Notes on the Zone

Editing is going well. I've got 1 full chapter to write, but I've filled in some of the gaps that were there and I'm getting back into the place where I feel good about writing the characters. I wrote one bit that was just plain awful at the beginning and was surprised at how unnatural it felt to be writing Ian and Molly again.

I've never thought of myself as a 'zone' writer. What does this mean? Well, I can slip between characters and stories easily, something that comes in useful when I'm in the middle of four different novels in different states. I can stop in the middle of one novel and start or work on another one without loosing a sensation of closeness to all the characters I am juggling (that being said, I do focus when I get to the end of a novel, but that's usually because it rips itself from me so I don't have time to think about other things. This is the source of my 10,000 word days). Currently I have three novels I am playing with (including the editing one) and I think its relatively easy to move between them, especially since I'm a write and get the hell out of their kind of writer -- editing is when you fix the mistakes you made.

But the last couple of days I've been struggling a little to get Molly and Ian's voices back. Funnily enough Alice remains pretty clear, and in some ways I almost think the break has done her good because she was starting to sound too much like Molly (as a result of spending time with her in my head, and not in the reality of the novel). It took about 2000 words to get me Molly's voice back, which is fine for the most part, but I haven't had a chance to do it with Ian yet and that's worrying as he's about to have a lot on his plate.

I think the problem is I just haven't written them in a while. I think about them probably once a week and about how I should be doing things with them, but it has been a while since I've officially written them, and it feels/felt unnatural. Apparently I am a little bit of a 'zone' writer. I need to have the characters in my head and around in order for this process to be easy.

Practice once again makes things easier. As I write more and more with them, the words come easier, and I find the infinite joy of discovering the story once again. Its been good to get back into this headspace. Its helped me immensely and is making me quite cheerful and hopeful about my prospects.

Then again, there is liable to be a low period coming up where I think everyone will hate it FOREVER. :D