The Process of Writing

Happy Wednesday!

The hot weather has finally left Arizona for a bit. Yep, you'll probably laugh but it is only 85 degrees today and I'm loving. 85 for us is cool weather.

Anyway, I was recently asked what my writing process is and how can I write so quickly. The question had me thinking about my process so I'm going to share it with you!

First draft:

The first draft (and very rough) draft is the fasted stage of writing for me. I do enough research to make my books sound real while not over doing the knowledge on whatever the topic is. Besides, fiction is for fun and shouldn't sound like a manual! I only research when I reach the part where I need to add the information.

I write the first draft without editing. While I was writing Jesse's brother, I started at the beginning and wrote until I reached the end without skipping to scenes as I thought of them. This way took me forever so now if a scene comes to mind I add it into another document so I can get it out of my head and can add the scene in the manuscript where it goes later on.

This stage of writing reminds of putting a puzzle together. Everything must fit and when one piece is missing, it seems like the whole thing is screwed up! I keep working at it until each piece of the books is put together perfectly.

Revisions:

This part takes me forever since I've left the creative phase and entered into the logic side of writing. I go through my ms several times on the computer, send it to my critique partners, and then go through a print version of the ms. I even read most of the manuscripts outloud for the flow of the story and to spot any errors that have escaped me so far. And this phase of my writing process means that I've alread started the rough draft phase of another manuscript!

I'd love to hear about your writing process so feel free to share with us!

Talk to you soon,
Wendy Ely