Blogfest 2009

Every book presents its own unique set of challenges.  It’s been my experience (after ten books and counting) that no book has been easier to write than another.  Of course, I tend to jump from genre to genre and never let myself get too comfortable with any particular style.  This forces me to grow as a writer, so some aspects do get a little easier over time.  I like to think I’ve gotten better with pacing, with understanding the dramatic form, with constructing good dialogue.  I’ve also gotten tougher on myself as a writer, not so self-indulgent (I hope).  So the actual writing is easier now; it’s the editing myself that gets harder and harder.

They are all equally challenging – 5% inspiration, 85% perspiration and 10% caffeine.

I’m not sure.  Yes?  My first book – the first book I sold – was actually my second manuscript.  And I’m finding my second (third, technically) harder to write.  The first book took two years, was my grad school thesis, and was a pretty roundabout process.  Write a little here, there, see where it goes, etc.  My second book, Nothing Like You, shot out quite quick – I had direction, intent – I think I wrote the first draft in six weeks or so?  And now this new book, the one I’m writing right now, is entirely different.  This is a story I’ve wanted to explore for a while, and I’ve experimented a bit with approach: how to tell it – voice, perspective, etc.  It’s been a much slower process.  I’ve heard other writers say that the second book is the hardest – that the pressure can be stifling.  I relate.  Others are involved now – editors, agents, readers, etc.  It’s no longer just you and your laptop.  Although – who really knows what makes each book’s process so different.  I’ve heard mothers of multiple children say each of their pregnancies had their own distinct moods.  I’d like to think the same is true of books.  Each project, its own entity w/ its own developmental course…

I actually found writing my first book somewhat easier than many of the ones that followed it – probably because a) I had no idea what I was doing and so b) didn’t do a particularly good job. (For one thing, I didn’t bother including much of anything but dialog, which led to a really short first draft that read like a somewhat confusing screenplay.)

In general, I find that some books just flow, while others are an incredibly painful process slightly less enjoyable than root canals. Hacking Harvard remains the most difficult book I’ve ever written, for reasons I still don’t understand. Every chapter of that book was a battle (some waged over and over again, given how many times the first fifty pages were rewritten). Part of it was that I was reaching outside my comfort zone, adopting a tone I’d never tried before, characters it took me a long time to understand, and a plot I wasn’t quite sure how to handle; I’m sure part of it was also the fact that the book was somewhat autobiographical, and that kept getting in the way. When I finished the book, I wasn’t sure whether it was the best thing I’d ever written or the worst—and while I now think it probably falls somewhere in the middle of those two extremes, in a lot of ways, it’s my favorite. No pain, no gain, right?

Every book is harder than the one before.  You learn a little more about the craft with each book, making you work harder to ensure the next one is better than the last. You are always, always learning and developing your skills.  The day writing is easy is the day I stop doing it.