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The Writer Unplugged

March 15, 2016 | 3 min read

This is a guest post by Selena Chambers, who writes in Florida. Selena is co-author of the Hugo and World-Fantasy nominated THE STEAMPUNK BIBLE (Abrams Image), and is currently writing a travel guide to STEAMPUNK PARIS (Pelekenisis Press) with Arthur Morgan out later this year. You can follow her at:  www.selenachambers.wordpress.com or steampunkparis.com.

Distraction is the greatest form of resistance a writer faces on a daily basis. I’ve been struggling with it for years, and have come close to throwing my laptop in the trash and running as far away from the publishing game as possible. What kept me from giving up? Slowly realizing that other writers (especially those who seem like they have their act together in the public eye) and creatives struggle with the same issues. Evading distraction and finding focus is, of course, a personal journey and you have to find what works for you and your environment, but in speaking with my friends and gazing into my own navel, I have realized that distraction comes in two forms:  that which takes you closer to writing, and that which takes you away from it.

The former is Life and all its abstracts:  birth, death, health, sickness, economy, employment, politics, friendship, family, solitude, love, sex, hate, education, and travel. True, not much writing is happening while undergoing these experiences, but they all inform it by putting you physically in the world to observe, absorb, and feel. It shapes your perspective, gives you an impulse and ultimately grants you something to say.

The other kind of distraction, that which takes you away from your writing, are the activities designed for amusement and instant gratification and while relaxing, do very little to inform the work, even though we may trick ourselves in to thinking so. For some, it may be playing video games, binging on Girls, fingernails that need clipping, or in my case, going online. 

By no means is this some kind of Jonathan Franzen rant. I love the internet. It is ubiquitous with all the things, and while that is a modern-day marvel, its pervasiveness can be a modern-day time sink. When I sit down to write, I have no problem ignoring my eyebrows and the cat bunnies blowing by like tumbleweeds under the A/C vents, because I can resist the urge to get up from my desk to go handle them. Not so the online “to-do” list, which is much harder to disregard because all the tools are right here at my fingertips.

More often than not, on days when the writing is like digging into dry Georgia clay, I find myself mulling over this list. With a few clicks, I am out of Scrivener’s composition mode, and am in Safari riding the instant gratification wave of multitasking immediacy. I’ll send out queries, answer e-mails, answer social media direct messages, respond to tags and mentions, make a blog post, share the blog post, console in friends and families tribulations, cheer on peers and colleagues triumphs, read this timely article and discuss that timely article, read this stupid drama and discuss even more, scan recent calls for submissions, research a story idea, seek source texts, and when all of that is done, pay bills. I can kill a whole day checking things like this off and feel pretty good about myself. The next day, however, when I am back with that blank page, I would realize how much was left undone and how much more was now left to do.

On on that next day, I try to unplug. To do this, I have to get completely away from the computer. Sure, you can deactivate your Facebook, turn off wi-fi, unplug the router, or install some sort of time management or focus software, all of which can be turned back on, plugged in, or disabled. If I really want to avoid distraction, I scrawl in longhand or peck on a typewriter. Even with these two methods, I inevitably come back to computer when I have to transcribe into Word, which sometimes feels redundant and archaic. Even so, at the end of the day I feel more accomplished and nearer to my true writing goals than all the networking, posting, and chasing I do online. Social media and the writer’s platform is one of the puzzle pieces to gaining and maintaining a successful writing career, but what has become even more bewildering is that unplugging and working with focus and without noise is even harder for the twenty-first century writer to navigate.

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What's a romance author to do when a global pandemic hits?

For Carolina Flórez-Cerchiaro, the answer was to start writing horror.

Carolina was writing romance when she first signed with her literary agent six years ago. But, Carolina explains, when the pandemic hit, she pivoted to horror.

"There was something about being isolated at home, living through the literal nightmare that COVID-19 was, that made me want to dive into a haunted house book," she explains. And it's a good thing she did.

That horror novel, Bochica, sold to Simon & Schuster at auction. (Trust us, it's a big deal.)

In fact, switching genres changed her life in more ways than one. "Writing Bochica made me want to move to an old manor in the woods," Carolina says, "so I now live in a house that I’m pretty sure is haunted."

Read on to learn how this Freewriter uses her four-year-old Freewrite Traveler to draft.

ANNIE COSBY: What does your writing process look like?

CAROLINA FLÓREZ-CERCHIARO: My writing process varies depending on the project, but generally, I start with some brainstorming before drafting. I’m not a heavy outliner, but I do make a rough roadmap — usually marking where the character starts, the midpoint, and a general idea of the ending.

It’s often just a list of bullet points to give me some structure. I don’t always know how I’ll get from point A to point B, and the outline changes as I go. I usually re-outline after drafting to make better sense of the story. I don’t treat the outline as strict — I let myself get lost in the story once I’m in it.

It’s really important for me to get the words on the page, even if they’re messy. You can’t edit a blank page, and revising is actually my favorite part of the process. So I focus on finishing that first draft so I can dig into the part I enjoy most.

For projects like Bochica where the historical backdrop is essential, I research before drafting, and continue to do so while writing and revising.

"I don’t treat the outline as strict — I let myself get lost in the story once I’m in it."

AC: How long did it take you to write Bochica?

CFC: The first draft took me about three months to write, and I revised it for another six to eight months with my agent before we sold it to my editor.

AC: That's really fast! How did Freewrite factor into your writing process?

CFC: My Freewrite Traveler is an essential part of my writing process, for every project I work on. It helps me get the juices flowing when I’m stuck, but it also helps me get those words on the page faster. I call it my little magical device!

I not only use it when I draft, but also when I’m revising, and I need to rewrite or add new passages, chapters, or scenes. I use it ALL the time.

"I call [Traveler] my little magical device!"

AC: Why do you prefer to draft on a Freewrite?

CFC: There’s a literal freedom that I get from using it as I’m drafting, similar to when I write by hand, but way more convenient. It’s quick, it keeps me off the internet, and I can easily upload it to my computer!

AC: Let's dig into your publishing journey. How did Bochica get published?

CFC: Bochica isn’t the first book I ever wrote, and it’s also not the book that got me my agent. I was actually writing romance when I signed with my literary agent almost six years ago, and when the pandemic hit, I decided to pivot into writing horror which had always been my favorite genre to read.

When the book was ready for editors, my agent sent it out, and I got an initial offer within days, then we got more offers, and the book ended up selling at auction to Simon and Schuster.

"Writing Bochica made me want to move to an old manor in the woods, so I now live in a house that I’m pretty sure is haunted."

AC: How has the publishing process been so far?

CFC: It’s been quite an experience; you go from hitting the lowest point to feeling on cloud nine the next second.

To sum it up in one word: WILD.

I’m lucky to have an amazing team behind me, both with my literary agent, and with my publishing team at Atria/Primero Sueño Press, to help me navigate this road, to get through the good, and the bad.

"[Publishing] has been quite an experience; you go from hitting the lowest point to feeling on cloud nine the next second."

AC: And before we sign off, what is Bochica about?

CFC: After her father is accused of murder, a young woman returns to her haunted childhood home — turned luxury hotel — and is forced to face the sinister shadows of her past, and unearth the truth of her mother’s mysterious death.

Think Mexican Gothic meets The Shining.

AC: Wow. I'm in!

If Bochica sounds like a wild ride to you, too, check it out here

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