Binge-Writer

Given a choice, I’d prefer to binge about anything. With the rise of Netflix and Amazon, along with their practice of providing access to full seasons of their shows from the get-go, that has satisfied a long-held craving of mine. I hate being forced to wait an entire week (or more) to find out what happens in the shows I care about, especially when I have the time to watch right now. I’ve binge-watched Stranger Things in one night and a slew of other shows in just a couple days. Love it! I’m the same way reading books. I am not one of those people who can read a single page and then put the book down until the next opportunity presents itself, which could be thirty minutes later when they’ll read yet another page before getting interrupted. I need to read when I have large chunks of time available – something like a couple hours. That’s long enough for me to read half a book or more and eliminates the need to remember what was happening where you left off. I’ve also been known…on occasion…to go on a food-binge, but let’s not go there.

Now that you know this about me, it should come as no shock to find out I’m a binge-writer as well. Yes, I know, it is well known that one of the recommendations for developing your craft as a writer is to write every day.  Call me a rebel, but I just can’t make that work for me. My life, such as it is, is not conducive to that kind of regiment, and more importantly, my brain doesn’t work that way (see paragraph above). I require total emersion when I’m writing and when I’m in the “zone”, I need to milk it for as long as I can. Carving out that kind of time from a busy family schedule–and still keep the divorce lawyers at bay–isn’t easy. I posted here before about my affinity for self-imposed writing retreats, where I take off a Friday from work and go into seclusion for three days while I spit out thousands of words.  

The reason I’m able to do this is my manuscript has already been outlined and a roadmap laid out for me. The outlining phase of my schedule is something I can piece together across smaller sections of time, which I do, and it’s one of the benefits of being a “plotter” I take full advantage of. Consequently, when I do sit down to write, the words pour out of me like sand through an hourglass. I’m not saying they’re perfect words, actually, they’ll need a fair amount of attention before being ready for anyone to see, but it’s a solid start.

My revising stage is a bit of a hodge-podge. If I’m revising based on feedback from my CP’s or a beta reader, then binging isn’t necessary because I don’t feel a need to be quite as absorbed in that process. If the revision is more of a re-write, then I’m more successful when I blast thru it.

So that’s my process. I can’t really say it works for me (yet) because I’m still chasing that publishing contract, but hopefully someday soon. But for those of you out there who are like me and say “I don’t write like that” when reading widely distributed writing advice, take heart, there is no cookie-cutter way of writing a book and just because your way is different doesn’t mean you should change your ways…or even worse…give up.