The Art of Writing With the Internet
I really enjoy reading my favorite authors’ blogs. Typically, I’m
a bad blogger in the sense that I’m usually behind with reading the blogs I
love, but when I do get the chance to sit down with a mug of chai tea, I enjoy
getting to read the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of the people I admire
most. Laini Taylor’s blog is one I keep coming back to. She’s the author of Daughter of Smoke and Bone, one of my
favorite books. I just started reading Night of Cake and Puppets, savoring every
bit of Zuzana’s adventure. I went on Laini’s blog this morning and read her post about how her
most recent writing retreat went. She gave some advice as well about how best
to be productive during a writing retreat, and it got me thinking.
A writing retreat is exactly how it sounds: you pack your bags,
check into a hotel room for x number of days, and write. The hotel functions as
a (comfy) desert island where you will fill up your empty word document because
the sand is getting hot and the seagulls are not great conversationalists.
If you’re to go on a writing retreat, Laini suggests that you
avoid the internet:
“No internet
accesss. This is very important. Go to a hotel without free wi fi and do not
buy a connection, and do not ask for a password. Just don't ever go down that
path. NO. INTERNET.”
I get it. Checking your facebook account and tweeting photos of
your hotel room’s carpeting is not what a writing retreat is all about.
The internet in the enemy. Turn off your wi-fi and go it alone.
Except that I don’t think I could do it. In fact, if I didn’t have
the internet, I’d probably trudge home from a retreat with only a big fat bill
to show for it.
On the bottom shelf next to my bed, I have as series of binders
from pre-college, where I’ve stored drawings, stories, and copies from source
material before personal computers were a real thing. Sometimes I open up a
binder and look at the stories I wrote, torn out of notebooks and hole-punched
together, wondering how I ever managed.
Nowadays, I handwrite notes and outlines for my stories–along with
snippets of dialogue or description–but the bulk of my writing happens on a
computer. And somewhere along the line, I started using search engines to seek
the answers to my questions rather than bugging my mom to drive me to the
library.
Yes, the days of interrupting my parents to have them rebuild the
Roman aqueducts for me and catch criminals in Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego? is over.
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| Is it bad that I never got past the Ancient Rome case? I much preferred the other Carmen Sandiego game where I wasted plane fuel jumping country to country interviewing suspects |
Of course, nothing beats physical source material. When I was
writing my thesis, I ordered a 1927
reproduction of a Sears catalogue since the novel takes place in a 20s-inspired
world. I spent a whole afternoon flipping through the pages, lost in a world
long past (and actually, I considered the idea of dumping my wardrobe and
replacing it with all 20s outfits, if only I could pick straight from this
catalogue).
Research time usually happens before I even start writing. I
gather books from the library or order them if I think I may use the
information for future projects, and hunker down with some hot vanilla blueberry
tea. I type my notes to make sure I can read them later, haha.
When I’m writing, I don’t usually have sessions where I write
straight through. More often, I’ll keep writing until I need to know something.
What kind of nuts do airlines serve? How does a jet pack work? If you were in a
hot air balloon and the pilot fell out of the basket, how would you figure out
how to fly it?
Not all questions can be answered through raiding the library
alone (especially because my library severely lacks a decent selection. Hello,
inter-library loans!). Google is wonderful for this, and usually I can find a
picture or website that helps answer the question so I can move forward with my
story. Other times, I might have to email or call an expert in the area… which is
something I’ve tried to do multiple times with hilarious results. If you meet
me in person, ask me to tell you what happened when I contacted a doll-repair
business.
I cannot turn off the internet. If I did, I’d probably be stranded
in my draft. I’m not the kind of writer who can simply skip over the issue and
continue. I don’t leave “BLANKS” throughout my drafts as markers for places in
the story to return to and fill. And I can’t say, “I’ll keep going because it’s
a first draft. I’ll just let my imagination free!” Honestly, I wish I could,
but it’s just not my process.
So I minimize my document, search the internet, and eventually
return with an answer. Rinse and repeat.
Laini is always full of great advice; when I read her blog posts,
I’m usually nodding my head vigorously and taking mental notes. Her advice
about not using the internet is still good. On bad days, it’s the very thing
that prevents you from making progress in anything–not just writing. Even
though I can’t bring myself to shut off my internet, thinking about what she
said made me aware of how I work and how writing makes it from my head to the
paper.
Understanding your process as a writer is pretty important–it’s a
surefire way of beating writer’s block, at any rate. Perhaps the internet is
more helper than hinderer for you too.
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| It's debatable. |
