Thank you for hosting me today and for letting me talk about my writing process.
Everyone has a different process of writing, one that suits their needs and the type of author they are. Although I’m a bit of a control freak in general and I’d like to think I’m well organized, I’m not exactly a fan of plotting. A lot of my stories develop as they go along. Sometimes, like with My Summer Roommate, I even add characters or important events in the second or even third draft.
I start with a general idea about how I want the story to develop because every story has to have a point, it needs to have a message. I don’t mean an educational message necessarily, but there must be a conflict and the characters must go through a sequence of events that change them. So that’s my skeleton.
I try to write the first draft quickly. I strive to write 2000 words a day, if I can. I do as little editing as possible at this stage. When I realize a previous scene doesn’t tie in with the next, I’ll sometimes just write a note to change it during revision instead of changing it right that moment. So my first drafts can be very confusing to someone who’s not familiar with my thinking process. In other words, I write terrible first drafts. But I usually finish them in under three months.
For obvious reasons, all my revisions are extensive. Because I don’t follow a well-planned plot, a lot of things need to be changed for consistency’s sake and to nicely tie it all into a flowing story. So my first revision includes, but is not limited to, adding characters, deleting whole scenes (this breaks my heart every time), adding new events, twisting the plot into shape, and correcting grammar.
I try to let the manuscript sit on my desk for a while after this stage. A few months is best, but sometimes it’s only a couple of weeks if I’m on a deadline. I need to clear my mind of everything related to that particular manuscript, I need to cleanse it, so to speak, so I can return to the text with a fresh mind and a more attentive eye.
If all goes well (which it usually doesn’t) and if the story is approximately what I wanted it to be before I started writing it, this is the stage when I polish the text. This is the stage I like most, but also hate the most. I like that I’m beginning to see its final shape, that I’m adding the finishing touches that can make it shine. But I hate the polishing of grammar and syntax and all those more technical aspects of writing. I find all that tedious, although I love language and I certainly love to play with it – which anyone who’s read either Letting Go or My Summer Roommate will notice from the amount of puns.
Now is the time to send the novel to the editors, and I get to do another round of fine-tuning grammar and syntax and expressions – yay me! But at this point I’m happy to do it, because it means that the book is very near publication. Although I’m usually tired of working on the same story for so long, it’s very hard to let it go out into the world and into the readers’ hands. Every time I wait with baited breath to see how they’ll accept it.
Everyone has a different process of writing, one that suits their needs and the type of author they are. Although I’m a bit of a control freak in general and I’d like to think I’m well organized, I’m not exactly a fan of plotting. A lot of my stories develop as they go along. Sometimes, like with My Summer Roommate, I even add characters or important events in the second or even third draft.
I start with a general idea about how I want the story to develop because every story has to have a point, it needs to have a message. I don’t mean an educational message necessarily, but there must be a conflict and the characters must go through a sequence of events that change them. So that’s my skeleton.
I try to write the first draft quickly. I strive to write 2000 words a day, if I can. I do as little editing as possible at this stage. When I realize a previous scene doesn’t tie in with the next, I’ll sometimes just write a note to change it during revision instead of changing it right that moment. So my first drafts can be very confusing to someone who’s not familiar with my thinking process. In other words, I write terrible first drafts. But I usually finish them in under three months.
For obvious reasons, all my revisions are extensive. Because I don’t follow a well-planned plot, a lot of things need to be changed for consistency’s sake and to nicely tie it all into a flowing story. So my first revision includes, but is not limited to, adding characters, deleting whole scenes (this breaks my heart every time), adding new events, twisting the plot into shape, and correcting grammar.
I try to let the manuscript sit on my desk for a while after this stage. A few months is best, but sometimes it’s only a couple of weeks if I’m on a deadline. I need to clear my mind of everything related to that particular manuscript, I need to cleanse it, so to speak, so I can return to the text with a fresh mind and a more attentive eye.
If all goes well (which it usually doesn’t) and if the story is approximately what I wanted it to be before I started writing it, this is the stage when I polish the text. This is the stage I like most, but also hate the most. I like that I’m beginning to see its final shape, that I’m adding the finishing touches that can make it shine. But I hate the polishing of grammar and syntax and all those more technical aspects of writing. I find all that tedious, although I love language and I certainly love to play with it – which anyone who’s read either Letting Go or My Summer Roommate will notice from the amount of puns.
Now is the time to send the novel to the editors, and I get to do another round of fine-tuning grammar and syntax and expressions – yay me! But at this point I’m happy to do it, because it means that the book is very near publication. Although I’m usually tired of working on the same story for so long, it’s very hard to let it go out into the world and into the readers’ hands. Every time I wait with baited breath to see how they’ll accept it.
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Thanks for having me.
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