{"id":327,"date":"2017-08-31T06:29:47","date_gmt":"2017-08-31T05:29:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.writingroutines.com\/?p=327"},"modified":"2017-08-31T14:42:24","modified_gmt":"2017-08-31T13:42:24","slug":"barbara-oakley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.writingroutines.com\/barbara-oakley\/","title":{"rendered":"How This Former Army Captain Turned Bestselling Author Gets Her Writing Done (And What She Learned from Cormac McCarthy)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Who:<\/strong><\/span> Dr. Barbara Oakley<\/span><\/h3>\n

Claim to fame:<\/strong><\/span> A former Army Captain, she\u2019s a several-time published author, whose most recent book looks at how you can learn math and science (even if you flunked algebra!). She\u2019s also the head of the <\/span>world\u2019s largest<\/span><\/a> Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). <\/span><\/h3>\n

Why\u2019d we pick her, in ten words:<\/strong><\/span> Engineering Professor. Veteran. Author. MOOC Savant. She\u2019s basically Indiana Jones.<\/span><\/h3>\n

Where to find her:<\/strong><\/span> On <\/span>Coursera<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>On Twitter<\/span><\/a>, and <\/span>On Amazon<\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n

When did she first want to become a writer<\/span><\/strong>: \u201c<\/span>My big sister told great stories at night after the lights went out. I would beg her not to stop, no matter how late it got. She wanted to be a writer when she grew up\u2014naturally, I wanted to be a writer, too. I kept diaries through my childhood and teens, which helped build my writing ability. <\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/h3>\n

Let\u2019s start with the basics: What time of day do you start writing? Is it easier for you to write early in the morning? Late at night?<\/b><\/h3>\n

Usually, I try to block out some time during the day. \u00a0If I\u2019m first starting on a book, I\u2019ll try to block out perhaps two to three hours; if I\u2019m in the throes of finalizing a book, eight hours. Optimally, I try to write early in the day. But all-too-often, I\u2019ll wake up to critical emails, so my writing slides into mid-morning or even mid-afternoon. Some days, as when I\u2019m teaching or in heavy travel, I can\u2019t write at all.<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s your preferred tool for writing\u2014a word processor like Microsoft Word, Google Docs, etc.? A pen and paper?<\/b><\/h3>\n

I have a love-hate relationship with Microsoft Word, which I use for all my book and script writing. The View\/Outline feature allows me to expand and compress a document or move chapters or snippets of the material around with ease. <\/span><\/p>\n

Do you listen to music when you write, or do you prefer silence, or something else in the background?<\/b><\/h3>\n

I\u2019m an \u201cabsolute quiet\u201d kind of person. If I\u2019m writing at home, and there\u2019s any noise at all, such as my wonderful hubby puttering around and coincidentally clearing his throat, I wear my <\/span>Peltor Sport Ultimate 10 Hearing Protector Earmuffs<\/span><\/a>. I\u2019m so used to them that when I need to concentrate, I put them on even when there isn\u2019t any noise. Earmuffs are like a signal to my brain\u2014<\/span>Okay, focus!<\/span><\/i> On planes, I often wear noise canceling headphones. <\/span><\/p>\n

Do you have any pre-writing rituals or habits?<\/b><\/h3>\n

When I first sit down to write, I often do a bit of intellectual squirming. Writing is usually not easy for me until I get into it. <\/span><\/p>\n

My ritual is that I get out one of my quadrille ruled engineering pads and a sharpened <\/span>Palomino Blackwing pencil<\/span><\/a> (I keep a Staedtler manual pencil sharpener beside me), and I set out three short tasks. One of them is doing a Pomodoro (25 minutes) on whatever I\u2019m writing. <\/span><\/p>\n

The funny thing is, once I get started on the writing, I usually get into the flow and go for at least several hours. Then I do the other two little tasks. Then it\u2019s out for a walk (if it\u2019s not snowing) and back to make a list of three more things to work on. I start early in the day, around 6:00 or 7:00 am, so I try to quit around 4:00 pm and watch a television show with my hubby. By 5:00 or 6:00 pm, I\u2019ve switched to a more relaxed mode where I try to get away from the computer and read or study. <\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, on the days I teach, it\u2019s a very different schedule that centers on my classes and class preparation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Where do you write?<\/b><\/h3>\n

