I sit in my room at my desk, looking out the window to the yard and waiting for a plot to come to me, to rise slowly in my mind.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I eat broccoli. I think about the plot. I pace in circles for hours, counter-clockwise, listening to music. I try to think of one detail in the scene I'm about to write that I'm really excited about writing. Until I can come up with that one detail, I pace.
I write, having seen what's happening already in my head. I see it as a movie, and I'm just writing down what's happening in front of me.
Thinking fascinates me, and I probably spend too much time in my mind. My wife says that my perfect world is to be in the Suburban driving, with her next to me and the boys in the back seat and complete silence for two thousand miles.
My favourite part of writing a book is thinking up the ideas, and that can start a long time before I actually sit down at my desk.
For me, one of the hallmarks of a really great book is that I'm seeing it in my head while I'm reading.
I look out the window sometimes to seek the color of the shadows and the different greens in the trees, but when I get ready to paint I just close my eyes and imagine a scene.
When I'm writing, I think about the garden, and when I'm in the garden I think about writing. I do a lot of writing by putting something in the ground.
I wake up in the morning, walk downstairs, and just bang on the piano and write about what's going on in the world around me.
I write almost entirely in bed or on a couch with my feet up on the coffee table. I feel most creative when I'm looking out the window, and my bed and couch have nice views of the New York skyline.
I rise near dawn, make a strong cup of coffee, wander to my desk and come fully awake by reading something written the day before.