the only place my family believes that ‘no, I can’t get that for you right now’ teehee–I have a LONG habit of evening baths though, and so pairing them ensured I would write every day.
Jane, only give the bath a shot if you write long-hand–computers HATE to be dropped in the water! But seriously–YES on the walking. What is that, anyway? the moving ideas… good stuff.
She does have a unique approach.
For me (for me!), more ideas come from my research.
Then again, after years of theatre and history classes, it’s ingrained that I must research before writing a paper and research before creating round characters and settings for plays.
:)
Love this article, thanks Elizabeth, and Hart. True we cannot force ideas or they just won’t be worth a darn, and I enjoyed learning your process very much.
Marvin D Wilson
*giggles* There’s one! Is that a euphemism there, Alex? (I’m teasing you!)
Andy-makes total sense to me–you are coming from a creative side and have to infuse the structure. I’m an analyst and have to start with the more creative or I get bogged in the other…
Old Silly- Thank you! I learn a ton from seeing what other writers do, too.
What a great post on Hart’s quirky process of writing. I have some similarities to your process, WT. My ADD sometimes helps, sometimes hinders how I manage my writing. Going for a walk (or more often, a drive) really seems to help my mental connections concerning stories. I love it!
Elizabeth, thanks for hosting Hart! I look forward to reading more of your blog.
B. ADD probably is a lot like my practicing Digression as Religion… teehee–at least it keeps life interesting. I had a time in my life driving was relaxing, too, but Michigan drivers just stress me out… I like an open road with mountains, and michigan has neither. I love the walking though.
Julie- I love seeing that this works for so many!
Hey, go with what works for YOU!
I’m intrigued by the idea of bathtub writing. I read again to make sure I was right and yep, you wrote, “I do most of my writing in the bathtub.”
Now, how does this work? Paper and pencil? Laptop? Recorder? I can see some serious challenges and some not so wanted outcomes. But then, you ARE, the Watery Tart!
Best Wishes, Galen
Imagineering Fiction Blog
L. Diane, thank you! I’d try things that work for other people, but they don’t seem to work!
Galen, I’m not alone! I heard a rumor JD Salinger wrote in the bathtub, so I’m in good company (though I never actually SAW). Heard an interview though, with Waylon Jennings, and he’d written a book in the bathtub. There’re freaks everywhere.
Spiral notebook and medium point pen. (first round of editing happens when I type)
These are great! There must be an exercise/creativity connection–enough people say so–I wish I could amp up my efforts in this direction. I would also add: aimless driving. Especially if the roads aren’t trafficky and the scene a little wild, my mind just wanders along with the road, generating all sorts of things.
I like how you say that you research in the editing stage. That is freeing a huge roadblock for me. I think I need to just write, and get the facts later. Story first, then I’ll know exactly WHAT needs researching.
Hello Hart,
I thoroughly enjoyed reading your post. It’s interesting to read different writers having different approaches to writing. I’m now begining to think that there really is not one set of rules. Just whatever works and feels comfortable.
Thanks for sharing.
Tasha
Jenny-I would agree. It’s funny, because you never hear about the great writers, ‘oh, they power walked their story into shape’ but it just seems too common to not have something legitimate happening.
Mary-there may be some of that for me too–that I can’t stand the idea of doing a ton of research when I only need some portion of it! (probably why I try to fit every piece in)
Tasha-it is freeing, isn’t it–to see that everyone is different. Sort of gives us all permission to find our own way!
I’m sure some of my neighbors probably think I’m a bit crazy! Whenever I get stuck on my stories, I go for a walk too. But I bring a small notebook that will fit in my pocket and I jot notes down as I walk so that I won’t forget anything.
I tend to use the bathtub to get reading done. Sometimes I just get so busy that I don’t take the time to read the books I have checked out from the library, so if it’s due that week and I’ve barely touched it, I try and take at least one bath to get me really hooked in so that when I’m done with the bath I’ll just sit down and read it.