How was the writing process? Did you get to write the mss entirely before they saw it, or did they read it as you wrote each chapter? How much say did they have in the writing process?

People seem to have very particular ideas about what a “writing process” is, so I hope I’m approaching your version of it. My writing process is really quite pedestrian. I wake up, drink coffee, fire up the computer, answer e-mail (I still have a day job and work from home), deal with annoying details; then I start writing. Depending on what I’m working on, I may wake up as early as 3am. I’m not sure why that’s the magical hour except maybe it’s because that’s when the last Cap Metro bus passes my house and everyone is finally where they need to be for the night. The phone doesn’t ring and no one comes to my door. It’s sublimely quiet. I’ve marveled at other writers who say they write to music. I could never do that! I’m pretty good at tuning the world out, having written in newsrooms, but writing in the wee hours of the morning when the rest of the world has gone to sleep is luscious.

Yes, I wrote the manuscript in its entirety before they saw it. Having someone reading chapters and perhaps making suggestions along the way would drive me insane! While I write sequentially, there are times when I realize that certain portions in certain chapters may need to be moved earlier or later in the book. I don’t have a sense of that until much later in the writing. I have to unfurl the whole thing before I can see or hear suggestions on where to clip and tuck.

After getting approval of the initial outline or synopsis, the writing begins. No one calls and checks in. There is no time clock. No one asks where you’re at in the process, if your main character is established, or if the inciting incident has been created, etc. Writing a novel is not that concrete—well, unless you’re writing genre fiction, where I guess they have hard and fast rules about what happens when. Some things come together very quickly, others very slowly—and everything is moving together in your head at once. Having someone peer over my shoulder to make sure I’m “on track” would also drive me mad—especially since there is no one track, or perfect way to write a novel. There are some common things I imagine all writers experience, but ultimately, it’s a solitary job. It’s not a spectator sport. Having said that, I was writing to a deadline. I had to organize all my obligations toward that deadline. It’s tricky, because, some portions of the novel require more attention than others. And while I’ve made a living writing on deadline, I’m not a machine. Writing a novel requires a lot of intellectual and emotional energy. It’s not a project to be undertaken lightly.

—Belinda Acosta, August 10, 2009

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