Q: How often do you think about writing during a day?
A: Depends on what I’m working on at the time. If I’m in the middle of a novel, I’m thinking about the story almost all day long, from the moment I wake up until the moment I go to sleep. Not constantly, but on and off through the day between writing sessions. The more often I can sustain the dream or trance, the faster I pick up where I left off when I sit down at the computer again. It’s far easier to finish a novel in a month this way, or three months for the longer works. If I’m between novels or short stories, I still think about writing, just not as often. I’m likely to become lost in a “what if” or a story fragment as waking dream while driving or cleaning. Long commutes are the best for coming up with new ideas or working out problems in a story.
Jeanette Gonzalez’s story “Serenity” was published in Metaphorosis on Friday, 15 July 2016. Subscribe to our e-mail updates so you’ll know when new stories go live.