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A Writer’s Corner – The Process

“I was wondering if anyone would be willing to show me the process when they plan their novels? I know we all have our own way in just curious if there’s an easier/more organized route to go!”
A few writers have asked similar questions to this recently.

“A question to those that don’t plan or outline. When addressing the blank page, has the full scene already played out in your head by the time you put pen to paper, or do you take it one word at a time and discover the story as you go?”

One writer states:

“No. I know where the story is going, but I have no idea how this all will happen. Example. My character is going to visit somebody about something. I know who the person is, I know why my character is visiting, but I have no idea how the encounter will actually happen.

I am in my character’s head/body and imagine I am heading to the address. I set out on my way, describe what the character sees and thinks. I arrive, I imagine the house, the environment and whatever is important. He enters the house. Who is letting him in? Greeting. Eventually description of the inside. Dialog. Talk about subject he came for. Ideas that come to mind to make the situation/story more interesting. Possible twist/minor change of story direction. Leaving the house. Thinking about what happened, conclusion. End of scene.”

This is exactly how I approach writing. I definitely have an outline and know the goal of the scene and then walk through it as if in a movie.

Many writers used a form of ‘discovery writing, a term paraphrased Stephen King. He has said if he’s not surprised by writing a story, how can his readers ever be?

I started my first novel this way, and the early chapters are the weakest, in my opinion. I get mired in detail and lose focus. I sometimes end up throwing what I’ve written away, which makes me cringe. Whole chapters have gone in the recycle folder. No, this isn’t for me. The arc comes first, then the detail involves getting into the mood.

Whether it’s an entire novel or a chapter, my process is now the same.

First, I outline the plot points, build the characters and their backstory, define the pivotal moments, and break down the steps that lead to the pivotal scenes. I often write the climactic scenes or dialogue very early so I can add elements that foreshadow. I pretty much always follow this. It works well for me. I never bother to fine-tune or work on the prose.

Next, I work on building the mood and emotion, filling in the gaps to bring the reader into the minds of the characters.

Last, I write the prose, knowing what I want to say and what emotions will be portrayed.

This process works for me very well. I will finish the current novel within three months using this method. I think I’ll stick to it.

Image generated by AI using Midjourney.

A Writer’s Corner – when to rewrite

A question came up on when an author should do a rewrite.

I actually finish the whole storyline (not all the writing), and then I see what’s missing or needs better explanation.

In my novel in progress, Daring to Marry the Duke, I wrote all the pivotal scenes first and sketched out the rest, and then realized that a lot more explaining was needed, and I had to add new scenes and alter a few.

I wrote the entire book sequentially in A Misalliance with Love, which I think was a mistake. It was very difficult to go back and change things.

A Writer’s Corner – The end of the story

How do you know how your story is going to end? Was a question that came up on Reddit. “Are you writing your story with an ending in mind or do you prefer to let things unfold as the story continues?”

Some of the answers are really interesting. Many people say the beginning and the end are solid; it’s the middle that causes problems.

I know the end, struggle to begin, and have the major plot points already in mind before I start writing.

I would be nervous about writing a book without an ending. The end is like a target, and you keep shooting until you finally hit the bull’s eye.

A Writer’s Corner: Too Many Opinions Spoil the Book

A recent Facebook post was from a writer who sent their book for professional editing and received great feedback. They then distributed the book to Beta readers and were appalled that the responses were varied and contradictory. Was it a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth?

My question for this author was: When you read your book, do you actually enjoy it?

Yes, the answer was yes. So, isn’t that good enough? I understand that overwhelming doubt that seems to come from nowhere, triggered by the least little thing. Grammerly did me in when I was writing my first book. I began to trust the tool more than my own instincts. So many conventions are no longer a la mode: adverbs, passive voice, commas. I ignored the fact that I disagreed. None of these things detract from a good plot. Is reading reduced to finding fault with grammar, sentence structure, and the lack of clever analogies. I am enthralled by a good story written in the author’s true voice. I would rather admire that than a clever turn of phrase.

I did give the OP my thoughts on their dilemma. I don’t think relying on other people’s subjective opinions is particularly beneficial. There will never be a consensus. We all have our preferences, and to allow too many people to influence your work is a recipe for disaster.

Since they had feedback from an editor they deemed ‘amazing’, the book was ready for publication. Some people will love the book, and some people won’t. There is no perfect. Flip the switch and put it out there.

A Writer’s Corner – Question to all writers: How did writing affect your mental health?

An interesting question came up in the r/writing subreddit. “Question to all writers: How did writing affect your mental health?”
I hadn’t really thought about my mental health during the process of writing a book. But of course, mental health would be affected. After pondering this, I realized it helped, and it hurt.
The first book was cathartic because when I was done, I realized I had put far too much of myself into my character. And that made me examine a lot about my life. Understanding is always a good thing.
But it’s not just about the writing. The entire process affects me in unexpected ways.
I have a naturally nervous disposition, and writing calms me, as does painting or anything that completely engages the mind. That’s the good part.
From the moment I start thinking about a story, no other worries invade my thoughts. Writing is like opening a box of chocolates and wondering which one I’ll have today. Which part of the storyline is speaking to me at that moment? Letting my imagination run riot is like Christmas, and I’m opening one package after another. Ideas careen around unchecked. The actual writing is a challenge I love.

