The Writing Process and Jim Hines

Well, my plot to take over the world get Jim Hines nominated for the best fan writer Hugo has come to fruition. Now, of course, what remains is to get you to vote for him. In the interest of providing you with yet again another example of why you should, I refer you to Jim's entry today, which is about himself and privilege. That's why we love you, Jim.

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Jim was also very kind about volunteering to be my next interviewee for the writing process interviews that I am doing. You can find more information about Jim and his work at his website. A very versatile writer, Jim has authored the comedic Jig the Goblin books, and the fairy tale princess adaptations beginning with The Stepsister Scheme. His new series, Libriomancer begins in June.

And, Jim Hines is the poster child for all of you who say you can't find time to write. Read on...

Tamago: Do you have a regular drafting process, or does your drafting process vary from book to book. Can you describe it to us generally, or at least for one project?

Jim: I have a fairly regular process, though it’s messy. I start with an outline, because my brain just can’t hold an entire novel. I’ve tried. It’s ugly. So I get a 3-4 page outline, then start writing the first draft. Around 20K-30K words, I realize the outline is utterly messed up, and throw it away. At that point I have to stop and write up a new outline. (Small brain again.) This usually repeats at about 50K words, so by the time I finish up a first draft, I’ve crashed and burned at least three times. Most books require about four complete rewrites, though after the first draft, I don’t have to stop and redo the outline quite as often.

Tamago: I know that you used to write mostly at work over your lunch hour. Is this still true? What do/did you like about this writing technique? About how long is a writing session for you? Do you get a certain number of words per session?

Jim: It’s still true. I write for about an hour during my lunch break, and on a good day, I can get through close to 1000 words. I think the biggest advantage to this schedule, for me, is that it’s a regular time when I know I won’t be interrupted. Occasionally one of my coworkers pokes his or her head in, but most of them know and respect what I’m doing from Noon to 1:00 every day.

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Mirrored from Writer Tamago.