How to Write More Productively Every Single Day
This is my number one writing hack.
First of all, I have a finished COVER to reveal of my next novel, All the Summers In Between, coming June 4th!! I’m so excited for this one! I’m going to reveal the cover soon, but until then, I’m curious: What is your favorite book cover of all time?
News flash! If you didn’t tune in already, I did a Facebook Live with Chico’s Book Club last week to celebrate them selecting On Gin Lane for their summer book club. The stylish ladies over at national clothing retailer Chico’s interviewed me about my book and then created fashionable outfits that some of my characters might have worn. It was great fun, so take a peek here.
I’m in a writing cave these days eliminating much of my social and reading life while I write to the end of my fourth book. If this sounds unhealthy, it is, but I’ve talked to my writer friends and everyone says the same thing. When it’s time to really finish a draft, you have to go deep and stay there until it’s done. So I’ve been in hiding a bit.
Since my head is lost inside the pages of my next book, I’ve been thinking about writing hacks I can share with you. The other night as I was getting ready to go to bed, I did the one that I rely on most. It occurred to me then that this may be one of the most helpful pieces of writing advice you’ll ever get.
Every night before I go to bed, I read the last section or chapter I wrote that day. When I do this, I’m able to lay in bed thinking about the characters and setting in a more vivid way. Most importantly, though, in rereading right before bed, I let my subconscious do some of the work. Three things inevitably happen:
As I’m laying in bed, I begin to hear pieces of dialogue or lines or details that I want to add to the sections I just read.
If I know what I plan to write next, I tend to think of ways to flesh out the scene. Dialogue comes here, too, or I’ll know what new things this section will add.
If I didn’t know what to write next, more of a blurry blob sense of what’s next, I tend to wake up knowing exactly what to write. Either the scene sharpens or the purpose of this part of the book reveals itself.
You might say to yourself. But Brooke, does that mean you don’t sleep? Honestly, when I’m deep into the drafting process like I am now, I sleep terribly. I wake up in the middle of the night with character details, chapter endings, mistakes, all of it in my head. I always fall back asleep but drafting for me is like living in the wild west with my creative brain on overdrive.
Revision is a much neater process. While I still read what I’m working on before bed, you know the story already, so you’re not galloping on a horse through a desert looking around for points of reference, like you are when drafting. In revision, I’m sharpening, not creating from a blank piece of paper.
If you’ve ever wondered just how emotional and taxing and liberating the writing process can be, please read the New Yorker’s recent profile of author Kate DiCamillo and her traumatic childhood. Not only is DiCamillo incredibly honest about how painful her childhood was, but she talks about just how much she worked through while writing her unforgettable novels for children. Her books are some of my favorites — Ann Patchett famously said that DiCamillo’s novels can help anyone get through a tough time. The article was so moving that a) I cried and b) I couldn’t stop thinking about it for days. Don’t miss it!
In coming weeks, I’m going to tell you how my draft has evolved in the last two weeks. Yes, two weeks I’ve been hard at work and I’ve completely rewritten this book. It needed it.
xo
Ok, now back to that first question. What is your favorite book cover of all time? Here’s mine: The Hugh Thomson version of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Isn’t it divine? If you have a favorite, please tell me in the comments section, along with why. I’ll include your name in an upcoming article! Thanks!
The cover of Etaf Rum’s new book Evil Eye is strikingly simple and beautiful.
Brooke, the Chico's fashion show for your book is such an unusual and brilliant way to market a novel, I love it! I've never heard of this before.
I also love what you say about revision being a "neater" process. I tend to dread revision, so I like the idea of thinking of it this way--that you aren't lost and "galloping" full speed in the unknown the way you are when you're writing the novel.