I’m a pretty solid left-brainer. I’m organized. Not to a compulsive degree, but close enough. I like things in the right places, dishes in the dishwasher, papers filed, pillows fluffed. My three kids’ diverse daily schedules are color-coded on my iPhone. I’m a slave to the clock.
So you’d think my left-brain would prevail even when it comes to the normally right-brain task of creative writing. You’d think I would break the seal on a fresh package of colored index cards, or open a blank document on my MacBook, and then begin outlining my novel in an orderly fashion – chapter-by-chapter, scene-by-scene. Wouldn’t you think that? Me too.
But no. When I begin a novel, my left-brain hightails it. It cowers in the shadows, horrified, as ideas come in no particular order, in scattered bits and pieces – a mood, a setting, a moment, a fragment of dialogue. After much kicking, screaming and self-loathing over this disorganized plot-less thing, a well-meaning critique partner might gently suggest that I focus on creating an outline or a story map. Then there’s more kicking, screaming and agony.
But, it eventually happens. My brain – left and right – pulls all the pieces together – the characters, the plot and subplots – and the novel goes where it needs to go. Not in the first draft, certainly, but eventually. This is the inefficient, frustrating, miraculous process that somehow works for me.
So my goal as I trudge through the current torture of this novel-in-progress, is to remind myself to trust my own process. I have to allow the right-brain ideas to swirl in an uncomfortably messy chaotic mush for a while. My left-brain can’t force the ideas into their proper places until the right-brain is ready to give over some control. Though painful, this process will get a novel written. Maybe it’ll even be my best one yet.
What about you? Do you fall in the right- or left-brain camp?
*According to the left-brain, right-brain dominance theory, the left side of the brain is considered to be adept at tasks that involve logic and analytical thinking, while the right side is best at expressive and creative tasks. Researchers have debunked the theory, but, for this post, let’s just believe.
Natasha Sinel is a writer of young adult fiction, represented by Linda Epstein. She lives in Bedford Corners, NY with her husband and three male children. When she’s not writing, she can be found muttering expletives while wiping off toilet seats and bathroom floors. She’s pretty sure that if she were male, she’d figure out how to do the whole thing right.
By second grade, Susan Lubner had penned her first picture book, Fredfoot the Frog. Although it was not published, she did receive a ‘great job!’ sticker. Eventually Susan became the author of three picture books all published by Abrams Books for Young Readers, and a middle grade novel THE UPSIDE OF ORDINARY published by Holiday House. Her stories have also been published by Spider Magazine and Highlights. Susan lives with her husband, dog, and two cats in Massachusetts. They have two grown daughters, Hannah and Julia. 
If you’re a writer working seriously on a manuscript, chances are you found out pretty early on about the whole beta-reading phase of the process. Not only will we each have to go through the pain of finding good beta readers for our work, but we’re sure to be reciprocating the favor several times. People approach the beta process differently, leading to all kinds of methods and all kinds of results—some not very pretty or useful. The thing is, by the time each of us gets to the beta-reading phase, we’ve likely burned through most of our pairs of fresh eyes. There might only be one person left to give a true, unbiased test read, so why would we want that chance messed up by the process of it all?
M-E Girard is a writer of contemporary fiction—mostly young adult fiction, usually queer fiction, and always about girls. She is working on her first young adult novel, whose title keeps changing. M-E was a fellow of the Lambda Literary Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBT Voices in 2013. She is all over social media, and always trying to make blogging a more regular thing. She lives not too far outside of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
