Everybody has their own writing process that works for them, but sometimes it can feel like you need to shake things up, or try something new. So, today, I'm going to be sharing my process with you. I feel like I've got a pretty okay system going, at least, it works well for me. I am going to go into detail on a lot of these steps. Feel free to share yours as well! I'm curious (and also nosy.)
1. Brainstorming: I am the kind of person that scribbles a lot down when I am brainstorming. I'll write down any words or phrases that come to mind around whatever I am writing about. It usually starts out as a mess of random words, but eventually something always clicks and I start having real ideas. My main source of inspiration comes from pictures or drawing, so I end up spending a lot of time on Pinterest or Tumblr, searching and collecting inspiration. Music occasionally works for me if I have a really inspiring song in mind. I'm always adding to my various stories I have already wrote, meaning whenever I am in the mood to write something I can quickly find something there.
2. "Planning": Why the question marks? Well, because I'm not really a planner. For small projects like short stories, I don't tend to plan. The most I will do is leave myself bullet points of what to do next if I have to take a break.
3. Pre-Writing: I don't have a routine that helps me write. Kind of the opposite, actually. If i plan to write but then do something else first, even if it is just doing laundry, I end up never sitting down to start. This is usually the hardest stage for me. I tend to either write first thing in the morning, or late at night, and often, I will start with a word war against myself, promising that if after twenty-minutes I'm still struggling to start anything, I can start something else. Nine times out of ten, once those twenty-minutes are up, I don't want to stop.
4.Writing: Once I start writing, whether it's because of a word war or sheer enthusiasm, I try to keep it going as long as possible with as few breaks as I can. Probably not very healthy, but I seem to fall out of writing something very quickly.
I try to go over my works when I can, so that in theory, they can get better each day. What does your writing process look like? Is there anything that I do that you think is strange? It has changed over the past few years, but I think it's finally becoming something solid for me.
