Ask the Author: Joe Baldizzone
Answered Questions (3)
Joe Baldizzone
Inspiration isn’t a problem for me. Time to get it all done is more of a challenge. I found something interesting though about my work habits that I think helps.
I’m a night person and have been all my life. My finest hours are between 11 PM and 3 AM. For writing, however, my best hours are between 7 and 11 AM. I have no truly valid explanation for this and offer it here as I imagine others might experience the same. I think there’s a possibility that my mind is the clearest at that time, and distractions of the day have yet to start getting in the way of my creative process. Whatever the reason, I embrace it. I write much better in the early hours. And then I take a nap.
I’m a night person and have been all my life. My finest hours are between 11 PM and 3 AM. For writing, however, my best hours are between 7 and 11 AM. I have no truly valid explanation for this and offer it here as I imagine others might experience the same. I think there’s a possibility that my mind is the clearest at that time, and distractions of the day have yet to start getting in the way of my creative process. Whatever the reason, I embrace it. I write much better in the early hours. And then I take a nap.
Joe Baldizzone
I trot. I won’t say run because that would be a lie. I won’t even say jog. I move at your average person’s walking pace while making all the gestures of a runner. My wife laughs at me. I trot alone when I'm doing it for inspiration or to unblock myself.
What happens is my blood eventually gets pumping, and my thoughts get flowing. I don’t intentionally try to think about anything. It just starts happening on its own. A new idea comes to me, or a thought regarding something I’m working on, and I let it take on its own life. More often than not creativity and inspiration start flooding in, and within a half an hour my trotting pace starts turning into a run. I can’t wait to get home to start putting all my ideas down before I forget them.
I also do my best to not beat on myself when stuck. I sometimes consider “time put in” to be the goal, not what gets produced. As long as I’m putting the time in, the results will eventually happen. Obstacles that seem like Mount Everest get overcome, as long as I stick with the process, have patience, and keep moving forward.
What happens is my blood eventually gets pumping, and my thoughts get flowing. I don’t intentionally try to think about anything. It just starts happening on its own. A new idea comes to me, or a thought regarding something I’m working on, and I let it take on its own life. More often than not creativity and inspiration start flooding in, and within a half an hour my trotting pace starts turning into a run. I can’t wait to get home to start putting all my ideas down before I forget them.
I also do my best to not beat on myself when stuck. I sometimes consider “time put in” to be the goal, not what gets produced. As long as I’m putting the time in, the results will eventually happen. Obstacles that seem like Mount Everest get overcome, as long as I stick with the process, have patience, and keep moving forward.
Joe Baldizzone
Three things come immediately to mind…
First and most importantly; good enough, isn’t good enough. I see many new writers who’ve either taken a publishing course or learned how to publish on their own, that have the idea stuck in their heads that they just need to, “Get their idea out there!” While there is a kernel of truth to that (most writers I know are perfectionists and would otherwise never get it out there), you need to be certain what you’re writing is as error free as possible, and for lack of a more encompassing word – good. You can’t just write something, think it’s great, get the “go for it” from two friends and publish. You need to run it by several objective readers, find an editor, and make sure you’re putting out the best possible product you’re capable of producing. There will certainly be some mistakes despite your best efforts, but you should never have the attitude of, “It’s good enough.”
Second, which springboards off the first, is that if the editing process didn’t hurt – you need more editing. The first draft of my book felt inspired. It flowed almost effortlessly from my brain, through my fingertips, onto my hard drive. Then I had an objective friend read it and give me feedback. When I didn’t like what she had to say I hired a content editor. When their opinions matched, I suspected they were onto something and I began to listen and take action. That's when the writing stopped being fun. There were mornings I felt it was virtually impossible to move forward. I had to delete sections that I was certain were Muse inspired. I spent many hours working that amounted to not a single word changed in my manuscript. Those hours were necessary, however, to get to the place the next day that I needed to get to.
While I know that every writer’s process is unique, I believe that if the experience wasn’t somewhat (as in, very) painful, your work isn’t the best it could be.
Finally, if your goal is to one day sell books, figure out who you’re writing for. A friend of mine recently said, “I’m writing because I need to. It’s cathartic for me!” That’s great, and I do that kind of writing every day. I call it journal writing. I asked him, “Are you writing a book… Or a journal?”
