What’s My Writing Process

A couple of readers (and writers) have queried along the way about what my writing process is, so I thought I'd do a post on it.

Process:

My aim is to write 3000 words per day (Monday-Friday). I'm not going to lie, sometimes this doesn't happen. But I always have that goal, and I don't really beat myself up much if I miss it. I do get to put a dollar in my reward jar if I make it, and if I double that amount, then I get to put $3 in the jar. Current reward I'm aiming at is a massage, so when I get enough reward funds, I can enjoy that. It's all about tricking the mind, and making little goal-posts along the way. (:

My poor little reward jar is a little empty at the moment

I don't write one set book at a time. If I had my way, I'd be more likely writing about 4-5. I usually try to sort this out into Project One (the next upcoming release that really needs to be finished), Project Two (most likely the second release forthcoming), Project Three (fiddling around with the plotting and what's going to happen in this book, maybe writing a scene or two), and Project Four (jotting down the idea, and just the base notes idea).

For example, Mission: Improper (the next release in London Steampunk: The Blue Blood Conspiracy) started as Project Four in early 2015. I was a little burned out from writing the London Steampunk series, so I deliberately set it aside to go finish some other projects I wanted to publish, and let it dwell. The ‘dwelling' process is a really important stage in my writing process. Often I'll daydream through the plot, usually when I'm doing groceries, driving somewhere, or staring at the ceiling at 3am in the morning. It's all sub-conscious level stuff, and by the time I get around to fleshing out the plot – where it reaches Project Three level – I've got most of the plot, characters, storyline figured out.

On a weekly basis:

I usually aim for 2000 words on Project One, in the morning-early afternoon, and as soon as I've hit that target, I get to go play with Project Two. It's not that I love project two more than project one, but when I'm pushing through a book, I often get that ‘Shiny New Idea Syndrome'. I know what I MUST write to finish the project, but I want to go play with other ideas. Most likely because I HAVE to write project one. My brain is sometimes a petulant three year old. This is a way to keep myself accountable, otherwise, I'd never finish a book.

Right now:

– I've just finished Mission: Improper edits, and am waiting on the beta reads back from my trusty beta team, where I can put the final touches on the manuscript, before sending it to proofing. After that, it's done!

– Which means… Hexbound just got bumped to Project One status. Right now, it's already clocking in at 70,000 words, so now I get to finish the dirty draft, then polish.

– Project Two: Is now The Last True Hero, featuring McClain, and set in the Burned Lands series. It's at around 30,000 words, because sometimes I just cannot stop myself from dabbling when it's in Project Three stage.

– Project Three: Is Ava, and The Mech Who Loved Me. My aim this month is to plot it out roughly (I'm halfway between a plotter and a pantser – where you fly by the seat of your pants – so plotting to me is creating a list of plot points I want to hit in this, and then roughing in a few scenes).

Technically I'm writing about four books at once, regarding on the stage they're in. (: Every writer has their process, and this works for me.

Another writer recently commented that I seem to be writing a lot faster these days. The truth is, I'm not really. Each book (as it goes through the stages) probably takes about a year to write. But because of my stage process, it just means you're seeing the releases quickly.

In the case of Nobody's Hero, most of this book was written in 2009, before London Steampunk even became a glimmer in my eye. The Shadowbound world was conjured about ten years ago, but it just wasn't working for me at that stage, so I set it aside. So I have a lot of books/series I want to write that have been in the ‘dwelling' process for a long time.

I think the key thing that works for me is that swinging between projects keeps me fresh and interested in what I'm writing. I also tend to read about 4-5 books at a  time (you can find them all over the house), and it depends what mood I'm in when I want to read, as to which one I pick up.