Some Inspiration From Meg Cabot
Sadly, I’m unable to embed this, but it’s a great inspirational video blog from author Meg Cabot, about the importance of BICHOK.
Since that’s what I’m doing right now, I thought it was especially fitting.
How do you write? Do you, like Meg, need to know where you are headed? (I do.) Do you write on paper or on plastic? Do you need a long stretch of time or a short one? I find that “how I write” is not so important as that I write. I’ve written on computers, at desks in quiet libraries, in internet cafes filled with gamers and loud techno music, in coffee shops with a notebook and a latte, on the metro on the backs of tiny slips of paper, and on an alphasmart in the outback, sitting in a tent, surrounded on all sides by kangaroos.
Right now, I’m wearing my favorite pajama pants (black flannel, with robots all over them), a t-shirt that was a gift from my friend, Cecil Castellucci (and has an expletive on it), a purple cardigan, and fuzzy socks. I’m sitting at my kitchen table, tapping away at my laptop, Pantalaimon, and sipping a cup of wild berry tea. Doesn’t necessarily sound like I’m readying myself for a bloody, adventure filled chapter of killer unicorns, but in my head, I’m girded for battle.
So, how do you write?
December 3rd, 2007 at 11:03 am
I’m sitting in a recliner, wearing socks with Snoopy on them and drinking coffee with Coffee Mate (mint! Mmm!). The radio is playing holiday tunes and I’m guiding my characters through snowy woods on horseback.
December 3rd, 2007 at 12:31 pm
I go through notebooks like crazy during the “idea” phase. That first flare of creativity is better served for me with a pen in my hand. I shift into more technical mode when the words are on a screen.
I’m a What Not to Wear episode waiting to happen, so I’m always shlumpily dressed for optimum writing comfort!
December 3rd, 2007 at 4:18 pm
Wait a damn minute!
Didn’t one of you freaks tell us to write naked the other day?
*grmbls and fishes for the socks and stuff*
Goddarnit people, make up your mind, the neighbors are talking!
December 3rd, 2007 at 4:21 pm
BTW… what’s BICHOK?
And you don’t want to know what *I* read first.
December 3rd, 2007 at 5:47 pm
I just finished uploading a large graphics file to a printing company in Eugene and am now sitting on the couch with a cup of Blueberry Breeze Green Tea at my side and my laptop perched on my lap. I’m wearing my plaid jammy bottoms topped with an over-sized ski t-shirt and a grey hoodie that I can easily remove the next time I’m assaulted by a hot flash. Damn, those things are lethal! I can totally relate to what a werewolf must go through during the “change.”
I like to have a rough idea where my story is going, but I don’t plot far ahead. I plan two to three chapters at a time, with the ending evolving as I head in that direction. This story has changed tremendously since I wrote the first three chapters, but the primary goal has remained the same.
December 4th, 2007 at 3:42 am
Most of the time I dress like a total bum around the house… baggy old jeans, ratty old tee shirts, cardigans. But I have to be comfortable to write.
I usually have a vague idea of the story, and some rough notes, and I like it best when I’ve prepared what I call my ‘next bit’ sketch. Which is really, really, really rough notes of the next scene or two, so I know what I’m supposed to be doing in the coming writing session. Most of the time I can barely read these scraps, but if I can decipher some of the words, at least I’ve got something to get me going.
December 4th, 2007 at 9:36 am
BTW, Silke, Bichok is “Butt in chair, hands on keyboard.”
December 4th, 2007 at 4:23 pm
Thanks Kerry!
I do BICHOK all the time then…. just not on the right things!