EUPHORIA.
Things start to get tense and nervous jitters begin during the editing, and the tension ramps up after publication. Editing and using Grammarly makes me doubt my writing skills and trust that this machine editor is right and I am wrong.
DOUBT.
Dealing with post-publication completely rains on the parade. I find myself in a state of anxiety and self-doubt, judging myself by the number of sales and reads (or lack of). It feels like I am at work, waiting for a performance review. And I feel like I should have the metrics to judge my success or failure. The worst feeling.

JUDGEMENT.
My next book will be different. I’m reminding myself that I’m in this for the love of it. Some may like it, and some may not. More readers would be wonderful. Sales would be great, but lacking that doesn’t mean it’s not a good book. I’ll keep at it.

A Writer’s Dilemma: “Literally cannot for the life of me sit down and write”

“Literally cannot for the life of me sit down and write”
A writer in a Reddit writer’s forum recently made this complaint.
“So I’ve been stuck on the like in between bits of my story for a while and for the life of me I can’t sit down and write them because I’m so bored! It’s not even that these parts are unimportant or unintresting they’re just not what I want to write in the story at the moment so then I just get stuck and never write. Advice?”

Wow. I went through this very thing last week. Writing was so tedious, and I was stumbling through it, trying to cut through the weeds and find something to grasp onto. Ugh. In the end, I did something drastic. I made a copy of my draft and then took a hatchet to it. I eliminated every chapter that was not essential to moving the story along. Surprise, surprise – a lot got chopped. I cursed myself, feeling that I had wasted an inordinate amount of time, and then decided to concentrate only on telling that story as best I could. Eliminating the superfluous fluff helped me concentrate. Next, for each scene, I stepped into the shoes of my character and did a role play. It suddenly became fun.
Maybe I’ll salvage something from what I cut out, but I doubt it. Sometimes you have to go nuclear. Other times, when I am stuck, I do something else that will be beneficial to this venture, like social media or outlining the next book. I can not imagine how any writer can ‘force’ themselves to write, and if they are stuck, maybe they just need a little change of direction.

One commenter had a wonderful, unique trick for when you become stuck, and I have to share it here:

“Take one of your favorite books. Open it to a chapter you liked. Copy one – four pages of it word for word into your processor of choice – google doc/scrivener project/word file/etc.
Read it back to yourself. Immerse yourself in the words. Imagine the style- dialogue, descriptions, narration, as you think about your own story. Pick a small a scene in your book you haven’t wanted to write. Write a sentence from it in a style similar to what you copied down. If you like it, write another, and another. Let the words come in the style of your favorite book. Later you can decide to keep it, revise it, or delete it.”

This is brilliant and I am definitely going to try it.

A writer’s dilemma: Adding character flaws

There was an interesting thread in the Reddit writing community about how to avoid making a character too perfect. (How can i avoid writing/creating Mary sues)

The comments and suggestions were great and well worth a read. The consensus was that the character must be given a flaw or a weakness. I agree and believe the flaw is most interesting when it interferes with the character’s goals. This is important for secondary characters as well.

I find male protagonists often painted as either totally flawed or too perfect and unattainable. Female characters who are imperfect are far more interesting, particularly if the writer allows the reader to discover why they have these imperfections.

The character I’m writing now is a bit of a Pollyanna, saved from being unbearable because, although she does good, she complains about it and wants to stop being forced to do good. Her escape route from this life makes her look like an opportunist. Not a good look, but somehow, you can’t hate her for it.

Rosie, in A Misalliance with Love, listens to other people’s conversations and is too rigid in her thinking, and Sinclair is trapped by his family’s past.

There are so many ways to take the shine off of a character to show they are not so perfect after all. It’s even more interesting if this is revealed slowly.

Image generated by Canva and digitally manipulated.

Rosie and Sinclair – A Misalliance with Love

“He offered her his arm, and they descended the terrace steps to the long table where sandwiches and cakes had been set up. A footman handed them their cups, and Rosie tilted forward to survey the delicious food arranged on platters. She selected a cucumber sandwich and munched on it with gusto. He thought that her lack of refinement would not do her any favors, and she did not seem to be conscious of it—or to care.”

Excerpt From: Dee Harper Lewis. “A Misalliance with Love.”

A writer’s dilemma: When do you abandon your book?

There was a pretty interesting discussion on a writer’s subreddit where someone was at 30,000 words into their book and ready to abandon it.

I really related to this.

I once abandoned a book at 40,000 words and then realized months later that the book really had no plot, and I hadn’t given the characters any likable personality traits. They were just going through the motions.

I moved on and became obsessed with another plot. That one was finished and published. Maybe one should go back to the basics of why they want to tell a particular story. What is compelling about the characters, and why are they even there? Give them a reason to live and then something to survive.

A Writer’s corner: Stability killing my creativity

“I’ve been struggling with writing (and journaling) in the past few years, basically since my life took a turn and it became ‘normal’.”
A writer in my favorite subreddit related their continued struggles to produce any work. I can very much relate to the frustration and angst behind this statement. I think it is something all artistic people fear.

I stopped doing anything creative when I was living a normal life with a stressful job. The only time I started writing again was when I was either between jobs or when I had a job that gave me hours of downtime. Once, when I was required to travel for work, I ended up with six hours of time to kill per week. I wrote a non-fiction book in that time.

During the pandemic, I started a fiction novel. Creativity requires energy and concentration, and I find it very difficult to work, socialize and be creative. Something must be sacrificed.

That said, I think carving out 30 minutes a day is not too difficult. It will take longer, but in the end, you will have something.