Can you hear me? Can you hear me now?
Aug. 31st, 2007 08:44 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pbrayThree weeks ago I turned in the manuscript for THE FINAL SACRIFICE, and since then I've been contemplating my next project. I haven't written a word in this time, but I've made notes, read research books, and picked the brains of knowledgeable folks. Gradually the project has taken shape in my mind, and earlier this week I felt I knew the characters well enough that I could begin to name them, a major milestone in my creative process.
Last night I shared this news with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
jennifer_dunne and informed her that I could almost hear the central character. His voice is coming into focus, and within the next few days I expect to start writing.
She stared at me, then repeated "You hear them?"
Yes, I told her. I have to be able to hear the characters in my head. Right now, whenever my mind is idle, it's turning over dozens of different possibilities for the opening paragraphs. All of this takes place in my head, and it's only when I can hear those opening lines clearly that I'll sit down at the computer.
She continued to stare at me, then shrugged her shoulders. "Huh. I never know what I'm going to write until I write it."
Which just goes to show that there's more than one way to be a writer.jennifer_dunne's process can be referred to either as organic, or as a fuzzy-headed, undisciplined mess, depending on my mood :-)
My process is different. I need to know my characters inside and out. If I can't figure out what the hero would have majored in in college, or whether or not he likes Starbucks coffee, then I'm not ready. Once the characters are in focus, the words will come.
Oddly enough when I hear the words, the voice I hear in my head is my own. It's a bit as if I'm reading aloud from a story I've already written--except, of course, that in my head there are no Errs, Umms, or mispronunciations.
I paused for a moment just now, and I can *almost* hear him--he's just around the corner, and if I wait a bit longer, he'll be here.
And then I'll begin to write.
Last night I shared this news with
jennifer_dunne and informed her that I could almost hear the central character. His voice is coming into focus, and within the next few days I expect to start writing.She stared at me, then repeated "You hear them?"
Yes, I told her. I have to be able to hear the characters in my head. Right now, whenever my mind is idle, it's turning over dozens of different possibilities for the opening paragraphs. All of this takes place in my head, and it's only when I can hear those opening lines clearly that I'll sit down at the computer.
She continued to stare at me, then shrugged her shoulders. "Huh. I never know what I'm going to write until I write it."
Which just goes to show that there's more than one way to be a writer.
jennifer_dunne's process can be referred to either as organic, or as a fuzzy-headed, undisciplined mess, depending on my mood :-)My process is different. I need to know my characters inside and out. If I can't figure out what the hero would have majored in in college, or whether or not he likes Starbucks coffee, then I'm not ready. Once the characters are in focus, the words will come.
Oddly enough when I hear the words, the voice I hear in my head is my own. It's a bit as if I'm reading aloud from a story I've already written--except, of course, that in my head there are no Errs, Umms, or mispronunciations.
I paused for a moment just now, and I can *almost* hear him--he's just around the corner, and if I wait a bit longer, he'll be here.
And then I'll begin to write.