When I speak of “micro writing”, it might be something you’ve already heard of or tried employing in your own writing tactics. It could also be called something completely different and I’m just using that phrase to fit what I do personally. Micro writing to me is writing in very, very short bursts (I mean very short, probably shorter than most of you). When I wrote my first novel Thicket, it took me roughly two and a half years to complete using this method. I’m talking writing specifically two to three paragraphs at a time over many days and nights. I did this specifically toward the end of my manuscript, and when I started doing it consecutively (over a 3 month span, twice in 2015) it made the flow of my writing that much more manageable. I found that writing this way allowed me to re-read and edit my passages much more easily and effectively. I could really focus on the words and structure for half an hour, then go ahead and write the next three or so paragraphs and do the same thing the next night. I guess I sorta did this out of necessity because I had three daughters under the age of six that I watched and cared for during the day time hours. In the end, it really cut down on editing the final manuscript. I’d say the only edits I really made were the ones suggested to me by Jonathan and Sherayah at Thurston Howl Publications. Even then, the process of editing the whole thing in about a weeks time was comically easy.
Did I mention I wrote the entire novel (between 70-80k words) exclusively on my iPhone 4? That tiny wonder was the best size and fit for my fingers. As smart phones continue to expand in size, I hope that my current cellular device (iPhone 5s) will continue to be my preferred instrument of creation. The ability to go back and forth between thesaurus apps, wiki pages for research and the notepad app itself are what make writing my stories less problematic than if I had to keep going between physical literature and mouse clicks on a desktop. A friend of mine once gave me a laptop to write on because he couldn’t believe that my eyes weren’t straining (which they most definitely were/are, but it’s better than being/having been an alcoholic or having writers block). I don’t know, I guess i’m just a product of our finger tapping, face down/text neck culture. It works for me though, and I won’t fix what isn’t broken. What do you all write on? Do you think you can persuade me to write differently and on a different platform? I’d love to hear what you’ve got.