Opal Reyne
Chaos! Just joking.
My writing process generally starts with me fixating on spicy scenes in my head. If I like one, I make up another, then another, and then I start thinking about the big high and low emotional scenes. The ones that make you laugh and cry. Then filler.
Once I have most of the main plot ideas in my head and how my characters should get to them, I spend hours looking up the perfect names, what they mean, and if I like the idea of the way my characters might sound saying them.
Before I even put pen to paper, I start mapping out the main emotions, drives, and fears of my characters, and WHY they want to be together.
This is all done in my head. I never write anything down and tend to remember most of the details.
Then, I start at the beginning.
I can't start chapter 1 and then go to chapter 5. I have to write them in order, which can sometimes get me stuck but I just work through them until I get flow again.
Spicy scenes are generally the easiest for me, whereas connecting scenes are the ones I sometimes struggle with.
My first manuscript is always trash. I have lots of errors, spelling mistakes, repeated phrases and actions.
My first round of self-edits generally involve me asking myself what the heck I was trying to say, and getting all to make sense. This is also where I pick up any accidental loop holes and inconsistencies.
My second round of edits is where I start heavily snipping things I don't feel I need, and adding to the scenes where they feel a bit flat.
Then I begin giving my manuscript to people who need to work on it. Sensitivity readers, editors, proofreaders, betas.
I don't have alpha readers, as I find I don't have many plot issues. If there is a major issue, which I've only ever found in one of my books where I needed to rewrite a scene, someone will let me know along the way and I can swiftly fix it.
A book can take my anywhere from 3 weeks to 2 months to write, and I generally hit around 150k words for my novels, sometimes more. It really depends on how sticky the manuscript is in my head, how clear headed I am, and how much I stay off tiktok and social media. Anything negative, especially from social media, tends to stop me from being able to write.
My writing process generally starts with me fixating on spicy scenes in my head. If I like one, I make up another, then another, and then I start thinking about the big high and low emotional scenes. The ones that make you laugh and cry. Then filler.
Once I have most of the main plot ideas in my head and how my characters should get to them, I spend hours looking up the perfect names, what they mean, and if I like the idea of the way my characters might sound saying them.
Before I even put pen to paper, I start mapping out the main emotions, drives, and fears of my characters, and WHY they want to be together.
This is all done in my head. I never write anything down and tend to remember most of the details.
Then, I start at the beginning.
I can't start chapter 1 and then go to chapter 5. I have to write them in order, which can sometimes get me stuck but I just work through them until I get flow again.
Spicy scenes are generally the easiest for me, whereas connecting scenes are the ones I sometimes struggle with.
My first manuscript is always trash. I have lots of errors, spelling mistakes, repeated phrases and actions.
My first round of self-edits generally involve me asking myself what the heck I was trying to say, and getting all to make sense. This is also where I pick up any accidental loop holes and inconsistencies.
My second round of edits is where I start heavily snipping things I don't feel I need, and adding to the scenes where they feel a bit flat.
Then I begin giving my manuscript to people who need to work on it. Sensitivity readers, editors, proofreaders, betas.
I don't have alpha readers, as I find I don't have many plot issues. If there is a major issue, which I've only ever found in one of my books where I needed to rewrite a scene, someone will let me know along the way and I can swiftly fix it.
A book can take my anywhere from 3 weeks to 2 months to write, and I generally hit around 150k words for my novels, sometimes more. It really depends on how sticky the manuscript is in my head, how clear headed I am, and how much I stay off tiktok and social media. Anything negative, especially from social media, tends to stop me from being able to write.
More Answered Questions
Viviane Phillips
asked
Opal Reyne:
I'm so grateful that I found your books! Ever since I started listening to A Soul to Keep, this series has sunk its claws/talons/fangs into me! I just wanted to know who you had the most fun writing? I mean which character, both Mavka and their partners, was your favorite character to write about in scenes? My favorite Mavka to read about is currently Merikh and my favorite partner has been Mayumi.
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