I don't see it *quite* the same way. Sure, it's absolutely possible to get some prep-writing done in any one of those non-butt-in-chair environments. You might even get the solid gold idea that puts generations of offspring through college and grad school while you're ordering a bear claw at Intelligentsia.

But I would never *count* on getting anything done away from the desk. Butt-in-chair time is where the rubber meets the road. I'm getting work done, even if that work is just figuring out what's keeping me from getting work done. If I'm doing laundry or shopping at Trader Joe's, chances are I'm going to think about writing at some point, but when I'm in the chair, writing is my true focus -- and that makes a big difference. I don't really count anything else as "writing" time.

Hey Scott -- what is your prep to page writing ratio?

I did an online chat with Jonathan Franzen and he said he "prepped" his latest book for 8 years and then wrote it in an year.

Stanley Kubrick used to prep movies for upwards of a decade before launching into production.

And then there's other artists who will get an idea for a song, or a story, and just sit down and write it that day. I think Stephen King might work this way -- he'll have something brewing around in his semi-conscious, and one day he'll decide, "Okay, that's what I'm going to write next," and he'll just start writing the book - no outline, no character bios, no theme work, nothing. Just go for it.

I know each writer has their own ratio, and I've wondered about this here before -- how do you know when you're doing too much prep writing, or maybe not enough? As you become more experienced as a writer, do you need less and less prep?

j

@Nick: My revision of the original mantra is, granted, hyperbole. Obviously butt in chair is a huge and critical part of writing as even some / most of prep-writing involves that as well. The spirit of my point is to highlight how important I think prep-writing is to the process. That image that a writer puts butt on chair, starting from scratch and pounds out a story while true in some cases, does not reflect the reality of most professional writers, who spend a ton of time prepping their story before moving into page-writing.

@James: It varies from project to project. For example, I wrote an historical drama once requiring quite a bit of research and that took nearly a half-year before hitting FADE IN. If it's a contemporary comedy with minimal research required and I can work on it full-time, I'd say two-three months in prep.

That said, I have an approach I use with students which if they're diligent can take them through the prep process, from concept to outline, in 6 weeks. One thing that's interesting about it is how character-centric it is, the story's plot arising from character development.

Love it -- can you set up to teach that process at UCLA extension :-)?

@James: Stay tuned as I'll be announcing something soon.