{"id":1113,"date":"2017-11-14T07:00:02","date_gmt":"2017-11-14T13:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/jessicaconoley\/?p=1113"},"modified":"2020-10-11T23:43:48","modified_gmt":"2020-10-11T23:43:48","slug":"on-writing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/jessicaconoley\/on-writing\/","title":{"rendered":"On Writing: Q&A with Jessica Conoley"},"content":{"rendered":"

At The Color Eater<\/em> debut on August 12th, 2017 we did a mini question and answer session.\u00a0 The crowd at the Uptown Arts Bar had a ton of fantastic questions, and we clearly didn\u2019t have time for me to answer all of them. This post is dedicated to the questions ON WRITING. Check out my OFF WRITING<\/a> post from October for insight in to my reading behavior and more.<\/p>\n

How does writing create order for you?
\nIt\u2019s the way I process thoughts. Until the end of an essay I often don\u2019t know what has been really bothering me. It wasn\u2019t until the end of The Color Eater<\/em> I realized Lena was dealing with similar internal conflicts I was struggling with when I wrote the book. I\u2019m an emotional idiot, but it\u2019s safe for me to process my emotions on the page, and once I read it I understand myself better. My writing is smarter than I am.<\/p>\n

What one thing would you give up to become a better writer?
\nI imagine there are lots of things I’ll give up, but until it’s asked of me I won’t know what I’m really willing to risk. I know two things I have already given up are: time with people I love and my illusions of financial security.<\/p>\n

What is your \u201chomework\u201d?
\nRead and write. Read and write. Read and write.\u00a0 Writing also consists of editing\/re-writing.\u00a0 But, creativity-new-content-add-to-my-word-count-wise\u2014I\u2019m only good for about ninety minutes of intense, gritty writing a day. Once my brain is spent on creative work then I write newsletters\/blog posts\/edit other writers, etc.<\/p>\n

How do you visualize the landscape of a story before it\u2019s completed?
\nI\u2019ll normally get one flash of a scene, like a Polaroid in my brain. I can see that scene very vividly, and then I start a wider scan around that image in my imagination. Slowly (very, very slowly) the rest of the world unfolds.<\/p>\n

What are your most effective world-building techniques?
\nMy agent had me fill out a world-building questionnaire before I started the latest draft of The Color Eater<\/em>. It included questions like: what\u2019s the level of technology in the world, write the world\u2019s Wikipedia page, what are gender roles in the world, what\u2019s type of clothing do people wear, what\u2019s the role of religion, etc. I knew the answers to 75% of the questions; the other 25% forced me to look at the world more in depth. The WBQ is on my desktop right next to the most recent draft of The Color Eater<\/em>. It\u2019s a great, quick- reference that helps me maintain consistency throughout the novel.<\/p>\n

What are some things you’d have new writers avoid in their practice?
\nOther than reading and writing as much as humanly possible, if someone says real writers \u201chave to do XXX\u201d take it with a grain of salt.\u00a0 Lots of people say you \u201chave to write every day\/read only your genre\/build your platform before you sell your book\/finish a draft in a season, etc. Try XXX, if it\u2019s not working, let it go and move on to the next thing. Everyone has to find their own way and that takes a lot<\/em> of trial and error.<\/p>\n

What are common traps for aspiring writers?
\nIn addition to the answer to the last question. 1) Comparing your writing\/your career to other writers. Compare your writing to the writing you did two years ago, if you\u2019re better than that\u2019s all you need. 2) Not building a supportive community around themself.\u00a0 This industry will eat you alive. You need to find writer friends who understand and non-writer friends who are kind and supportive.<\/p>\n

\"Motivational