Interesting post. Her process isn't dissimilar to a lot of professional writers, with the exception of the January 8th start date, and perhaps the number of hours she writes every day. That's quite a lot of writing. Does she have a life outside of writing? And what if she doesn't finish a book in a year? Does she start another one on January 8th anyway?

Thanks for posting this, I love to hear about other writers' processes. Just finished reading Joe Eszterhas' Hollywood Animal and the Devil's Guide, thanks to an excerpt you posted on this site.

I've heard this "trance" and "someone else writing through me" idea many times in writers' interviews. It happens to me when I'm writing prose, and I just start writing without knowing quite where I'm going, and my subconcious drives me. But it's never happened for me in screenwriting. (Well, maybe the occasional scene here and there, but nothing i can sustain for an entire script).

I'm curious... does anyone work this way while writing screenplays?

Thanks so much for posting! Absolutely love Allende! I use outline, stay open, have similar hours routine. Instead of candles, flowers & incense, I play music- often loud- that fits & pushes the story!