Die-hard Writing Habits

 I love a deep, usually somewhat dank, embedded, swallow-a-story-up-and-spit-it-back-out metaphor. This is why I think I may have found my niche in creative nonfiction; I can find themes and subjects in the outside world that keep (at least some elements) of my writing grounded in reality and logical structure, while incorporating the more lyrical, figurative language I write in order to indulge in. Whether it’s the all-consuming metaphor that shifts to suit all the minutia of the story, or brief baby metaphors that stream throughout the story, like carbonation from the bottom of a champagne glass, almost every writing project has to have one form or the other for me.

 In terms of methodology, I’ve always been an Outliner, albeit a loose outliner. To another reader/writer, they would probably seem unintelligible/illegible. There are usually Roman numerals and lower case letters; ideas are chopped into headings followed by key trigger words that are very often imagist, so that I can see the form that key narratives will take when supported with more conceptual, or scenic, portions that I could become too wrapped up in without any discretion. Loop-de-loops and dual-pointed arrows abound, and as the outline gets fervent, ideas are chicken scratched sideways, or squeezed between existing entries. The best outlines have a lifespan of 3-5 days, and some of the meatiest input is produced while I am halfway engaged in something else: listening to a lecture in class, or an author reading their own work is especially productive for me.