Hey, Runners!
So, we’re talking about process, and how a gentle shift in how we think about process can be really helpful.
Today, we’re going to talk about how our processes can sort into two types; fixed and shifting.
A fixed process is about how you function as a writer.
For instance, I like to write in the morning. My best creative hours are between 6 and 10 a.m. and that hasn’t changed much in all the years I’ve been writing.
This is a fixed process for me; getting up early and getting started.
Question: What’s the best story you’ve read in the past year? Note: Reading in this context doesn’t just mean books; videogames, movies, and TV shows as well as any other story form are all valid reading experiences.
A shifting process will work for a while, and then not really work anymore.
For example, when I was writing A Little Night Magic, I was struggling hard. I’m traditionally a write-in-order kind of writer, but I just kept getting stuck. I was on deadline, and desperate to get this in on time, so I started writing the scenes I was most excited about first, and then filled in the in-between stuff later. That completely worked for me with that book, but it has never worked for me on any other book since.
However, if I find myself struggling like that again, I would absolutely revisit that trick. And if it didn’t work, I would go into my bag of frogs, pull out another one, give it a kiss, and see if it turned into a prince.
What is a bag of frogs? We’re gonna talk about that next time.
I've just loved Our Flag Means Death so so much! So much love went into that and radiates from it. I appreciated how it tackled darkness, but always maintained lightness.
I was blown away by Shadow in the Cloud on Netflix most recently. I love a story built on metaphor and woah! It’s a weird and badass and heartbreaking and empowered creature feature.
Dolly Parton and James Patterson’s colab Run Rose Run was a good weekend read. It was filled with Dolly’s voice in all of the good ways, almost like she was reading the pages to me.
I love all of these suggestions. I had no idea about Tik Tok!