What Jeffe Has to Have in Order to Write

Greetings from a gorgeous autumn in New Mexico!

This week at the SFF Seven we're talking about preconditions - what must be true before you go to write.

I changed it from "sit to write" because I don't sit - I work at a walking desk. So, that's one thing for me, is that I'm happiest standing or walking to write. I've gotten so sitting to write doesn't work very well. In fact, I'm super happy to have hit on a solution of a portable tripod and desktop to make a standing desk for a retreat I'm going on after Thanksgiving. I can stand to write! Perfect solution.

Otherwise... 

It used to be that I had fairly elaborate rituals for getting into writing. I had LOTS of preconditions. I had to be sitting at a certain desk (not my work-from-home desk) at a specific time of day (morning) listening to a particular soundtrack (The Mission). I even had a favorite blue jersey dress I had to be wearing. When my husband, with considerable exasperation, pointed out that the dress had more holes than fabric, he countered my plaintive argument that I needed it, by saying "the writing comes from you, not the dress."

That's really stuck with me. I remind myself of that truth often. 

(And I put the dress in the rag pile.)

All of those rituals helped me in the beginning, when I really needed help establishing a writing habit. But now I know they were just things to help me along. Because the writing comes from me. 

The only precondition I have? Myself, present and accounted for.

 

Before I Sit (to Write)

 This Week's Topic: Preconditions: What must be true before I sit to write?

The stars must be in alignment. The muse must be chatty. The universe must be in serene balance...

Naaaaah.

Heature of Crabit reporting in! My morning routine: 

• Get Up.
• Get dressed in "you won't get arrested for indecency (but the fashion police will strongly object)" attire.
• I potty.
• Dog potties. 
• Dog gets drugs.
• I get drugs. 
• Dog gets fed. 
• I get coffee.
• Dog gets porch time.
• I get to work.

Yeah,  yeah, yeah, there should be a line about "exercise" and I swear there used to be. Maybe one day there will be again; hopefully, before the weight of my ever-expanding slothfulness breaks my recliner. 

Now, what has to be true before I start drafting? As in what prep work do I need to have done before I take a stab at the opening line? Before I tackle the grabby hook?

• Skeletal outline
• Characters and locations named and briefly described (like a 2-sentence "brief" description). 
• Inspirational images/photos saved to appropriate WiP folder for easy reference.

A mere three things, yet it's the outline that takes time, especially if the plot hasn't matured in my head. You don't want to know how many iterations of the outline happen before the drafting begins in earnest. Oh, you do want to know? Uhm, well, usually between three to sixteen versions of the opening arc (first ~10ish chapters). Once I lock down the opening, then the rest flows pretty easily. But, man, beginnings are the freakin' hardest for me.