“Between Books”
Or what I do when I’m "not" writing.
I should probably be taking a break.
If you read my other post you know I have just turned in my 10th (!!!) book. A feat that it hard to wrap my mind around. But now I’m in the no-writing-void.
When people ask me what I’m up to these days I tell them I’m between books. It’s my go-to answer when I’ve just finished a project. For some reason this elicits a quirky look, a chuckle, and an echo. “Between books,” they repeat. They always repeat it, which is funny to me. But not as funny as it is to them, apparently. But that’s how I feel in the time after I’ve submitted a book and before I’ve started a new one. I am not relaxing, I am not taking a break. I am simply between books.
All of that to say, I don’t know how to sit still. I probably should, to avoid burnout and all that, but my mind is forever on the next thing. Days like this, when I’m not sitting at my desk, totally disconnected from my writing routine, I feel so unmoored. Maybe it is a product of the times, or of my age, but when I’m not busy writing I feel like I’m wasting time.
Ironic, because I also know that thinking about writing is just as much a part of the process as the act of drafting is. It can take me just as long to develop an idea (plot, characters, setting, vibe etc.) as it can to hammer out a very bad first draft. Still, it is hard to trick my brain into thinking I’m doing real work when it’s time to sit back and muse.
But if I wanna get another book out, then muse I must. I devote a lot of time to the idea. I also like to pick up a craft book and learn how to write once more. (Funny thing about finishing a book and being faced with the daunting task of starting another—I completely forget how it’s done.)
I like to pick up new craft books between projects, but I always come back to two that are my gold standard.
Chuck and Truby are my trusty guides, and when I read them it feels like they know just how to nudge me toward the blank page, and make it not so blank anymore.
Then, I dive into to the topic of my book.
Some authors might tape inspirational relevant images over their desks. Here’s a look at the space over Grady Hendrix’s desk:
While I don’t do images over my desk, I do dive into the topic I need to research. For me, this is something I’ve come to view as consumption.
Not this kind:
I just mean, I devour all the media that has anything to do at all with my shiny new idea. Not just articles and images and quotes. I read books and watch movies by the authors and auteurs that have done it to great effect already. I try to soak up their genius through osmosis, and then I venture to spit it all out again in my own work.
You might be asking yourself, is this plagiarism? Probably! But we all know that saying. Plagiarism, flattery, etc etc. I’m of the school of thought that nothing is original. We are all just learning from each other, getting inspired by each other’s work, and stumbling into something new by the end of it. That’s the plan, at least.
Kill the Boy Band was inspired by Heathers
The Mary Shelley Club was inspired by Scream
Just Say Yes was inspired by Clueless
Hopefully, I took my favorite parts of those classic movies and made them so unrecognizable in my own work that you’d think it crazy to compare Clueless to Just Say Yes. Honestly, I can’t compare those either. Clueless is incomparable! But ya know what? Clueless itself was inspired by Jane Austen’s Emma. So maybe I’ve got the right idea when it comes to mooching off great artists.
Here are some of the things I consumed while writing Book #10.
Don’t worry, I’m not writing a musical. But I learned so much from these books and movies. Many of them I’d seen/read before, but gained something new when I was consuming them through the lens of my own idea.
And since I’m between books, I’ll also show you what I plan to consume for Book #11.
Talk about disparate works! I keep saying I gotta stick to a lane.
What do you do when you’re between books?