Are writers obsessive-compulsive? Overly superstitious? Or do habits and rituals provide security for writers who never know where the next idea, or the words to write it, will come from?
Searching for clues to the secrets of writing, Suite 101 has an exclusive interview with Michael W. Sherer who writes the Emerson Ward mystery series.
How much research and plotting do you do before you're ready to write a book?
I have to have a fairly complete outline of the plot of a book before I’m comfortable writing. The outline serves as a roadmap; in the process of writing I may take excursions, day trips, along the way, but I stick to the basic route. I tend to have a good grasp of subjects I want to cover before starting a book, so do a lot of research ahead of time. I find, however, that I’m constantly researching as I go to answer questions in my mind that I think the reader might ask along the way.
What hours do you devote to your writing and what time of day do you prefer to write?
I squeeze writing in when I’m able to focus concentrated blocks of time on a work in progress. Trying to write for fifteen minutes here and thirty minutes there is very difficult for me, so it’s not something I can fit in between phone calls or other projects. I treat writing the same way I do my “regular” job (which happens to be freelance writing), working during normal business hours. I seem to get most writing done after lunch, late afternoon.
Do you take breaks, and if so, what do you do during them?
I take far too many breaks when I get stuck, and usually check e-mail or play some sort of solitaire on the computer. At other times, I get up and stretch, make a snack or fix coffee, and sometimes do housework.
Where do you write?
In a home office.
What do you write with?
I use a laptop computer to write. I wrote my first novel on a manual typewriter, and was afraid to switch to an electric because I thought it went too fast. Now I find the convenience of word processing an essential writing tool.
Describe what you like to keep within arm's reach while you're writing.
A cup of coffee, a radio tuned to a jazz station or NPR, a telephone, paper and pencil, and of course my laptop.
Describe the things you can see when you look up from your writing.
Photos of my family, framed covers of several of my books, a very messy desk, shelves filled with books, file cabinets filled with past projects (hundreds of articles I’ve researched and written), an incredible view of Lake Washington and the Cascades, and several motivational phrases I printed out, e.g., “Writing is easy!”—(NOT!), and “Visualize what you want.”
What was the first thing you wrote which was published?
A letter to the editor of my college newspaper. The first published piece I was paid for was an article for a trade magazine that hired me as an associate editor.
What is your latest book?
Island Life, a standalone mystery thriller, was published in March, 2008.
Find out more about Michael W. Sherer here.
Read about Peter May, Jane Finnis, Ruth Dudley Edwards and many other Writers' Rituals.
Janice Hally - Janice Hally has written more than 300 broadcast hours of prime-time TV drama in the UK, as well as fiction and non-fiction books.
