A writerly (work with me, I tend to make up words as I need them) friend of mine encouraged me to blog about my writing process and I almost burst out laughing. Not that I think that’s a bad idea, I just thought calling what I do a ‘process’ gave it a lot more gravitas than it deserved.

My process, if you want to call it that, is simple. The first thing I should mention is I would rather read than write. I love writing, don’t get me wrong, but I tend to head toward the path of least resistance and reading what other people write is easier.
However, I have a muse (don’t all creative folks) and she’s a pushy bitch so she will show up with an idea. Well, again, too much gravitas, she will show up with a concept or a word sketch.

I liken my muse to a snitch for the police and the first time she shows up, she’s heard… something. Not enough detail to make an arrest (write a piece) but enough for her to come see me. I am usually busy, reading or writing, and tell her to go away until she has something solid. So she will.

Then she’s back with a little more. Again, I will send her away until she’s got more. This routine goes on until I finally get my opening line or scene and enough detail to start. Only then will I drag my tired bones to the keyboard or away from what I am currently working on to get it down.

Now just because I start a piece does not mean I will sit and work on it until finished. Sometimes, if I’m busy with something else, I only have time to get down enough to make sure I ‘have it’. Meaning, if I can’t work on it right then, that when I do choose to return, I have enough to figure out where this was going. I refer to these bits as ‘seeds’, as in seeds for future pieces.

These seeds can be anywhere from 500 to 5000 words, depending on what kind of piece it is. Anything less than 500 words and it’s not enough to jump-start the creative process when I have time to work on it. Anything more than 5000 and this is my new project de jour and I’m usually in for the duration. Whether the duration is finished or I’ve written it into a corner or off a cliff, is up for discovery but I’m usually there for a while.

Therefore, you see why I hesitate to call this a process. To me a process is something that can be documented or duplicated and thus far, none of my books have followed the same path. Some I have sat down and written in one fell swoop. Some ended up on my hard drive languishing until I happened to run across them and finally figure out how to finish them.

I envy writers who outline, as I don’t. Nothing against the practice, but my head doesn’t work that way. Most of the time I don’t know where I’m going until I get there. It’s part of what makes writing fun for me and trust me, if this wasn’t fun, I wouldn’t do it. There are many other unfun ways to spend my time that don’t call for as much skull sweat, cursing or crying. I’m not saying outlines never get done, but that’s usually further down the road or after a piece is finished for editing.

I am a bear about timelines and that’s usually when I will begin outlining to make sure my timelines work as written. If they don’t then this will show up in my timeline and I can tweak things while I edit. A few judicious ‘later that same day’s and ‘the following week’s and generally all is copasetic with my timelines and I can rest easy in that respect. My first drafts tend to read as if the events are happening during the longest day in human history so I have learned to spread the events out when I edit.

So there you have it. My process, if you want to dignify it with that name. I get an idea I sit down and write until I can’t or don’t have time to work on that particular piece anymore. That can either be finished or stuck, but I write as much as I can. The finished are edited, polished, and published. The stuck are tucked into my store of seeds.

Now my writerly friend can laugh at me because I actually took their advice. I hope you found this enlightening and if not at least entertaining. Tune in later for part two.