Note: find Part 1 of the interview here
“Writing with a pen is more personal,” Robyn Sperling says of her writing process. Working on actual paper helps her to relax. Although she doesn’t keep a single-volume journal, notebooks are scattered throughout her home, always nearby when inspirations strikes.
“It can be as little as one word from a song, and lately it happens while I’m driving.” Despite her love for pen and paper, she has turned to technology to quickly record her ideas, using a notes program on her smartphone. It’s her compromise between creative preference and the need to get a thought recorded before losing its initial power. Perhaps it isn’t ideal, but like many writers with a day job, taking the opportunities presented is the best way to avoid creative frustration and that sense of an idea lost to delay.
Handwriting continues through two drafts; the first is edited, corrected, and reworked on-the-fly until she is satisfied with it. The second draft is a transitionary state for the tale. Large edits are made, and a sense of external audience begins to influence her decision-making process. “Writing on paper is about telling a story I enjoy. By the time final edits happen on the computer, I’m thinking about what the audience will enjoy.”
In resonance with many other writers, she lists writer’s block as her greatest challenge when writing. “It feels like it just comes down on me, and I’ve learned I need to step away at those times.” Robyn will close her eyes, put down her pen, and, “Just think.” This is especially useful to her when writing the end of a poem, where she is picky about finding the exact word to leave the reader with a certain image or thought.
Robyn’s advice to other writers is the thoughtful sentiment of any writer who’s ever struggled to find a comfortable writing headspace. “Write for yourself. You are the first audience who must love [your work] the most. If people connect with it, that’s the reward, the extra ‘yay!’ moment.”
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