If only it was that easy.
The thing is, though, this isn't really about finding it difficult to start writing a book. I've started writing enough books (and finished sadly not enough, but that's another entry) to know a few things about it. First, once I get a sentence or two rolling, I can keep going, so it's all about figuring out what that opening sentence should say. Second, odds are good I'll rewrite at least the first chapter, so it might not matter much anyway. Third, I'll know by the end of the first page if I've picked the right music for the book.
But like I said, this entry isn't about that. It's about wondering whether or not I should start soon, due to what might or might not happen.
Here's the thing: I'm looking to quit my job here and move to Seattle. I have family and friends there, and it's a beautiful place, especially from thousands of feet up - I was last there in 2009, when one of my best friends from college and I went skydiving to celebrate our 30th birthdays. Finding a new job and moving has been one of my goals for a while now, and while the job hunt has proved fruitless so far, I'm keeping at it, because... Let's just say I'm done here and leave it at that.
And now I'm asking myself this: should I start writing a new book when I might have to move in the middle of it?
I've written books where I had to deal with disruptions in my daily writing before, but I'd like to avoid that if I can. I've moved enough to know it's kind of an arduous process, and I know it'll interrupt everything even after I've arrived. I also know trying to write while I'm on the road will be problematic, because I have a very small backup computer and I don't relish the idea of trying to type a novel on keys the size of chiclets.
Yes, I know writing by hand is an option too. But this is more about when to start. I think things would go better if I waited until I was in a new place (on several levels) before starting, but I have no way to know when that could be. I could hear back from a job I've applied to tomorrow, or it might not be for months. But hey, at least now I get to deal with a different kind of writing uncertainty. Lovely.
Of the two books I'm plotting, one is just about ready to go, the other still needs serious work, so I still have plenty to keep me occupied, not that that's ever an issue. So. This is me asking for advice. When do y'all think would be a better time to start, and why?
Next entry: now that I've talked about starts, I'll discuss endings, and the rare circumstance where I think the writer owes something to the reader.
I'd say that depends fully on your writing style. I need momentum to get me through in one fell swoop. If I put something down it's usually a long, long time until I get back to it. I know others who can write a scene here and chapter there, put it away for months, then come right back to it. Good luck whatever you decide.
ReplyDeleteI definitely need the momentum as well. When I'm working on something, I try not to even take a single day off, even though I know I might need to. That's a big part of why I'm hesitant to start when I might have to move.
DeleteI say start. Considering Murphy's Law, if you don't, you'll be waiting a long time to hear about that job. :)
ReplyDeletePS - My mom is a retired English teacher. She's the reason I'm so grammar-conscious. ;)
Hrm. I don't know. Murphy's Law is worth preparing for, but I don't think I want to write based on that.
DeleteAnd yes, that explains a lot. ^_^
People will disagree with me, but I'm of the opinion that the first draft (the one that is often--but not always--crap) is one of two creatures. It's either a thing of passion, or a wood chopper (see Brandon Sanderson's Novel writing class lectures for an explanation). For a creature of passion you can only put it off for so long. It will demand to be written. If you have to write it, write it. No circumstance is going to make your need to write it go away. If these aren't feelings you have, then you don't need to be mucking about with a first draft while moving. You only play that kind of chicken with the first draft that's rattling up out of the ground through your bones to the keyboard. Those first drafts wouldn't wait on the sky falling, so there's no way to hold them back. If it's a wood chopping first draft, every bit of breeze or beautiful afternoon is going to disrupt the writing of it. For those ones, don't start. You won't finish before the move, and you'll be knee deep in wood chopping while you move. It'll forever be tinged by having moved. Those creatures of passion will make you pack your boxes faster and hurry the hell up while unpacking your computer because you're desperate to get back to work on it.
ReplyDeleteThe manuscripts of passion will take you by the scruff of your neck and keep you from sleeping at night. The wood chopper? eh, put it off. work on something else. Write a novella, play more world of warcraft, study Loki's delivery of badassery. Do whatever fills you as a writer, because moving will drain that too.
In short if you have a choice, put it off. If you don't, well then that's your answer.
(PS, don't forget that Brandon says most readers can't tell the passion from the wood chopping, so there's that)
I think I've read that article - I definitely remember the two types, and about how editing and polishing makes them indistinguishable by the end. ^_^ But thank you for this. The two plots I'm working on aren't passion projects, so far as I can tell, and I'd hate to start either one of them and not want to go back after the move. That would feel like a huge waste.
DeleteI knew if I blogged about this, someone would help me find the answer I needed. Thank you.
Writing is therapeutic for me. I say go for it and write where it fits in the cracks, allowing it to relax you and take you mind off the stress of the move. If I quit writing every time we moved, I wouldn't have finished a darn thing! =)
ReplyDeleteAfter seeing what you said about how often you've moved, I believe you. O_o And I've thought about working on some smaller things, just for the sake of writing - nothing publishable, but just for fun. I might do that.
DeleteIt's hard to predict what's going to happen in the future, so I'd say if you've got an itch to write, then write. And if you end up moving, you may have to put it off for a few days, but you'll have something to get back to after the move. Good luck with everything btw, I hope it all works out for you. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you. ^_^ Like I said above, I might work on some smaller stuff just for fun; it's been a while since I've written anything that wasn't TAW or TAW rewrites. We'll see how it goes.
DeleteWrite wherever your are, whenever you are, whatever you are. Corny? Heck yes. But I'm of the thought-school that we should be scratching out stories whenever ideas strike. We can always clean them up later when things settle down.
ReplyDeleteOh, believe me, I always write down my ideas. I keep a notepad on my desk at work for that; I'm currently on my fifteenth one. ^_^ But I need to not be interrupted to really write well. And I think a major interruption would do bad things to a novel-in-progress.
DeleteI say, write. Write anyway. Now, I say this with the full knowledge that MOVING SUCKS. I really, really hate it, and I am really, really bad at it. No, REALLY bad. Bad like the next time we move, my wife says she's going to send me on vacation for two weeks so she can just take care of it herself, because that's preferable to having my grouchy, irritable butt around to get in her way while pretending to help.
ReplyDeleteSo, know that I don't say 'write anyway' lightly! I just think we always, always have excuses - sometimes good ones - not to write, and if we listened to them, we'd never finish anything. So do it anyway. Prepare to be interrupted. Prepare to take breaks and come back to it. But write anyway :)
I understand and appreciate it, but I've made my decision to wait. ^_^ It's not hard for me to sit down and write; I don't allow myself many excuses. But I know that trying to work on something with the possibility of a major interruption hanging over it would be detrimental to the work.
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