A writer’s life!

As I embark on the more serious side of writing attempts I have come across many books describing how to do it. These books range from daily hints for writing or daily inspirations for writing to character studies. One book I looked at spent the first chapter expressing how miserably hard the publishing world is! That was a desperately depressing book. I walked away from it. All of these books are an attempt to open the new writer’s eyes and get them moving forward, yet none of them really answer my questions.

And what questions are those Jack?

Well let me tell you! I am infinitely curious how the ‘real’ authors really work. How does Lilith Saintcrow, Jim Butcher, William Gibson, Robert B. Parker, E.E. Knight and others go about writing? I’ve seen pictures of renowned author/director Kevin Smith’s ‘office’ and it looks surprisingly like mine….slightly messy with an ode to my favorite comic/movie/book. I wonder more than that though. I wonder how they go about composing their ideas. What do they read to get those ideas? Do they write by hand much or is everything kept on a laptop and that laptop is never far from their side in case the light bulb lights up unexpectedly in the middle of a long day of rushing around? Is there a small journal floating around that has bunches of notes kept over the years? You know the type, small and leather and kept bound by a rubber band….an ode to Indiana Jones little notebook in “Raiders of the Lost Ark”.

For many, these questions may seem trivial and perhaps you could view me as a closet stalker. I prefer, however, to see myself as trying to understand the inner workings of a successful author so as to try and incorporate some of those patterns of success into my own hectic day. Successful patterns can lead to enlightenment when examining ones own daily patterns and to that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I’m not looking for an all encompassing answer or that magic way to be successful just some insight. Call a signpost on a long trail that you’ve spent six days trudging down. You’re out of food and water and just want to dive into that six pack of beer waiting in an ice chest in the trunk of the car. An insight into their life would be something like that……..