The Process

I was asked to speak to book club this week about Sun City and Crockettville, and my upcoming Stuck in Stowe, which I just finished this month. It was a great discussion. Many in the group were writers as well.  While engaging in the Q&A, one of them asked me to talk about my process for writing. I’ll confess I had no idea what that even was.

They were wondering where I found ideas, how I constructed a story—did I imagine a character and write around them or did I lay out the story idea in total, and follow the map—that sort of thing. It made me realize that like my hero Mel Brooks, I tend to write about a situation, or an idea or social phenomenon, usually something that irritates, outrages, or motivates me. I shared that as I write a good deal of comedy, it must be driven by some element of outrage or anger, ironically enough.

Now, like most people, when really worked up, I can be a bit direct with words. That isn’t something I am interested in doing and frankly it is preachy and too on-the-nose for my taste. In fact, just writing that sentence reminds me of the great song “The Bullfighter” by Luke Bell. If you haven’t listened to it, you should. The lyrics are true poetry.

Anyway, my point is that I write thematically. The best way I know is to wrap my point and theme in genre, which is generally comedy.

After all, as Mel Brooks said, “Comedy is polite hostility.”

That said, when it comes to my process, I felt a little funny about sharing mine. I didn’t want to give the impression that I was suggesting they adopt what I do. In fact, I think what works for a writer in terms of process and motivation and all that, is about as individualized as what promotes bowel regularity. I mean, for some folks it’s 5 gallons of prune juice and a squatty potty. For others, that’s likely a recipe for disaster, or least not being invited back over to watch the big game. Believe me, I’m not taking responsibility for anyone’s issues with that.

So, for the record, when it comes to writing books, I like coffee, some privacy—though, that isn’t always necessary—and a chance to focus. Of course, electricity and shelter are requisites, I mean I do write on a laptop and I’m not bullet or snake proof. Other than that, though, I’m not sure I have a process. I have routine, which I guess is pretty close. So, there you go.

Oh, and as for the other thing, I’d advocate for hydration and exercise. That’s as much as I’m willing to say.