Part of the Process

A few days ago, I sat down at my desk determined to write. Get that damn Chapter Four revised once and for all. Write an all new Chapter Five. Get Words Down.

What I did instead could easily be called procrastination by some. I prefer to call it Part of the Process.

I spent the next forty-five minutes Googling pictures of my characters and various elements of the story. Then, I downloaded a simple collage program and proceeded to mesh all these pictures together in pictorial representations of my story.

Here are the results:

If you're curious about the cast, they are:
Katharine McPhee as Tierney
Ian Somerhalder as Jack
Paul Walker as Wes
Julianne Hough as Sam
Isla Fisher as Macy

Though I didn't get any words written that day, I did end up with a clearer view of the story I've been trying to tell and its characters.

So, tell me: what's YOUR process? Have you tried collage before? Was this pure procrastination? Isn't Ian Somerhalder dreamy?

P is for Procrastination

I like to say that the Internet is a writer's best friend and worst enemy all rolled into one. On one hand, there's an endless supply of information and networking opportunities galore. On the other hand, there are things like Facebook and Twitter and a zillion different games to suck you in.

I am the first to admit that I don't get nearly as much writing done as I used to. The Internet is always there, taunting, teasing and torturing me until I open Firefox and take a peek. Just five minutes, I always say. Just five minutes and I'll get back to work. Well, five minutes turns into ten and the next thing I know, three hours have passed. And then my writing time is gone and I've managed a whopping hundred words.

The Internet is the biggest source of procrastination for me. When the words aren't flowing or I just don't feel like writing, it's where I turn. There are a million and one things to do and I'm pretty sure I do all of them before I try to get back to writing.

What about you? How do you procrastinate?

Rainy Day

It's a rainy, gloomy day here today. The sound of the rain hitting the roof is soothing and has me longing to crawl into bed and stay there. Sadly, I have to work today. There will be no lying in bed, listening to the rain. Not this morning.

I do, on the other hand, have an hour before I leave. Now, a logical, driven person would use this hour to get something accomplished. Maybe pull out Chapter Three and forge through the messy revisions. Because once Chapter Three is done, I can move on and, I suspect, the rest of the book should be a breeze. Well, maybe not a breeze. But far easier than the first few chapters. Odds are, though, that I'll find a million and one things to do before even looking at my book. And by the time I pull out a pen and notebook, or pull up Word, it'll be ten minutes before I'm set to leave for work. That's just how I work. At least these days, anyway.

In addition to the soothing soundtrack of the rain, I've got the new cd by Sara Bareilles playing. At the moment, this is my favorite:



I love Sara's voice. And, boy, does she have a way with words. Nothing feeds my muse better than good music. It's almost like enjoying the most amazing meal you've ever had -- without the calories.

While I'm in a sharing mood, Dana (who I've mentioned here before) has started her own blog. As a disclaimer, I feel I should mention that what she writes is intense and somewhat graphic. It's sort of a stream-of-conscious, letting-it-all-out kind of writing, an intimate look at a very difficult subject. If you're okay with that kind of thing, hop on over and take a peek -- Broken Illusions

Alright. I've squandered a little too much time on the interwebs for the day. Off I go. Let's hope I get something accomplished!