I\u2019m writing this while sitting on my bed here in my apartment in Kyoto. Next week, I\u2019ll be writing while sitting on my bed in a hotel room in Bogot\u00e1. My favorite writing is when I\u2019m perched at home on my bed, overlooking our garden. I just plop my laptop in my lap, put a quadrille pad with a hard backing beside me, and run the mouse over it. I probably shouldn\u2019t write while sitting up in bed, but I like it.<\/span><\/p>\n

How many words a day do you produce, or try to produce? How much of that ever sees the light of day?<\/b><\/h3>\n

It depends on what I\u2019m working on and the stage of the project. \u00a0I\u2019d say when I\u2019m book-writing or script-writing (I do scripts for massive open online courses), I\u2019ll often sit down with a goal of 500 words in that day. If something big is due, I might set a goal of 1,000 words in a day.<\/span><\/p>\n

Probably three-quarters of what I ultimately produce might see print. But it\u2019s worth noting that I\u2019m a compulsive editor, so a lot of what I write is thrown out or altered during the lengthy creative process. I don\u2019t like it when I have to produce an article on a short deadline because I don\u2019t have much of a chance to edit.<\/span><\/p>\n

On days when I\u2019m teaching or giving a speech somewhere, I don\u2019t worry about writing.<\/span><\/p>\n

When you first sit down to write, how do you start? What goes through your mind when fingers are first meeting keys (or pen hits paper)?<\/b><\/h3>\n

What goes through my mind varies. Many times I begin by editing my previous day\u2019s work. That aligns me with my previous intellectual trajectory. It\u2019s a simple matter to keep going once I\u2019ve edited a couple of paragraphs or a page.<\/span><\/p>\n

When I\u2019m starting something fresh, what goes through my mind is, <\/span>What is my main point<\/span><\/i>? \u00a0Then I try to come up with the words to best introduce that point. Next, I almost invariably think <\/span>Agh, the words I have in mind are so bad.<\/span><\/i> I make myself write them anyway. Surprisingly often, the writing is not as bad as I thought it would be. Of course, sometimes it\u2019s even worse. But at least I\u2019ve got something down that I can go back and change.<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s your process for editing your work?<\/b><\/h3>\n

I don\u2019t have set rules for editing. Sometimes I\u2019ll write a day\u2019s worth of work (500 or 1,000 words, depending on what I\u2019m working on), and then towards the end, I\u2019ll start going back and begin editing. But sometimes I\u2019ll write a paragraph or two and then go back to edit. Editing is little like being a verbal sniper\u2014you\u2019re going back to readjust your aim continually. So I don\u2019t necessarily like to get too far in front of myself without having edited the piece. Sometimes I\u2019ll reread and edit 30 times or more. (Of course, you\u2019ll probably still catch typos in this writing!)<\/span><\/p>\n

Do you have an author whose voice or style you\u2019re trying to emulate when you\u2019re writing?<\/b><\/h3>\n

I admire many writers\u2014Cormac McCarthy, Walter Isaacson, Elizabeth Gilbert, Robert Massie, Jack Weatherford, Cal Newport, Susan Orlean, James Gleick, Santiago Ram\u00f3n y Cajal. I don\u2019t try to emulate them consciously when I’m writing, but I\u2019m sure they have influenced me subconsciously. <\/span><\/p>\n

Do you struggle at all with that dreaded enemy of writing: writer\u2019s block? Do you think such a thing exists?<\/b><\/h3>\n

If I don\u2019t feel like writing, I write anyway. Some of my best writing has come out of times when I felt hopelessly unable to write coherently. \u00a0Of course, some of my worst writing has also come out at those times. \u00a0I chose to believe that I might have rough times in getting myself to write, but I never have to worry about writer\u2019s block. This approach works for me.<\/span><\/p>\n

There have been times in my life, however, when there is just no way to write. \u00a0When my father was dying of Alzheimer\u2019s, for example, I was trying to manage his terminal illness while simultaneously working towards tenure as an engineering professor and making sure our young children were receiving supportive parenting. There were several years where it was simply impossible for me to write anything except the requisite technical papers I needed for tenure.<\/span><\/p>\n

Do you have any favorite books <\/b>about <\/i><\/b>writing and the creative process?<\/b><\/h3>\n

Anne Lamott\u2019s <\/span>Bird by Bird<\/span><\/i><\/a> and Elizabeth Gilbert\u2019s <\/span>Big Magic<\/span><\/i><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

