Lynn Raye Harris

I’ve explored this subject before, last year when I was living in Hawaii and experienced a series of regular power outages in my neighborhood. I have a laptop, so it wasn’t the electricity by itself that sent me to Starbucks. It was coffee (can’t brew without electricity) and the laptop battery (uh, don’t mention the Alphasmart — I know, I know). I’d always thought writing in Starbucks would be difficult. The music, the customers, the movement all around me.

It wasn’t difficult at all. Pop the headphones in to listen to my own choice of music, sip the macchiato, fire up the laptop, and type. Worked just fine, especially when I couldn’t check my email or blog.

So fast forward a year. I’m living in Alabama and I have a gigantic room all to myself. Bookshelves, internet, desk, daybed. A view. Lots of peace and quiet. And I’m seriously considering packing up and heading to a coffee shop.

My hubby looked at me like I was a nut when I mentioned this the other day. I’m no longer sitting on the couch with laptop and writing, like in Hawaii. I have an office to myself. (I had an office in Hawaii, but it had frosted jalousie windows and I hated that I couldn’t see. Felt like I was in a shower all day, so I moved to the LR.)

And I DO feel nuts for considering it. This room is what I wanted! It’s all mine, ready to go, perfect for long sessions at the computer. But, you see, there’s laundry downstairs. And there’s a junk room where everything we unpacked but didn’t know where to put just yet is still waiting for me to sort through. And there are two needy cats who regularly interrupt me with meowing, loud and frightening noises (did they break the lamp? Oh heck, must go see!), and begging.

So, I end up thinking it would just be easier to remove those distractions. Best way to do that is to not be in the house. There was a discussion on one of my loops the other day about this issue. Some folks write in their jammies all day long. Others have day jobs and write when they can — before or after work, while on the subway, etc. And some get dressed and go to a cafe.

Hemingway wrote in cafes, but not just there. He actually rented an apartment (when he could afford it) to use strictly as an office, getting up, getting dressed, leaving his wife and child in their shared apartment in Paris and going to his office apt.

(Okay, just NOW, there was a loud noise from downstairs. Cat knocked over a picture that hasn’t been hung yet, but didn’t break the glass — he has broken the glass on another picture before this one. So, have to run downstairs, determine noise, pick things up, lock cat up. Meanwhile other cat shows up and tries to get into my coffee which is sitting on the desk. This is why Hemingway rented a separate apartment.)

While I consider packing up and heading out, I feel guilty about it. But I also think it may be necessary, at least from time to time, in order to clear out the cobwebs and get something moving. And now I’m asking you, where do you write? Do you find a quiet corner of the house, have a great big office, hunch in a closet, write on a train, or head for the nearest cafe?

Let me know, because I’m very interested in how this works for you and if you’d do something differently if you could.

I’ve decided not to be too obsessive about the blog anymore, so posting every single day is probably a thing of the past. Unless I find something really interesting that I have to talk about. Today, I found it at Bookends LLC:

What I think is that there are very few amazing and original ideas out there. The truth is that most of you are writing from a box of ideas, and what really matters when writing your book is the execution. I’ve seen a thousand different cozy mysteries and hundreds of vampire submissions. None of these are really new ideas. What makes a book dance for me (and for editors) is the execution.

Agent Jessica Faust talks about Idea versus Execution and how the ARC of a manuscript she was reading echoed a manuscript she’d rejected. Have you ever had that eerie feeling that you’ve read something before, but you can’t put your finger on it? I sure have.

Still, how do we handle this as writers? Everyone says that no two writers will write the same idea the same way, and I agree, but have you ever known anyone who was rejected because an editor or agent just took on a similar manuscript? It happens all the time.

Jessica says we are writing from a box of ideas. I find that somehow frightening and comforting too. Sometimes, I see the blurb for a book and think, “Wow, how’d they come up with that idea?” And then I wonder why my idea machine doesn’t work that way. Sometimes, I think I’m not creative at all.

I think the box of ideas is like Jung’s collective unconscious, though. Ideas are floating like messages in a bottle and any one of us can pluck them out of the sea. But the messages aren’t unique. It’s what you do with the message that makes your idea different.

On the other hand, are there some people who go beyond the box or the collective unconscious and tap into something truly extraordinary? How about J.K. Rowling? Where did that woman come up with muggles and flue powder and stuff like that?

But isn’t Harry Potter the manifestation of the archetypal hero? His journey follows Campbell’s mythic steps, and there are echoes of popular myth and archetype throughout the stories. Yet it’s Rowling’s clever presentation of her ideas that keeps us enthralled, no matter that Harry Potter and Odysseus, for example, essentially share the same path.

And that’s what Jessica Faust is talking about.

I’m working like crazy, trying to finish up this novel I started eons ago, and looking forward to working on the next one that I wrote the first pages to at National. I’ve got ideas, ideas, ideas! Always a good thing.

Finally, my calendar is fairly clear. No classes, no hint of classes, no plan to take any classes (what was I thinking anyway?!) and no company. I took two grad level classes for a certificate, and there’s still an internship to go. At this point, I don’t plan to do the internship anytime soon. Don’t want to. If I never get this certificate, too bad. I’m not losing sleep.

What other lessons did I learn at National? Well, there’s certainly a wealth of stuff that you can come across on the blogs. Folks are still talking about National. What to do, what not to do, who said what, pics, etc. I forgot my camera, so no pics of me other than the ones I ended up in with others.