When I was writing 50 Things To Do Before Seeing a Psychiatrist, I wanted it to be read. I was fortunate in the fact that I knew precisely who I was writing the book for. As a member of several online forums, depressed and anxiety ridden people would occasionally pop up looking for advice. The response from other members was more often than not to immediately seek psychiatric help. My experience taught me that there is much more one can, and in my opinion SHOULD do before that. I’d always respond to such threads in an effort to help. I’d inevitably get into arguments with other members who strongly believe that doctors always know best – and I’d find myself giving lengthy responses to that, ending each by saying, “Dang. This post is turning into a book! So much more I’d like to say.”
I wrote my book for (and to) that depressed, anxiety ridden person on the forum – and I knew before I started what the protests would be, what others might argue, what he/she would actually consider doing, and what they would turn a deaf ear to. I knew exactly who I was writing my book for, and wrote it being conscious every step of the way questioning whether my audience would be interested, entertained, and whether or not what I was writing would be of use. I didn’t write this book for me. I wrote it for the reader.
All I’d add to all this is that one remains open minded and teachable. The above is what’s most important to me today. A year from now I’m certain I’ll have newer, better advice. Probably even a week from now .
First and most importantly; good enough, isn’t good enough. I see many new writers who’ve either taken a publishing course or learned how to publish on their own, that have the idea stuck in their heads that they just need to, “Get their idea out there!” While there is a kernel of truth to that (most writers I know are perfectionists and would otherwise never get it out there), you need to be certain what you’re writing is as error free as possible, and for lack of a more encompassing word – good. You can’t just write something, think it’s great, get the “go for it” from two friends and publish. You need to run it by several objective readers, find an editor, and make sure you’re putting out the best possible product you’re capable of producing. There will certainly be some mistakes despite your best efforts, but you should never have the attitude of, “It’s good enough.”
Second, which springboards off the first, is that if the editing process didn’t hurt – you need more editing. The first draft of my book felt inspired. It flowed almost effortlessly from my brain, through my fingertips, onto my hard drive. Then I had an objective friend read it and give me feedback. When I didn’t like what she had to say I hired a content editor. When their opinions matched, I suspected they were onto something and I began to listen and take action. That's when the writing stopped being fun. There were mornings I felt it was virtually impossible to move forward. I had to delete sections that I was certain were Muse inspired. I spent many hours working that amounted to not a single word changed in my manuscript. Those hours were necessary, however, to get to the place the next day that I needed to get to.
While I know that every writer’s process is unique, I believe that if the experience wasn’t somewhat (as in, very) painful, your work isn’t the best it could be.
Finally, if your goal is to one day sell books, figure out who you’re writing for. A friend of mine recently said, “I’m writing because I need to. It’s cathartic for me!” That’s great, and I do that kind of writing every day. I call it journal writing. I asked him, “Are you writing a book… Or a journal?”
When I was writing 50 Things To Do Before Seeing a Psychiatrist, I wanted it to be read. I was fortunate in the fact that I knew precisely who I was writing the book for. As a member of several online forums, depressed and anxiety ridden people would occasionally pop up looking for advice. The response from other members was more often than not to immediately seek psychiatric help. My experience taught me that there is much more one can, and in my opinion SHOULD do before that. I’d always respond to such threads in an effort to help. I’d inevitably get into arguments with other members who strongly believe that doctors always know best – and I’d find myself giving lengthy responses to that, ending each by saying, “Dang. This post is turning into a book! So much more I’d like to say.”
I wrote my book for (and to) that depressed, anxiety ridden person on the forum – and I knew before I started what the protests would be, what others might argue, what he/she would actually consider doing, and what they would turn a deaf ear to. I knew exactly who I was writing my book for, and wrote it being conscious every step of the way questioning whether my audience would be interested, entertained, and whether or not what I was writing would be of use. I didn’t write this book for me. I wrote it for the reader.
All I’d add to all this is that one remains open minded and teachable. The above is what’s most important to me today. A year from now I’m certain I’ll have newer, better advice. Probably even a week from now .
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