When did your aspirations to become a writer begin?<\/b><\/h3>\n

My big sister told great stories at night after the lights went out. I would beg her not to stop, no matter how late it got. She wanted to be a writer when she grew up\u2014naturally, I wanted to be a writer, too. I kept diaries through my childhood and teens, which helped build my writing ability. <\/span><\/p>\n

I also read about writing and took workshops. A book published in 1972 by Dean Koontz, <\/span>Writing Popular Fiction<\/span><\/i><\/a>, helped set the tone for my writing career. \u00a0Koontz strongly recommended writing books to become established\u2014he wasn\u2019t keen on articles, essays, and short stories. So that\u2019s why my first real writing emerged as a book\u2014<\/span>Hair of the Dog: Tales from Aboard a Russian Trawler.<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

In reality, it\u2019s possible to start a writing career with either with books or smaller pieces. Like many people, I only really learn what I think by writing about it. Most of the topics I find myself interested in\u2014such as the learning process, or why \u201cevil\u201d people do what they do\u2014needed a book, or several books, to do them justice. So my writing life has inevitably centered around writing books.<\/span><\/p>\n

A real challenge for me as a professor with a busy day job is finding the time to keep studying the craft of writing. It\u2019s sometimes all I can do to carve out the time to learn and write about the subject itself.<\/span><\/p>\n

You mentioned that the legendary Cormac McCarthy was a mentor of yours. How did you connect with him and what\u2019s that experience been like?<\/b><\/h3>\n

Cormac liked my tongue-in-cheek but seriously researched book <\/span>Evil Genes: Why Rome Fell, Hitler Rose, Enron Failed, and My Sister Stole My Mother\u2019s Boyfriend<\/span><\/i><\/a>. We got to corresponding about it and my subsequent book, <\/span>Cold-Blooded Kindness<\/span><\/i><\/a>. Cormac is like a kindly uncle. \u00a0When we talk, he doesn\u2019t interrupt\u2014instead, he listens intently. He has a gentle touch with editing, (except when it comes to semicolons). <\/span><\/p>\n

Cormac started out studying engineering\u2014he comes from a line of brilliant engineers. But eventually he felt that his writing was better than his engineering, so he switched to head for a career involving writing. He\u2019s so low-key about everything that when you talk to him, you feel like you\u2019re just having a fun, easy-going conversation. It\u2019s only after you\u2019ve finished the conversation\u2014which may last four or five hours\u2014that you go, <\/span>My God, that man knows everything! \u00a0<\/span><\/i>His ability to recall and recite poetry is uncanny. Whether entropy, auto mechanics, the evolution of language, or the philosophy of Wittgenstein\u2014you name it, he knows it, and has an interesting take on it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cormac McCarthy is the real deal\u2014a true polymath genius. His writing is like an iceberg\u2014what you see above water is only small part of what is manifest in his extraordinary intellect.<\/span><\/p>\n

How do you think your training as an engineer affects your writing?<\/b><\/h3>\n

In engineering, if you get a theory wrong, the plane goes down and everybody dies. \u00a0The type of training we get keeps us in tune with facts. When I\u2019m working on a book, I uncover facts that will let me understand the real story. Sometimes I have to completely revise my understanding of the story in light of what the facts tell me. Unfortunately, some non-fiction writers simply start with their chosen story. Then they cherry pick their facts accordingly. If their chosen story angle happens to be wrong according to some well-known research findings, for example, these writers just ignore those findings and cite what supports their story.<\/span><\/p>\n

I believe my engineering training helps keep me honest.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Barbara Oakley, Ph.D., is the Ram\u00f3n y Cajal Distinguished Scholar of Global Digital Learning at McMaster University and the author of the new book Mindshift: Break Through Obstacles to Learning and Discover Your Hidden Potential<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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Why\u2019d we pick her, in ten words: Engineering […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fiction"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow This Former Army Captain Turned Bestselling Author Gets Her Writing Done (And What She Learned from Cormac McCarthy) - Writing Routines<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.writingroutines.com\/barbara-oakley\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How This Former Army Captain Turned Bestselling Author Gets Her Writing Done (And What She Learned from Cormac McCarthy) - Writing Routines\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Who: Dr. Barbara Oakley Claim to fame: A former Army Captain, she\u2019s a several-time published author, whose most recent book looks at how you can learn math and science (even if you flunked algebra!). 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