Alexandra Bogdanovic's Blog: That's life... - Posts Tagged "writing-techniques"

I guess it's time to update my LinkedIn profile. For the past couple of years, it indicated that I've been "laying the groundwork" for my second book. Now I'm actually writing it.
I'm writing it even though I never really "finished" my research. I'm writing it even though my trip to Europe in 2013 left me with more questions than answers. I'm writing it even though I haven't even started going through my father's personal effects yet.
Yes, I'm flying by the seat of my pants on this one. I'm relying on memory, imagination, and the research I've done so far. Mostly I'm relying on my imagination, though.
I'm putting pen to paper... or more accurately, fingers to the keyboard, and letting my imagination take me where it will. I'm having a blast.
Some say it's better to pre-plan, outline, pre-plot and so forth. I've tried that technique, believe me. But it just doesn't work for me. The more structure I try to put in place, the more it just kills the creativity.
Perhaps that is because for me, free writing isn't all that different than a technique I learned as a reporter called bloc writing. Using that method, you simply write all of the facts you've gathered first. Then you fill in the rest of the story with quotes from the people you've interviewed, and then you write the first sentence or lede. If nothing else, it saves a lot of time -- and it sure beats staring at a blinking cursor for an hour or two.
At any rate, since I started writing my first draft a week or so ago I've come up with about half-a-dozen working titles. The page count stands at 10 and the word count stands at roughly 4,000. Before you pass judgment on that, keep in mind, I have not been writing every day. I've also been looking for a new day job.
Anyhow, now that you're in the loop, stay tuned for more updates. It's going to be a wild and crazy ride.
Until next time,"That's life..."