Creative Spaces with Speculative Fiction Author Charlotte Boyett-Compo
When the bell
tolls, hell will open up for Kamerone Cree and his personal demons
will be waiting.
EVILWIND is full time writer, Charlotte Boyett-Compo's, 41st
novel available now from New Concepts Publishing.
The Where:
My
husband built me a 12 X 24 cedar building that is
connected to our house by a covered deck. It has sliding
doors that overlook a huge section of rolling farm land.
You can take a sneak peak inside on my webpage by going to
http://www.windlegends.org/authorsncharlee.htm.
First Glance: Ask my husband and he'd say the clutter of 'stuff'.
Ask me and I'll tell you every knickknack and paddywack is
necessary for my creative processes. My gargoyle, grim
reaper, anubis and knight statues are needed for
inspiration. Every photo, poster, paperback is absolutely
essential in making me calm and relaxed. I positively need
the clutter of 'stuff' around me in order to exist. I
believe I have a mild form of clutteritus.
Creative Enhancements: On an entertainment center, I have
a television that's hooked up to the satellite dish, a DVD/VCR
player and a CD player. On another shelf unit I have a
microwave. There is a mini frige, loveseat, chair, coffee
table, My desk area is composed of three large metal
office desks, two of which have hutches.
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Most Helpful: The revolving file system I have on my desk.
It has all the necessary cheat sheets with information
readily available with the research items I'm using on my
latest book. I have a compendium that I keep which lists
every character, every plot, every description of things
from keeps to horses to ships to the color of the
heroine's eye/hair. That file is indispensable to me. I
also have numerous files on the anatomy of things from
belt buckles to doors to roofs...you name it and I'm
likely to have the anatomy of it somewhere in my files.
The nice desk chair my DH bought me several years ago
helps my broken tailbone and I couldn't do without it. I
also have candy jars scattered around for...ah, let's
see...OH YEAH...quick energy. That's it. Quick energy.
Creative
Nemesis:
INTERRUPTIONS!!!!!
I honestly do not believe in writer's block. All that
is are interruptions. Your significant other needs to be
fed. The dog needs to come in; the cat needs to go out.
The doorbell or phone rings. The neighbor needs to borrow
a cup of whatever. The local Jehovah's Witness has
discovered where you live and since you're Catholic, you
have become a prime target for the Watchtower. Your mother
wants to talk. Your father wants to tell you the latest
thing your mom did to piss him off. Your best friend's
husband is having an affair with another friend's husband
and your friend wants you to help her kill him/her. You
have a migraine-toothache-cold-broken toe—or just the
plain poor me. Interruptions will kill creativity in a
heartbeat and once you've had your chain of thought
broken, it's hard to put the links back together without
wanting to kill whoever or whatever interrupted you.
Keeping
Track: I
am a seat of the pants writer so I don't plan my novels
nor do I keep track of the progress. I just let it go as
it goes. The work will tell me when it's finished. I have
always dreamed my novels before I ever begin writing them
and I will go to my grave believing that my Muse...his
name is Sean...makes my ears ring when he's sending me
notes on the novel. If the ringing lasts awhile, it will
be a novel. If it's just for a short time, it will be a
short story. It has never failed. I know to stop and
listen when the ringing starts. I can't hear what Sean's
saying when my ears are ringing but his words will be
there when it's time to write. Sean could be from Pluto
for all I know but I truly believe he's from
On
the Move: I
sometimes sit on the deck during the summer and write.
There's something about a porch that is conducive to
romantic writing. When
we travel, I take along my laptop and write whenever the
mood strikes. Usually I'm with my DH at a conference and
while he is being enlightened by his boring instructors,
I'm writing erotica and going to places those instructors
can't follow. I
write my best dialogue in the shower so I take along a
voice-activated mini recorder and put it on the shelf just
outside the shower. If I get creative, I start doing the
different characters' dialogue and record it...complete
with sound effects if needed. I often go to the mall or
some large busy place like a plaza and sit and watch
people. You can learn so much about human behavior while
you're doing that. You can study mannerisms and speech
inflections that will add depth to your character's basic
makeup. You can pick up some great ideas from snatches of
conversation you overhear. I got the entire inspiration
for a novel from listening to a young father talking to
his baby son about how women should never be allowed to
'bear children if they can't stay home to care for them'.
I got the impression he was a stay-at-home dad who was
chaffing under the restriction.
Effects of Setting: I've written while flat on my back in a hospital bed so I can't say much of anything other than those pesky interruptions affect my writing. If the Muse is there, I'll be writing.
Staying
Productive: I'm
fairly productive all the time so I don't really have a
system for being more so. I have found that the better I
feel...I am prone to migraines and have fibromyalgia...the
longer I can write. But I have written when I was almost
too sick to hold my head up. I've written when my head was
splitting open but a scene had come to me and I had to get
it down on paper before I lost it. I just worked through
the pain and went back later to flesh out the work when I
was on an even keel. Writing is cathartic to me and when
I'm hurt or angry or feeling down, I'll either cook or
write. If Tom comes home and there are five pots of soup
boiling away, chicken and dressing in the oven and
cupcakes slathered with lemon icing on the counter, he
always asks: "What's wrong, baby?" Followed by:
"Where would you like to go to eat tonight?" The
man has had forty years of living with me so he knows how
to handle my moods. On Friday night, we were on our way to
On
The Nightstand:
Christine
Feehan's The
Conspiracy Game.
Off
the Record:
I'm adopted and
I didn't find out until my adoptive
parents died when I was in my fifties. It was quite a
revelation that shook me to my foundation. I did not
know...although I had suspected...until someone from my
father's family called and said: "You are a really
nice woman but you're not part of our family, never have
been so we'd just as soon you not contact us ever
again." Talk about a cheap shot??
Wisdom: Try to keep those interruptions at the absolute bare
minimum. Let your family, friends, co-workers know you are
serious about your writing and that it isn't a 'little
hobby' you do just to pass the time. Put your whole heart
into it and make it clear that interruptions while you are
in the creative process could result in bodily harm to the
culprit. Set limits on your time and insist those around
you adhere to those limits as closely as possible. You're
going to get guff from them...believe me you will...but if
you are serious about what you are trying to do, don't let
those around you infringe on YOUR time. Make sure they
understand that you are as serious about your writing as
your significant other is about the Super Bowl. As serious
as your daughter is about American Idol or your son is
about Nascar. Set those limits and insist your family and
friends stick to those limits. If not, I have a used Uzi
I'll sell cheap. Only been used once on an obnoxious
neighbor.
Visit Charlotte Boyett-Compo online at: www.windlegends.org
