The Emotional Cycle of Writing a Book
I've written many books, and these days seem to average three or four a year. For me, there's an emotional cycle in my relationship to my books not unlike what one might feel with an inamorata.
My model here is the terminal illness cycle that Dr Elizabeth Kübler-Ross formulated. This roller coaster has become a cliche, but it contains elements of truth. The Kübler-Ross stages of grief are: shock, denial, anger, bargaining, depression, testing, and acceptance.
The Harold Davis stages of writing a book are hubris, fear, negotiation, infatuation, irritation, nepenthe, and surprise.
Hubris - No problem, piece of cake, here's a proposal and outline. (Swaggering and preening and knowing the material superficially.)
Fear - I've signed a contract, now I have to actually learn about the subject and write the thing. Am I good enough? (Will she like me, too?)
Negotiation - Let's talk about this relationship. Can I work on other projects? Can I cut material that was in the outline? Can I bring on other authors? (Monogamy is tough.)
Infatuation - The book is going well, the subject matter is really interesting. (Yes she is wonderful. I think I might be in love after all.)
Irritation - The process of editorial review can be tedious, and book production takes too long. (She uses my toothbrush and doesn't cleanup much. Is she really that attractive?)
Nepenthe - Forgetfulness. My part in the book is done. I forget all about it and move on to other projects. (Let's date other people!)
Surprise - When the book actually appears in print, as in "I wrote that?!?" (Good grief she's beautiful, and for a while she was mine!)
Posted by Harold Davis at September 9, 2005 12:05 PM
