The Robotic Writer, by guest Glenda Carroll

How do you hold yourself accountable? Do you insist on doing a certain number of words each day or a certain amount of time? What happens if you don’t meet the goal? Is there punishment? Do you give yourself treats for meeting goals?

Catriona here: I'm delighted to welcome my Sisters in Crime boss lady (president of the northern California chapter), Glenda Carroll, to the blog today, as she prepares to launch the fourth in her series of Trisha Carson mysteries. Talk about write what you know! Glenda is half teacher half mermaid: that is, she has spent a lifteime sailing, surfing and most of all open-water swimming (No joke in San Fransisco - brrrr!) and Trish's adventures all revolve around the dangers and secrets to be found in the sport - not to mention the lucrative business - of elite open swimming. On the one hand, they are wonderfully cooling stories to read inland, on a hot summer's day. On the other hand, you might never dip into a lake, river or bay again!

And now, Glenda Carroll:

There are times I want to be a self-selected robot. This is what I mean. After I go to the pool at 6am, come back and walk the two little dogs that dominate the house, eat breakfast, I creep into my office. It’s a messy office. Stacks of leftover books from my Trisha Carson mystery series compete for space on the floor, desk and bookcase. Papers that include ideas for future thrillers, notices from the DMV and an out-of-date passport battle for my attention. But my concentrated focus is on the computer monitor. We’re in a stare down, like the lawmen and cattle rustlers ready for a shoot out at the O.K. Corral.

Me: I want to start writing.

Monitor: Not going to happen.

Me: I’m sitting down. (I slowly pull out my chair and take a step closer).

Monitor: You’re doing nothin’.

The computer and monitor know all too well about my weakness for delay and procrastination. And they laugh at me. LOL, LOL, LOL rips across the screen.

Now … right now, is when I want to be a part-time robot. I’d plug the cord into my ankle; program the timer for three hours or 1,500 words, whatever comes first, and then start writing until I’ve met my goal.

But I’m not a robot and when I sit down to write, I almost always get up in a few minutes and wander around the house. But I do come back, sit down and try again. As you can probably tell, I don’t work off of an outline.  My ideas come when I’m typing. That’s a good and bad thing. I’m spontaneous but sometimes lacking in direction. That often means I don’t meet my writing goals. Instead of signing off after 1,500 words, I sign off after three hundred. I don’t sit at the computer for three hours. Maybe only forty-five minutes. But the one thing I do consistently, is write – no matter the amount of words or the time I spend.

It’s determination and the need to finish what I start that keeps me going. I don’t celebrate if I meet my goals because in my mind, I’m supposed to finish. I don’t slap my hands and say ‘bad girl’ when the goals fly out the window.  I’m thinking, “today isn’t the day. I’ll be back tomorrow.”

When I worked on Dead in the Water, the first Trisha Carson mystery, at one point, I struggled moving from sentence to sentence. Summer heated up my office and tempted me to go outside. So, I did. Wanting to be productive, I cut the grass with an old push mower. I wandered back to my office, red-faced, sweating, but with an idea for the next paragraph. By the end of the book, I had the best-looking lawn in the neighborhood and a decent first draft.

Writing the fourth and most recent book in the series, Better Off Dead (BOD), circumstances outside my control took a toll on my work. Months went by before I added the next chapter. At times I wondered if I would ever finish. But eventually, the skies cleared, and I started writing again, this time with more purpose and direction. I didn’t scold myself. I just picked up where I left off and BOD was finished and is now published in paperback, eBook and audiobook.

To those who can sit down and meet their writing goals, I envy you. Keep doing it. For me, I’ve had to follow my own path, even if it means pausing, rethinking and cutting the grass.

Glenda

Click here for more of Glenda's bio, and details and buy links for the Trisha Carson mysteries.