Writers on how they write: Dan Chaon

The Wall Street Journal had a great article a few weeks back: “How to Write a Great Novel”, reflections by novelists on how they approach writing. Since the article is subscription only, I’m featuring one writer per day here, highlighting their process with a key excerpt from the article.

Today’s writer is Dan Chaon, author of You Remind Me Of Me (2004) and Await Your Reply (2009).

Dan Chaon writes a first draft on color-coded note cards he buys at Office Max. Ideas for his books come to him as images and phrases rather than plots, characters or settings, he says. He begins by jotting down imagery, with no back story in mind. He keeps turning the images over in his mind until characters and themes emerge.

During the early stages of writing, he carries a pocketful of cards with him wherever he goes; as they accumulate, he stores them in a card catalogue that he bought at a library sale. It often takes two years before something resembling a novel takes shape. He eventually transcribes the cards onto the computer and writes furiously from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m.

This strikes me as a very right-brain approach, especially at first, working with images and phrases, then at some point, “something resembling a novel takes shape.”

Any of you approach writing a screenplay like this?

[Originally posted November 15, 2009]

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