Binge writing

You know that first week of January when everyone was busy talking about how awesome 2014 was? Yeah... I was not doing that. In fact, I was knee deep in doing anything but getting organized.

Here's a secret of mine that everyone knows. I am not an organized person. This is not to say that I can't accomplish things. Oh no, I can get things done, but I have what I call a "binge" personality.

For example, one of the questions I dread when I speak to groups, especially when I'm on a panel, is, "What's your writing schedule?" One by one, the authors will list off the amzingly structured ways that they manage to write a book. And then they get to me. Once I stop yelling at myself for being disorganized, I answer very simply, "I am a binge writer." And cue the crickets.

What do I mean by binge writing. Well, what do you mean by binge drinking? Or binge eating for that matter? I produce writing in long, spontaneous entervals that often times result in the spewing forth of what can barely be compared to literature. (Literature occurs after the first or second editing pass.)

Instead of sitting down for three hours a day from the unGodly hour of 4:30-7:30 am and writing a minimum of x-number of words/pages/whatever, I clear my entire day, farm my children out to whoever will take them and then head to the local coffeeshop to consume mass quantities of caffiene infused beverages and write for hours. Occassionaly I come up for air for food, but mostly, I write. When my body realizes I can't possibly take anymore, I somehow end up back at my home, often with no memory of actually driving home and pass out.

The next morning, I thankfully awaken to an empty house and a pounding headache. My blurry eyes, sick from laptop screen poison, searches in vain for something to take the edge off my insane hunger. And then, I look at my manuscript and think, "Why did I do this to myself again? Are the additional hours of editing really worth the verbal spewing of last night?"

Yeah, it's kinda like this!

These moments are of course followed by a resolution to NEVER do this again. To be more organized, clean up my act and become a stand-up writer with deadlines and goals and schedules. I'm not going to lie. This resolutions holds... for about two days. And then I'm thinking about how much fun I had letting the creative process take over. The glorious feeling of being in the middle of a great scene and not having to worry about feeding the kidlets or picking them up for school or doing laundry ... you get the point.

And I know, before the thoughts fade from my conscience, that I will binge again.

Hi. My name is Sarah and I am a write-o-holic.

And by now I bet you're wondering,

I have a point. I promise. And that point is that there is no write or wrong way to write a novel. While I am envious of those authors who can submit themselves to schedules and word count goals, that doesn't work for me. What works for me is a deadline, a lot of Diet Dr. Pepper, Twizzlers and volunteer childcare.

The bottom line is, writers write. Whether it's 30 minutes in the morning, 3 hours in the afternoon or 10 hours on a dreary Saturday in January while sitting next to a roaring fire, the goal is to put pen to paper or finger to keyboard and write.

What kind of writer are you? Do you have a shedule you stick to or do you write by the seat of your pants?

S.

Currently Reading Alice in Wonderland and We Were Liars