blog « Robin Writes

I have a confession: I have one really, really bad habit. (Okay, I have several, shut up, that’s not the point.) My really, really bad habit is that I like to write straight through the WIP, start to finish.

Oh, I stop to eat, sort of, and to sleep. That’s a necessity. And, well, a few other necessities too! But for the most part, I don’t want to start a project unless I can ALSO finish it.

Let me try to explain. I look at my calendar and my to-do list and realize that there is NO TIME to write a book, not if I’m going to use this method. This is why, boys and girls, I wrote the second and third books in the REDUCED series in a matter of weeks. I knew the beginnings and the ends, and I just had to fill in the middle. Sometimes, yes, the rumor is true, I work backwards. Not for an entire novel, but part of it.

Anyway, this is why REPEAT hasn’t yet been put down on paper—I’m sure it’s in my head, somewhere. And it will claw its way out sooner or later, so be patient.

But even that is not the point of today’s post.

“Experts” will tell you how to schedule your writing time. Ignore them. Better yet, try their suggestions and THEN ignore them. Nothing is 100% for everyone. Some people work best in the morning, early morning even [shudder], and some work best at night. Some writers work all day long, at writing, not a day job.

I can’t write first thing, I’m too busy drinking coffee and doing promo and marketing. And making my daily list. I can’t write at night, because I’m sleepy. Sadly, writing is not my day job—it’s publishing, and I have authors who depend on me.

Not to mention the husband, the kid, the other kids, the daily stuff, the housework, etc., etc. Ugh.

So this is how I write a book:

I get the idea.
I make some notes.
I get all caught up on the regular stuff.
I forget that I made notes, but realize the important stuff is still floating around in my head.
I write the book, ignoring the husband, the kid, the other kids, the daily stuff, the housework.
When I come up for air, I find those notes.
Yep, the important stuff was in my head all along.

Now, I still do the taking-care-of-myself parts, and I still sleep. Sleep is good! But I can literally think and type for hours at a time. Maybe next time I’ll figure out how many hours a book takes . . . or not. Can’t stop for anything, really, it just come out, like word vomit.

And yes, the experts will tell you to just write and do your editing later. Phhhht. I edit as I go. If a sentence isn’t right, it’s fixed. Well, except for the ones I missed! I do, of course, go over it again later, but I don’t wait months. Maybe days. A day? Never really timed it because—it doesn’t matter.

Write how you want, whenever you want. It’s YOUR book.

After our weekend campout, I have decided on a few things:

One, don’t reinvent the wheel. Two, don’t make it harder than it has to be. And three, I DO like certain comforts.

Now, the first two are no-brainers, and virtually the same thing. And the first really has nothing to do with this camping trip, and well, neither does the second. But my points are still valid.

As for the third, well, I truly believe camping should be out in the wilderness, or at least a park or a place where you don’t have access to too many “civilized” comforts. We could all stand to toughen up a bit, yes? But on the other side of “comfort,” you have “this is really painful on my old body.”

In light of that, I’m making a few changes before the next trip in June:

I enjoy washing dishes over the fire—I have my two fire buckets, wash in one, rinse in the second; the wash water is thrown out and refilled and the rinse water becomes the next wash water. But I am a bit tired of lugging those buckets over to the table (to use as a drying rack), and squatting down on the pad while I do this.

Purchase #1: a kitchen rack/counter/whatever you want to call it.

I can deal with the cold—I have plenty of layers and a great sleeping bag, and yes, it was 37 degrees Saturday morning. Again. In May. Argh. But I cannot sleep on the ground—I would be miserable and immobile for at least a day, even with copious doses of Advil. And air mattresses are hit-or-miss around here. Had another slow leak Saturday night. A good night’s sleep is really important, no matter where you are.

Purchase #2: a really thick foam pad—6-8 inches—or an actual mattress.

Speaking of the cold, skipping a shower or two (yes, I WASH, if anyone’s interested) isn’t a big deal when the temps only get up to 60 degrees. But I do like a hot shower—or at least warmish—to loosen up my muscles and clear my head. And since the warmer weather will surely be here for the next trip, this is something I must have:

Purchase #3: a solar shower.

And finally, electronics. They are a fact of life, and indeed, much of my work is done online. And, too, if one is camping alone, regardless of how often it’s used, a cell phone can be mighty handy. My battery does well, but I still had to power down Saturday night; 48 hours on a charge isn’t bad, but Sunday morning the darn thing was being stubborn until it, too, warmed up.

Purchase #4: solar cell charger

Now, I know a lot of people whose idea of camping is the local Marriott, and I know some who own and use every camping gadget invented, just because they can. I even know a few who wouldn’t be caught dead using any comforts whatsoever—and I was one of them, oh, maybe 10 years ago. Or five.

But hey, it’s a choice, right? And all of these things will enable me to stay out in the woods just a little bit longer than I do now, and even work from there if I want to do that. And there are some things where I draw the line: RVs, running water, and electricity, to name a few.

On the other hand, I’m sure some of you have seen pictures of my pot. Er, bathroom. Yes, I have one, and yes, I make no apologies. There’s a big difference, to me, in using a latrine built and equipped for oneself versus those hideous vault toilets in many campgrounds, used by many. (Seriously, it’s like sitting on a tall tin can—ugh!)