Ed Lynskey's Blog: Cracked Rearview Mirror - Posts Tagged "creative-process"

Every writer has to find their own way in creating their particular product: in my case, novels. The most laborious step in the the process is revising the work-in-progress (WIP), no question.

I've read or heard of those writers who get it right the first time they keystroke in the words. That must count as a huge blessing, and I can only watch in awe of those authors.

But my drummer goes by a different beat. I'm forced to march to it. So, I do extensive rounds of edits. Over and over. Later in the going, I'll print out the WIP. It always looks different on the paper page. Why I don't know. It just does.

Lots of verbiage ends up on the cutting room floor. But then a lot also gets added. I don't use any special technique when revising. No scented candles are lit or soothing jazz plays there in the background.

It's just straight ahead grunt work. Hours and hours of it. The best thing I can take away from doing it at all is a sense of accomplishment. And I do.

For the past week, I've been fitting in a blocks of time to do some spadework for a new book. Never mind the title (superstitious authors never divulge that!). Suffice to say it's a crime fiction novel. My point is I like to have something in the works. Starting from scratch can be as much fun as it is frustrating.

Some types of novels I'll never do or even make a stab at doing. Zombie titles, for instance. Nothing is wrong with them. I've read a few. Just saying it ain't my cuppa. Erotica, ditto. Again, it's fine if it rocks your clock. Or whatever. But I can't envision how I'd build a plot out of bedroom scenes. Hey, different strokes. Or whatever.

I find I'm drawn more to character-driven plots. People interest me more than blowing up stuff or driving up the body count. I'm also trying to "transcend the genre," but that's not easy when I've no inkling what that even means. So, how does one do the spadework for a new book?

For me, it involves a lot of staring out the window at nothing in particular. I list the areas I want to improve in this time out. I list the things (settings, topics, plot twists) I'll avoid using again. I create lists of character names. I list possible occupations. I list settings for scenes.

But in the end, I also reserve my right to scrap everything my spadework has dug up and strike off in an entirely new direction.

Happy reading to you and yours!

By Ed Lynskey
Twitter: @edlynskey
Author of Lake Charles
"A dark and twisted noir tale that starts with a bang and goes in many different ways."
--Blogger/Dallas Morning News

I've previously blogged on my start to a new novel. For me, it's a grind until I find the narrative getting traction. Well, it's Friday, and I've been at it for almost a week. Sad to report, the traction just isn't there. Yet.

There are tons of websites, coaches, help manuals, and I don't know what-all out there. None of it actually does diddly squat for me. Writing is something I do alone, so I have to use whatever I find that works best for me.

I can't even talk about what my work-in-progress is. Call it superstition, but it's bad karma to do so. Batten down the hatches, and ride out Irene if you're in her pathway. If not, then get out and paint the town red! Later.

By Ed Lynskey
Twitter: @edlynskey
Author of Lake Charles
"Nice addition to anyone’s summer beach reading schedule."
Florida Times-Union

Creative thought is performed in the brain's right hemisphere which controls your left-handed processes such as writing. So, the old idea says lefties are prone to do creative stuff moreso than right-handed folks.

I don't know if that theory has been debunked or not, but I remember my elementary teachers trying to "correct" the writing of left-handed students to go right. It was a social stigma. But then ~11% of the world population is left-handed, and August 13th is International Left-Handers' Day.

I was curious to know which well-known authors are/were southpaws. Disclosure: I'm a rightie. My brother and sister are lefties.

#1. Eudora Welty. Great Southern literary author.

#2. Peter Benchley. Wrote Jaws.

#3. Lewis Carroll. Wrote Alice in Wonderland.

#4. Dave Barry. Light-hearted fare.

#5. James Michener. I read several of his door-stop novels.

#6. Mark Twain. No explanation needed.

#7. Mary Roberts Rhinehart. American Agatha Christie.

#8. Franz Kafka. Gregor's creator.

#9. James Baldwin. Go Tell It on the Mountain

#10. H.G. Wells. Science fiction writer.

Happy reading to you and yours!

By Ed Lynskey
Twitter: @edlynskey
Author of Lake Charles
"Definitely recommend you take a fictional journey to Lake Charles."
Elizabeth A. White's Musings of an All Purpose Monkey