Travis
asked
Tommy Wallach:
I find your mind captivating and your writing lyrical. What is your writing process?
Tommy Wallach
Well, first off, thanks!
My process is very simple, I'm afraid. I come up with ideas all the time, but I don't write them down. I know whichever ones stick in my head over many months are the ones worth pursuing. I don't outline. I just sit down and start to write, 1000 words a day usually. After 10,000 words or so, I'll go back and do an edit of everything I've done so far, just to make sure it's working, but then I won't do that again until I hit some sort of major landmark, if at all. I always write chronologically (i.e. I don't jump around in the story), and I keep going until it's done. Then I edit a lot. My first drafts are very, very, very, extremely bad.
After all that, eventually, there's a book. :)
My process is very simple, I'm afraid. I come up with ideas all the time, but I don't write them down. I know whichever ones stick in my head over many months are the ones worth pursuing. I don't outline. I just sit down and start to write, 1000 words a day usually. After 10,000 words or so, I'll go back and do an edit of everything I've done so far, just to make sure it's working, but then I won't do that again until I hit some sort of major landmark, if at all. I always write chronologically (i.e. I don't jump around in the story), and I keep going until it's done. Then I edit a lot. My first drafts are very, very, very, extremely bad.
After all that, eventually, there's a book. :)
More Answered Questions
Jacques
asked
Tommy Wallach:
Hi, Tommy - thanks for your response. But glad you made it to Australia to visit schools! Oh, and I just finished Thanks for the Trouble this morning. Man, Tommy Wallach - why you gotta make us readers cry at the very end? It was for the best though. My boyfriend, Jordan Edwards and I live in Bellevue, Washington. He is afraid you will write him in your next book, with a mullet. :)
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more