We are here to protect you. We are here to protect you from the terrible secret of Seanans.: seanan

We are here to protect you. We are here to protect you from the terrible secret of Seanans.

Jay Lake recently asked me to collaborate with him on a novella (which is awesome, by the way, and it's about belief and duty and ghost stories and Captain Hook and you're going to love it, really, I can't wait for you to see it). Knowing how busy I am, he coached his request very much as "this is a long shot, but," because he is a sensible man who knows I cannot bend time (much). He was thus, I think, understandably surprised when I started flipping drafts like pancakes. Jay has learned the terrible secret of Seanans:

There are only two speeds. "Stop" and "go." This is why it's taken so long for my foot to heal; once I can move again, I move, running hard toward the horizon because otherwise, it might move before I can get there.

Being a two-speed creature is not always ideal. I strip my own gears a lot. Exhausted collapse is not uncommon. But when everything's working, I can almost break the laws of physics, and for me, it's a worthwhile cost/benefit structure. I'll run, and when I fall, the ground will catch me, over and over again, until I don't get back up. And that, too, is a portion of the price that comes with how I'm wired.

I have people periodically look at my inchworm lists and wonder how the hell I can do the things I do. The answer is a combination of practice and planning. Every day has to be accounted for, because I'm moving too fast to cut corners; if I slow down enough to back it up, I'll drown.

In my dayplanner, I keep a running list of the day's tasks, including target (minimum) project word counts. Writing-related tasks on today's list are as follows:

1. 2,000 words, "Not Sincere" (Indexing #10)
2. 1,000 words, "Loch and Key" (InCryptid, J&F short)
3. Process edits (two files pending at time of this entry)

Note that #1 and #2 will not stop at the exact minimum; usually, I'll have overrun of somewhere between 100 and 2,000 words over the course of a night, depending on when my bedtime is and what point I've reached in the story. At the same time, if I hit that precise minimum, I stay on target.

Separately, on a notepad, I keep my progressive word counts list. This is just a sheet of paper that reads:

6/5 - 2,000/3,000
6/6 - 4,000/4,000
6/7 - 6,000/5,000
6/8 - 8,000[LOCK]/6,000

6/9 - 76,000/7,000

...and so on down the line. That's showing the current word counts of projects in the #1 and #2 positions—so "Not Sincere," which I'm starting tonight, should have a value of 2,000 words before I go to bed, and when I go back to The Winter Long on 6/9, that first day's work should bring the book to a minimum of 76,000 words. [LOCK] signifies a project's projected removal from the list. Every morning, I cross off the totals that have been reached. If I "wrap" the next goal—say, "Not Sincere" hits 6,000 words on 6/6, because I'm so excited—then I completely rewrite the list, advancing everything by one day (8,000 words on 6/7, changing projects on 6/8, etc.). This is because it's always better to be ahead of target: it allows me to do things like "attend a friend's birthday party" and "sleep in on a Sunday" when I earn enough breathing room.

It's hard. I don't pretend that it's not. But there's something comforting in having constant, manageable milestones: if I can write 2,000 words a day for fifty days, I have a 100,000 word book. Not too shabby, all things considered.

This is the terrible secret of Seanans:

We never really stop.

aubade_saudade

June 5 2013, 18:26:59 UTC 4 years ago

New comment

Not that you don't, because I actually think you do, but how do you get better if it's about word count? Again, I'm not questioning the fact that it happens. Obviously it does, but...how? Do you digest as you consume or? I'm kind of enthralled, horrified and terribly admiring

seanan_mcguire

June 5 2013, 18:32:40 UTC 4 years ago

I'm sorry: the question is confusing me a little. Do you mean "how do I improve as a writer?" Or do you mean "how do I recover from exhaustion enough to not die?"

4 years ago

June 5 2013, 18:29:02 UTC 4 years ago Edited: June 5 2013, 18:29:21 UTC

I am so glad to hear you've been able to work with Jay. That pleases me more that I can really express.

I am only a three speed cat myself, so I completely understand.

June 5 2013, 18:33:04 UTC 4 years ago

It pleases me as well.

vettecat

June 5 2013, 18:53:10 UTC 4 years ago

Makes sense but still intimidating. I'm glad you can manage it, though. Please try not to die.

July 29 2013, 18:04:10 UTC 3 years ago

I am trying!

ohari

June 5 2013, 19:06:51 UTC 4 years ago

*Hugglez* in passing.
Wow.

I'm glad you found a system that (mostly) works for you, because I do so love the results.

How's the foot healing?

July 29 2013, 18:04:20 UTC 3 years ago

Slowly.

trixiaw

June 5 2013, 20:12:43 UTC 4 years ago

So that's where Toby gets it from.

July 29 2013, 18:16:38 UTC 3 years ago

Yup.

catnip13

June 5 2013, 20:14:52 UTC 4 years ago

It also has something to do with the efficient way you use time. You pull out a book and start reading if you have 45 seconds, which I would never bother with until it was a matter of several minutes. You sit down in write for 10 minutes, where I would need to block out an hour. And those little chunks add up. If you are walking somewhere, you are practicing singing, or writing a song. It has always amazed and delighted me.

June 6 2013, 16:54:58 UTC 4 years ago

Seanan, master of Zen time. Every minute counts!
And multitasking.

