I was just reading a review of Hiromo Goto’s new book. I am curious about this book because it about a girl who goes looking for her missing mother in the Half World. It is illustrated by Jillian Tamaki who illustrated Skim and also does other amazing illustrations.
This what Hiromo Goto says about her writing process:
Indie Bound
How long does it take you to write a novel? Do you have a daily writing routine that you keep to? How has it felt to get recognized for your writing?
To date, it takes me anywhere from one year to seven years to complete a novel. I’m hoping to develop a strategy so that I’ll have a book every two or three years. I often read about authors who write every day for four hours or commit to writing three pages a day, etc. How disciplined, I think, and shake my head, and stare dejectedly at my messy desk. It’s six o’clock and I haven’t even put on the rice, if I hurry it’ll be steamed by the time I’ve started boiling dumplings, what a shitty idea to make dumplings today, and I hadn’t even started mincing the damned cabbage. “What’s for supper,” my beautiful monsters cry from the living room, “What’s for supper,” they chirp and their hungry limbs unravel from their bodies, stretching across the hardwood, unfurling to tap, tap, tug, tug on my T-shirt, I thrust some carrot sticks into their hands and they retreat, the sound of crunch, crunching over the television blur.
If I have a contractual deadline I do have a writing schedule. I write five pages a day for one month. If I don’t have a deadline I write when I can’t stand not writing anymore. I spend more time thinking about ideas than writing them down, though I do keep a notebook. And every time I finish a novel it feels like a fluke. Lookit that! I think. That’s a novel! Where did it come from? Did I do that? It’s similar to that feeling when you’re driving but not paying attention to the drive and before you know it, you’ve arrived and you can barely remember the route you’ve taken. Though this might be linked to my terrible short-term memory more than creative process….
I think I’ve been blessed with the reception of my books. They’ve all been published with small presses who are willing to take chances on unconventional texts (Let’s support small presses and independent booksellers, folks!). My first novel, Chorus of Mushrooms, has been picked up by universities across Canada and is often used in various English classes. So this gives it a longer shelf-life than most first novels. That my writing is recognized and remains in print tells me I’m on the right track.