But the most important thing I think I learned was to write my way. The process isn’t important. The final product is. La Nora sits down and writes without any idea what will happen on page 2. Suz Brockmann outlines extensively and makes charts with multi-book plot arcs. I am definitely more of a sit down and write kind of gal. I tried the charts, but I got hung up on what happened when I didn’t follow what I’d envisioned. That was depressing for me because I love Suz’s work and think she’s awesome. I figured I’d never be that good if I couldn’t make plans for my books in advance.

Allison Brennan, in her fabulous workshop on No Plotters Allowed, says that she wrote the first chapter of one of her published books six different ways before she got it right. You just can’t be afraid to redo something, or throw something out if it isn’t working. Great advice.

So here I sit, writing forward and typing in words like STUFF HAPPENS when I don’t yet know what’s going to go in a scene. It’s freeing and silly all at once.

Other things I learned at National:

Nora Roberts is COOL, y’all. She is well-spoken, hilarious, and so gorgeous. And her shoes are amazing. Patricia Gaffney is a hoot as well. Her intro of Nora was so good. (I remember once, many eons ago, when these two ladies did a booksigning in Waldorf, MD. Nora was not NORA then, and they sat at the table without huge lines waiting and I was too petrified to go up to them. I wanted to be an author too, and I was terrified of talking to them. Duh. I hadn’t written the first word of a romance novel yet, but I’d decided that’s what I was going to do. I wish I’d spoken to them.)

Comfortable shoes may be sensible, but fabulous shoes are better. I wore heels. Tall ones, but they were platforms so not too bad, and I loved every minute of it, even when my feet were screaming at me.

The bar is THE place to be. Writers like their diet coke and their alcohol. (On the plane back, for instance, I sat next to Gayle Wilson, previous RWA president, and across the aisle from us were the ladies of the Writing Playground. When the flight attendant came around asking what we’d like to drink, we all ordered diet coke (2 ladies ordered reg coke, but only because they prefer diet coke with Splenda).) Margaritas seemed to be the alcoholic drink of choice, though I went against the trend and had red wine.

Be nice to everyone. You never know who you are talking to, or who may overhear something you say. Thank heavens my mother ingrained in me the necessity to be polite at all times because I’m not afraid that I said anything bad. I did hear stories about bad behavior, editor/agent/fav author stalking, but didn’t personally witness any of this. Whew.

Mostly, I learned that I will go to National again. I’d avoided it for years, simply because of the expense and the fact I usually lived a looooong way away, but it is a worthwhile way to spend a week. There’s nothing like being in the company of 2000 other people who share the same compulsion. It freaking rocks!

How was it? It was a whirlwind. Meeting people, going to parties and gatherings, having dinners with friends, workshops, banquets and awards ceremonies. Holy cow. This was my first conference, but it won’t be my last. I even managed to write, believe it or not. One night, when I’d finished dinner with friends but my roomies were still out, I sat down and started typing an idea on my Alphasmart. I still don’t know how many pages I wrote, but I think it’s pretty good stuff. We’ll see when I download it to my computer whether I’m deluded or not. Probably deluded, since lack of sleep was a serious issue.

I finally got to meet several online people! I met Allison Brennan, who was there with her mother. They are absolutely adorable together and so sweet and nice. Allison also gives a fabulous no plotters allowed workshop which was one of the better ones I went to.

I met Carla Cassidy and Kathy Carmichael finally, after knowing them for many many years. They are wonderful women and I’m honored to have known them for so long.

I met Nalini Singh in the coffee shop! After flying as far and as long as she did, she still recognized me and said hello. We sat together for a little while before she had to get ready for lunch with her agent (or editor, I can’t remember which).

I talked with the dynamic and lovely Jane Porter, a fellow Aloha Chapter member who shares my bittersweet love of Hawaii. She still travels there frequently, and I do envy her that.

I met so many other writers that I can’t name them all! I spotted Nora Roberts walking through the coffee shop one day, and attended a chat session with her that was fantastic. The best speech I heard was by Sherrilyn Kenyon, who is a doll and so inspiring. Lisa Kleypas gave a great speech as well and I picked up an armadillo keychain before I left Dallas in honor of what she said.

I also sat in the bar at least twice with the fabulous Heart of Dixie women, including the very talented Linda Howard, Linda Winstead Jones, and Beverly Barton (that “very talented” designation applies to all three). Kelley St. John and Rhonda Nelson, also immensely talented and sweet, were there the second time we gathered.

One of the most fun things I did was have a reunion with people I first met in Hawaii. Morag McKendrick Pippin, Carol Burnside, and Sally Sorenson are all so wonderful to sit and talk with for hours on end. I’m just sorry I didn’t have more time with them!

Oh, and I met Stephanie Tyler and Larissa Ione and got an ARC of Riding the Storm, their Sydney Croft release. In fact, I got tons of books and had to ship home a Fed Ex box of them. And how could I nearly forget that I met Loribelle Hunt!? She was in front of me in the coffee shop line (are you spotting a theme about writers and coffee?).

Whew, and now I have to wind up this post and get to work. Because, as Nora said, I have a job to do. I’ll post more conference tidbits later, and maybe even think up a contest or two. If you went to conference, what was the most important thing you learned? If you didn’t go, what did you do while the rest of us were suffering from lack of sleep and, in some cases, serious jet lag?

I’m off to Dallas tomorrow for 5 exciting days of non-stop writerly stuff. Just spent a week with company, finished a class, and now the conference. I’m prepared and unprepared. I’ve shopped till I’ve dropped, done the mani-pedi and hair routine, and now I have to get up bright and early for the drive to Birmingham for my flight to the Big D. I’ve packed way too many pairs of shoes, and I’m still trying to decide which dress to wear for the Ritas on Saturday night. *sigh*

If you’re going, I hope to see you there!

(Mark, if you read this, I know I owe you email and sorry I missed your call.)