Do Not Try This At Home. Or yeah, try it.

3 years ago

Deleted comment

July 29 2013, 18:17:09 UTC 3 years ago

I crash periodically.

serge_lj

June 5 2013, 22:26:14 UTC 4 years ago

"...We never really stop..."

It exhausts me, just reading about it.
:-)

July 29 2013, 18:17:19 UTC 3 years ago

It exhausts many people.

jaylake

June 5 2013, 22:30:14 UTC 4 years ago

You rock!

July 29 2013, 18:17:31 UTC 3 years ago

Yay!

hvideo

June 6 2013, 00:08:25 UTC 4 years ago

"The terrible secret of Seanans" scans to "Tigger's Song" ("The wonderful thing about Tiggers...."). Was that intentional, by any chance? Does it need finishing?

http://www.pooh-corner.org/tigger_lyrics.shtml

djonn

June 6 2013, 07:00:27 UTC 4 years ago

Not any more it doesn't.... (see below).

notalwaysweak

June 6 2013, 00:46:38 UTC 4 years ago

I handwrote and then typed up 2,500 words yesterday, so I've a bit of an idea about what sort of time it takes to write that amount, and I am still impressed by your ability to just keep doing it.

June 6 2013, 16:57:23 UTC 4 years ago

I also hand-write then type - but typing includes editing, so you're actually having double work besides double-writing

talkstowolves

June 6 2013, 02:23:34 UTC 4 years ago

You scare me. I mean, amaze. You amaze me.

July 29 2013, 18:18:05 UTC 3 years ago

I am terrifying, it's true.

yellowblackhaze

June 6 2013, 03:05:52 UTC 4 years ago

I never used to keep a word count, and to be honest I never really got that much done. Now, I keep a word count and I have a daily minimum I want to reach on various things I'm working on. I get a sense of achievement when I go into my spreadsheet and tick things off as I do them. I try to write every single day and I'm getting a lot more done than I ever have before.

June 6 2013, 16:57:50 UTC 4 years ago

Go You!

June 6 2013, 06:59:06 UTC 4 years ago

hvideo is not the only person who noticed a certain fortuitous accident of scansion.

The Secret of Seanans\
(ttto: "Tigger's Song")

The terrible secret of Seanans
Is Seanans don't know how to stop.
Their drives are on permanent hyper;
Their brakes are all stuck in the shop.
They're busy busy busy busy
(not too much for FUN),
But the most terrible secret of Seanans is
That we...have only ONE!

The terrible secret of Seanans
Is Seanans are wondrously mad.
They gift us with elves and with zombies
And songs that are cheerful and sad.
They're busy busy busy busy
(not too much for FUN)
But the most terrible secret of Seanans is
That we...have only ONE!

Seanans have ponies that sparkle;
Seanans are fast on their feet;
And we who love Seanans remark-le*
[Yes, I know that isn't a word. Try telling that to the Tigger-muse I'm channeling here.]
The truth that we have to repeat:

The terrible secret of Seanans
Is Seanans don't know how to stop
Their drives are on permanent hyper
Their brakes are all stuck in the shop
They're busy busy busy busy
(not too much for FUN)
But the most terrible secret of Seanans is
That we...have only ONE!

briargrey

June 6 2013, 16:35:03 UTC 4 years ago

that is awesome. And now it's going to be running through my head. All you filker sorts need to show up at Norwescon next year and sing this to her! (I say Norwescon because I'll be there and can witness it )

linenoise

More Expand

[links] Link salad says Happy Birthday to me

livejournal

June 6 2013, 10:06:40 UTC 4 years ago

User

jaylake referenced to your post from [links] Link salad says Happy Birthday to me saying: [...] mostly. We are here to protect you. We are here to protect you from the terrible secret of Seanans. [...]

melebeth

June 6 2013, 12:08:49 UTC 4 years ago

The friend of mine who introduced me to your books did so by saying, "You must read this woman's books. I think you'll love them, but she's also the only person I've ever seen who does as much stuff as you do."

So I picked up Discount Armageddon and fell in love with Aeslin mice, and then I read everything else. At some point I found your blog, and I called the friend who had pimped your books to me to say, "No, she does WAY MORE than I do." Because OMG you do. (I mean, I do a lot, but I don't write 3K a day except on external deadlines, and even then it's rare. It's also non-fiction, which I find much easier to sit down and bang out than fiction. However, as you say, that's mostly a practice issue. I have proven myself perfectly capable of pounding out a 11K story in three days when my editor says the book came in too short, and ironically, I think it's the best story in the collection, because I got out of my own way. /digression over)

That said, this is a really interesting post to me, because I also tend to be an either full speed or dead stop person. I get stuck at dead stop more often than I wish I would (weasels!), but it's the fact that my full speed is so fast that allows me to get away with it. If only the weasels would stop getting in the way!

July 29 2013, 19:00:34 UTC 3 years ago

Stupid weasels.

Welcome!

July 29 2013, 19:00:48 UTC 3 years ago

...bweh?

Post a new comment
50 comments

Log in

We are here to protect you. We are here to protect you from the terrible secret of Seanans.

Error

[links] Link salad says Happy Birthday to me