Jotting v.s. Typing

I am obsessed with putting things down on paper. Stories, ideas, lists; even as I am writing this I am putting ink on the page.

I won't pretend I don't write straight onto the computer. I have typed up entire first drafts with no ink wasted. It isn't in me to spare ink very often, however. I love the sensation of putting words directly onto the page. I'll rewrite entire chapters and stories I have already typed up because I feel more connected with the words.

Other people, I know, find it differently. My friend Joycelyn simply has to type onto a keyboard. The ease for her with her laptop is as mine is with a pen and notepad.

I'm curious as to what other writers find preferable. Do you write first drafts by hand and type it up in the rewrite? Or do you find yourself switching between mediums?

What works for you?

No Television, Just Novel Writing!

Television is a big no-no when it comes to writers who desperately need to focus, yes?

I can't say I disagree. Television is a main source of my procrastination from writing. Still, something happened today when I was lolling about this afternoon with Mr. Robert Downey Jr. (What? Don't believe me? Fine, call him then and ask him. Oh, what's that? Excuses, excuses. It's not my fault you don't have his personal number.) What happened was this...

I was inspired.

That's right. By taking a step outside of my head - even if only to observe - I opened myself up to a way of thinking that I think was blurred. Maybe this is why I was unable to grab hold of my novel. I was too focused on making the characters tangible on the page before they were so to me. I have to grab hold of who they are and who I want them to be by the end of this rewrite and then transfer that feeling into words.

I watch traits and mannerisms. A quirk of the mouth, the shape of a nose, the poise and eloquence and fluidity of movement (yes, I have been watching the figure skating, this isn't all Jr.) sparks in me a new way of thinking.

I don't capture these exact images and lay them on the page for my own characters to usurp but I begin to think more visually about my characters. The movements and reactions I give to them become more than labels. I think - how would my character's mouth move. What would his eyes alone say?

I'm not going to deny my procrastination though. Bad Keri! Bad, bad- ooh, Jr. *cough* I mean... Yes. Procrastination is bad but inspiration is good.

What do you think? Should the television be turned off completely when you are trying to concentrate or is there an exception to the rule when the talent is so sexilicious inspiring?

Am I just making up excuses to keep myself from writing?

Tantalizing

What is the substance behind that word?

I know there are certain things that excite me. That capture my interest and hold me to the page, both in something I read and what I aim to achieve in my own writing.

I want a serious agenda, hidden behind the mask of a fool.

A quirky character who makes me smile and ponder what makes him tick.

A fairy tale with gender role reversal, tugging and teasing at the archetypes from ages passed.

A father and son dynamic. The unspoken words. How they act. What they mean. What they want.

A web of mythology, eternally re-spun from one legend to the next, spanning eras over the globe. I will spin my own.

An antagonist that creeps under your skin, resting in the wrists, quickening your pulse with each turn of the page.

A subtle obsession.

Magic lined with intrigue.

Protagonists who smile past the pain.

A character that twists your heart and tampers with your mind.

Love without the words 'I love you.'

These are just a few of the things I connect with that one word. They are what widen my eyes and draw my nose close to the page. They quicken my scribbles and fuel my creative energy.

So what does it mean to you? That one word. What drives you in the things you read and write. What do you find tantalizing?