"When [Craig] Rice did finally sit down to write a book, it was a sight to see. Her writing habits were legendary. She wrote without an outline, or character sketches, or any good idea of where she was going, simply typing away until she'd completed a novel. The manic sessions would sometimes last for days. These focused writing sessions provided the first indication that perhaps Craig Rice didn't behave like other writers – she was driven to complete a work in a few sittings. No one would see her until she emerged with a finished book." -- Jeffrey Marks, from Who Was That Lady? Craig Rice: The Queen of Screwball Mystery
Craig Rice on Words and Writing
"When [Craig] Rice did finally sit down to write a book, it was a sight to see. Her writing habits were legendary. She wrote without an outline, or character sketches, or any good idea of where she was going, simply typing away until she'd completed a novel. The manic sessions would sometimes last for days. These focused writing sessions provided the first indication that perhaps Craig Rice didn't behave like other writers – she was driven to complete a work in a few sittings. No one would see her until she emerged with a finished book." -- Jeffrey Marks, from Who Was That Lady? Craig Rice: The Queen of Screwball Mystery
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I believe Georges Simenon said he wrote this way - holed up in a room for a week and writing off into the blue without knowing who had committed the murder until he got to the end.
ReplyDeleteClearly both of them wrote the book in their head and when it was done sat down to type it out. I like it when it works this way but it isn't often.
ReplyDeletePatti: I'm reading Jeffrey Marks' biography of Craig Rice now, and it sounds like she was very mentally unstable, with long bouts of depression broken up by intense periods of work. This was sadly probably the only way she could write. I'll post about the biography when I am done reading, it is excellent and very compelling so far.
ReplyDeleteFascinating! I've haven't read any of her books, but I'm tempted to now.
ReplyDelete