Working Hard, not Hardly Working

It's hard to make writing look easy. Creating a cast of charactes and spinning a story around them is such a thrill, people on the outside don't realize it's actually work. It feels like work during editing, revisions, under a deadline, but when I am writing for me, it's just plain fun!

On Romance Divas, a writer took a poll to see on average how long it takes to comlpete a novel. Putting aside everyones notion that it is harder to write a single title than category (oh, really? Try it. I've done both and it is harder.) there was a general concensus that it takes nine months to a year. So by that standard I am super-sonic, though I was discounted because of my category romance aspirations. Whatever.

With so many different writing methods it's hard to compare. Sometimes you have time to write, and sometimes life happens. I've drafted 75 K (computer count, 91K page count) in 26 days. But it was sludge. Workable sludge, but barely a rough draft. I wrote my latest, 61K, in 6 weeks, and that counts taking a week off for maddening headaches. The first draft was the final (pretty much, the CP had less to say than ever, which is quite the good sign) because I edited as I went.

But don't let my timelines put notions in your head that I write fast. These stories live in my head until fully formed and ready to be released. Kind of like gestation. I can't sit down and write until I've met my characters (and their families) in my mind, until I've figured out what they want (even if I don't know where they are going).

So, when you see me out walking my dog, pushing my boys on the swing, vacuuming, gardening, folding laundry, making dinner -- I'm following the long held tradition of women everywhere -- MULTITASKING! It may look like I'm, making the bed or washing the car, but really I'm finding the best opening scene, reworking a black moment that came out navy blue, and thinking of which color nail polish my heroine would wear.