Don’t look too closely, I am suggesting. Don’t make me explain it. I have no time or patience for your possible disapproval.
It is 10:27 PM on Monday. I sit in a quiet corner of a vacation apartment that is perched at the edge of Laguna Beach, between the street and the ocean. I left the sliding glass door open a crack so that the crashing waves, which earlier this evening I mistook for traffic noise, will be the soundtrack as I fall asleep.
I’ve nearly missed my deadline. In fact, until this moment I forgot all about it. It’s my turn to post some words for the My Writing Process (#mywritingprocess) blog tour. I don’t know much about it, but Jane Gassner tapped me on the shoulder with her virtual sword, and I am thus knighted. I’m smart enough, at least, to know that I should do whatever Jane says.
Jane says, not that she’s done with Sergio, but that the Writing Process blog tour is a way to connect with other bloggers who identify themselves as writers. I’ve been blogging for a very long time, time itself being relative and all that, but long enough in Internet Speak that I am considered a veteran. And only in recent years have I been introducing myself as a writer. “What do you write?” people then ask. It is a title that always elicits further questions, unlike saying “I’m an accountant” or “I’m a pharmacist.” People wonder about writing, and whether or not saying one is a Writer means one actually even works.
Whatever. I’m finally secure enough in my self-image that I can say “I am a writer” and any qualification that comes after that, any self-deprecating shrug or wave of my hand to whisk it all away is just a cover, a smokescreen. Don’t look too closely, I am suggesting. Don’t make me explain it. I have no time or patience for your possible disapproval.
What was I talking about?
Oh. Right. The Writing Process blog tour. I am to answer some questions and then pay this favor (?) forward to three more writers who have blogs. And I need to do this tonight.
1. Why do I write what I do?
There are two answers to this question. One: Because the words just came out. That explains the chatter above this line. I rarely edit myself in these instances, unless I’m writing for someone else’s publication. So it’s for love. I like to write things that I like to read. Is it weird to admit that I go back to my old work and read it like it’s something new I just discovered? I can read entries from this blog that make me feel like I am visiting with a past version of myself. I love the way she writes. I am proud of her. Yesterday I discovered a box where I had stored pieces I wrote in the 90’s. In the 80’s even. There was a short story in my own handwriting with notes and giant X’s through paragraphs and arrows and asterisks. There is no doubt that I wrote it. But I don’t recognize a single word. I always tell people that I’m no good at fiction, but look at that young girl! She had no idea that she wasn’t good at it. She wrote the hell out of that story. Good for her.
The other answer is: for money. I’ve been able to cobble together a nice little income with my writing. It’s far below the poverty line, but my work is commanding higher and higher fees (I’ve also stopped accepting deals for lower fees, so that helps) so when I can get it, that validation is rewarding. But I have to tailor that content to the outlet, which is why my voice is a little bit different depending on where you are reading my work.
So there you have it. I write for love and money. But first, love.
2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?
When people ask what I write my favorite answer, if we get far enough into the conversation, has always been “I like to tell people what I think about stuff.” Is that a genre? If pressured to pick a category I would pick personal essay and the easy answer then is because I’m the only person with my voice. Are you bored now? I am. Let’s move on.
3. How does your writing process work?
Lately I have been writing about three pages every morning. The very first thing I do is get a cup of coffee and sit down at the kitchen table with my notebook and fountain pen and scrawl out three pages of mostly drivel. Occasionally there is a gem of a sentence or a nugget of an idea in there. When I have free time and I’m at the computer again, I’ll pick at that idea or expand on that gem. And when I get even more free time, or if I have free time and my brain is tired, I type the written notes into the master document.
But that’s for my personal project. For works for hire, I just sit down and bang it out, man. Sometimes if I get stuck I start with the line “Tom Hanks is a bad-ass motherfucker,” because that is how my colleague at E! used to begin his celebrity biography scripts when he was stuck. It gets the juices flowing. Shout out to you, James. I am sure you have no idea that you provided me with a lifetime of inspiration.
Or sometimes I delay until the very last minute, writing paragraphs in between dropoffs and pickups, or working late into the night, because I didn’t have the hook right away. It happens. But what I can tell you concretely is that it happens in my office, my very own Room of My Own – the fourth bedroom on the second story of our house, with a window that looks out over rooftops and trees to the beautiful mountains. I use a laptop with a homegrown docking station and a bigger screen. I take notes in pencil. I tack colorful images and inspirational words and reminders to a large bulletin board hung on the wall to my right. When it’s cloudy I light candles.
4. What am I working on?
I’m writing a book. It may take forever and it may come out completely different from what I had originally planned to write. But I’m writing it. And by “writing a book” I mean reading books about writing a book, mostly, but those pages I mentioned above are all part of something bigger, so maybe just by putting one word in front of the other, I will get there someday.
I also write a column on Mint.com. Soon the eleventh post will go live. It’s published every two weeks, so that’s 22 weeks now. Time flies, doesn’t it?
I also write a column anonymously. Can you guess what it is? Email me and I’ll tell you if you’re right.
I also have a white board upon which I have listed all the reviews for free shit that I still owe people, some as far back as last year. I’ll get to those, my treasured colleagues. I promise.
Here is where I am meant to introduce three writers I have chosen to follow me on this blog tour adventure. They are probably going to be pissed at first, because I didn’t ask them ahead of time, but then they will think about it, and grudgingly accept the challenge because the questions are thought provoking, and nobody loves talking, reading, or writing about writing more than writers. I have chosen Deborah Stambler, my writing partner, and by “writing partner” I mean co-dependent, with whom I meet every few weeks so we can remind each other that we are people who exist in the world and we are not crazy. Well only a little. Also Charlene Ross, a member of my writing group, which is also a therapy tool. We meet every month to keep each other accountable and grease the rusty wheels inside our brains with intellectual stimulation and wine. And last but not least, Alyssa Brennan, who is my original blogger BFF, even though she rarely blogs and probably has the least amount of time out of any of us, because this will finally get her to write a new post.
julie gardner says
I would read your grocery list.
And love it.
True story.
p.s. My new first sentence when I sit down to write will be Kim Tracy Prince is a bad-ass motherfucker.
julie gardner recently posted…On Being Heard
Jennifer says
I wish there was a Like button for Julie’s P.S. 🙂
It’s the loveliest thing to find one’s old writing and not to recognize it. I have the worst memory, or maybe just a full memory and not enough RAM, so that happens to me, too. These days, I’m not writing much, except for my business, and I miss the words that don’t feel weighed down by another purpose.
I think I’ve said this to you once before, but your writing has such an ease to it. That’s a beautiful, meant to be thing. Capital W, for damn sure.
Jennifer recently posted…The words that sent her to Missoula
IlinaP says
I have always loved your writing. I’ll pay full price for your book.
Charlene Ross says
I’m pissed. (Not really.) Thank you for picking me Kim. (I think.)
And I need a like button for Julie’s P.S. And Ilina’s comment.
Now I have to get busy.
Charlene Ross recently posted…Running Sucks Series: This Time She Shall Be Named
KTP says
Thank you, my friends. It is so nice to get this recognition from people whose writing I respect and love.
Melanie Wynne says
Nice Jane’s Addiction reference, my friend. Well played.
Melanie Wynne recently posted…New Orleans: A Whole Different Country – Part Two