Chaos to Order When Writing A Novel

I am staring at the blank screen unable to write. I am simply paralyzed by the notion of writing my first novel. My desire to be perfect, much like my desire to be organized is a strive for unattainable perfection. I begin to think about my most challenging organizing jobs, the ones that I can’t quite figure out how to start. There is that notion that when the student is ready, the teacher will appear.  The only problem here is that I am usually the teacher.

You see, I am by nature and profession, I am an organizer. For 12 years, I have channeled my innate ability to organize into a consulting company called order, have authored three bestselling books on the topic and speak to groups about making good organizing part of daily life. My philosophy is simple, take control of your clutter before it takes control of you. When writing about organizing, I am in my wheelhouse, feeling confident. That kind of writing is well, orderly, pardon the pun. I use an outline and take it one step at a time.

However, a few years ago, I had a tingling sensation that led me into the netherworld of writing fiction. Why would an organized person like me try to get into that crazy world? It might have been the lunar eclipse or my inclination to put myself into the most uncomfortable positions possible, but I can’t be sure.

So, there I sit, like Snoopy on the dog house: It was a dark and stormy night, echoing in an endless loop in my head. Racked with emotional insecurity, I churn out a dismal two sentences in two days. My inclination to make things picture perfect has stopped me in my tracks.  In fact, I have spent so much time managing my anxiety about the writing, that I have done little writing at all.  As Dorothy Parker so brilliantly said, “I hate writing, I love having written.”

And I cannot agree more. This is not the only philosophy that Ms. Parker and I agree on, but I digress.

Anxiety management is familiar to me, since it is one of the biggest obstacles my clients face. One of my most angst-producing shopaholic clients is included in my, now finished novel, Best Friend for Hire, excerpted below. The main character Jessie DeSalvo is hired to help a shopaholic unearth the excesses of her four walk-in closets.

Closet number one was filled with fur vests and animal prints; frankly, it looked more like an exhibit at the Museum of Natural History than a workable wardrobe. I dismissed going through this one first; it was too big of a bear to handle. Closet number two was “fancy,” she told me. This was haute couture, high designer, and featured fewer pieces, but some big space suckers, like a full-length Yves Saint Laurent ball gown that had never been worn and spread out to take up seemingly half the closet. Okay, I’m exaggerating. It was really just a quarter.

“It’s insane, I know, but I got a great deal on it.” “And where exactly did you plan to go in that one?” “Nowhere really, but I thought it would be a good thing to have,” she fumbled. When I pulled out a Joan Vass two-piece black ensemble with cutaways, Caroline explained that she thought it might be fun to dress like one of the Real Housewives of New York. Of course, the tags were still on this outfit. Because things worn on reality television are never actually really worn in reality.

Like Jessie, that initial purge pile that big organizing job create, causes immediate anxiety. My experience tells me that, that working chaos is necessary.  It is a necessary to get everything out before the editing can begin.

This is true of many creative processes, I worked in marketing for many years and have wielded a pen to wipe board in many a successful brainstorming session. The concept is the same. I decided to adopt the strategy of creating verbal chaos. Experience has proven, that I am a much better editor, than writer.

Since I make my living prettying up spaces, I was confident that I could pretty up any writing that I managed to get on paper. The goal was to stop self-editing and simply write. For added inspiration, I visited the Novel Writing in a Month site or http://nanowrimo.org/ to those in the know. With their guidelines, I set a daily word count goal and learned how to turn off my inner editor. I released the “perfect” and became buoyant in my mistake making.

My new devil may care attitude paid off.  My word count was increasing. And with several weeks of consistent effort, a very rough draft of Best Friend for Hire emerged.  Back in my comfort zone, I began editing, rewriting and tidying up the literary clutter. I was happy to return to a position of control, but I now see the value in the creative chaos.

The teacher had become the student.

—

Mary Carlomagno is the author of three previous books about organizing, a nationally recognized spokesperson and owner of order (orderperiod.com) a company that helps busy people get organized and live more balanced lives. She has been featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show, NBC’s Today, and National Public Radio. She was born and raised in New Jersey and currently lives there with her husband and two children.

About BEST FRIEND FOR HIRE< Jersey Girl Jessie DeSalvo has her dream job at one of New York’s top publishing companies. After ten years of hard work the day of her big promotion has arrived. Unfortunately, her company has other ideas. Instead of a corner office, Jessie is handed her pink slip.

Left with little more than her cell phone and an unusable contact list, Jessie retreats to less-than-fashionable Hoboken, New Jersey, to figure out her life—and deal with the attentions of her loving but inquisitive Italian-American family. Then she accidentally stumbles into a career as a professional best friend—by helping friends and strangers straighten out whatever is wrong with their lives. Her jobs include planning the New Jersey wedding of the year and saving a bankrupt rock club in town. Soon, things get complicated when she falls in love with the club manager—and promises an appearance by Bruce Springsteen.

In the end, Jessie realizes that not even “The Boss” can make things right—and that she needs to become her own best friend to be truly happy.