#behold: my official 10-step program to being A Writer

[fiddles-ifs]

Your writing process, hand it over

And give you my secrets????

Of course!! I’ll put it under a readmore so it’s not clogging the dash.

I tend to break things down into different chunks, and I do A Lot of prep work before I actually start writing things. That’s just how my brain works. Keep in mind that my writing process might not be good for you.

PREP WORK

Step One: brainstorm an idea for a thing, usually in the shower which is, like, the ultimate ideas font. A lot of your ideas will also be at least partially inspired by media you consume, which is okay! Art is derivative. Just be sure you’re not plagiarizing.

 Write all of these ideas down AS SOON as they happen, or as soon as possible. Look over them later but don’t get too attached to them -- you’re going to throw a lot out later.

Step Two: start writing the thing. I usually do a few snippets before I’m satisfied that this is actually A Thing that I want to work on and devote my time to. Start making an outline of important plot points, make a timeline/chapter index, write down important characters, make worldbuilding notes.

ACTUALLY WRITING

Step Three: write what you really want to write, it could be a snippet, it could be a whole chapter. Save it for later. Preferably do this in a program like Word or Google Docs, which can check your spelling and grammar for you -- I am infamously bad at both.

Step Four: slog through the initial setup to get to the good parts. Continue writing snippets to incorporate later like eggs beaten to stiff peaks.

Step Five: incorporate snippets into the actual work. Continue writing and connecting things. Make sure you have your notes on handy so you don’t accidentally Joss Whedon yourself.

Step Six: rinse and repeat.

EDITING, REWRITING, AND FINAL TOUCHES

Step Seven: go back and reread every single thing you’ve ever written. The whole thing. Have a notebook/note-taking app on-hand and take notes on things that could be improved or reworked while you read. This will take a while.

Step Eight: using your notes, go through and rewrite your initial draft. Hammer out plot wrinkles, weird characterization, cut out scenes that don’t work, etc. etc. Do this until you’re completely, wholly satisfied with what you’ve written, and then do it again. 

Optionally have a friend or a professional editor help you out. with steps 7 and 8. 

Step Nine: add in any flourishes you’d like -- like CSS for a Twine game or fancy .pngs for ChoiceScript, etc. etc. etc. Have these reviewed by a third party to make sure it’s cohesive with the story you’re trying to tell.

Step Ten: Publish! Get bank. Do it all over again.