Some friends in my grad school program are doing a “My Writing Process” blog tour and it looks like I’m up (check out their links at the end).
1. What am I working on?
My thesis for grad school. It’s a 50,000 word postwar memoir. Also, a few screenplays with friends. Some poetry here and there and, of course, that great American novel.
2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?
I suppose nonfiction tends to differ simply because it’s based on the writer’s pov and experiences. But I do have a quote hanging up on my wall that says: “The role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say.” I think that’s another way how we all differ—or, at least, should. It just depends on our view of the world and what it is we think people are unable to say.
3. Why do I write what I do?
No idea … I don’t tend to lean towards all that “philosophy of writing” stuff so this question is probably the toughest … but I think I just write what I do because I feel like it … maybe it’s inspiration … maybe it’s determination … and then again, maybe it’s Maybelline. But I think for me, it’s as simple as writing what I do just because I feel like it, nothing more, nothing less. A cigar is a cigar, and all that good stuff.
But, again, I suppose, I would harken back to the quote in question 2.
4. How does my writing process work?
Eh. I got a two month baby at home, so my process, to say the least, has changed quite a bit in those two months. But, in general … I don’t write every day, as many writers suggest, and instead I tend to binge write. On days that I work, I’ll come home, play with the baby, kiss the girlfriend, clean up the house, eat, and then go to sleep. On days that I don’t work, I’ll clean the house, play with the girlfriend and baby, and then try to write for the rest of the day. I still manage to write a fair amount every week, just not every day.
So I guess that’s “My Writing Process.” Here’s the promised links of some great writers from my grad school program—who have definitely put things more elegantly than I.
Kyra Renee Clay, Traveling to Me: The Road towards living (a Dream)
