How to Master the Writing Process
August 27, 2008 · Written by Melissa Donovan
What steps do you take to get a writing project done?
Is Method Madness?
One day, many years ago, I was working in an office. The executives were having a meeting to discuss new procedures. It was a hot day and the conference room was small and crowded, so the door was open. As I passed by on my way to the filing room, I overheard my boss saying “Melissa can handle that. She’s very methodical.”
Methodical. I tried it on and decided yes, it fit. “I am methodical,” I declared, and went about my business.
And it was true, too. I was organized to a fault, always looking for systems and processes that would streamline the workflow and make business more efficient and therefore easier. Hell, my closet was organized by season, length, and color. I didn’t have to flip through my hangers to find an article of clothing. Everything was neatly filed in its place.
Selling the Method
Writing gurus and mentors often want us to believe that there is only one true writing process. It usually goes something like this:
- Brainstorm (and/or mind map)
- Outline, research
- Rough draft
- Revise (repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat)
- Edit, proof, and polish
This is a good system and it works. But does it work for everyone?
Considering the Writing Process
I’ve been thinking a lot about the writing process because NaNoWriMo is coming up in about two months and I’m determined to get to the finish line and write 50,000 words of fiction in 30 days.
How will I tackle this beast of a project?
In preparing for the word count marathon that is NaNo, I’ve thought about the steps I take with my own writing and realized that the writing process that I use varies from project to project and depends on the level of difficulty, the length, and even my state of mind. If I’m feeling super creative, a blog post or an article with come flying out of my head. If I’m tired, hungry, or unmotivated, it’s a struggle. Brainstorming and outlining can help. A lot.
It occurred to me that I don’t have one writing process. I have lots. And I always use the one that’s best suited for a particular project.
You Might Not Hear My Drummer
One of my favorite sayings has to do with marching to the beat of your own drums. I like that saying because that’s how I walk. To my own rhythm. If I didn’t, then I probably would have never started my own business, or believed that I could make it as a writer. In fact, I probably wouldn’t be a writer at all.
Some writers can sit down and pound out an article, a short story, or even a novel without ever planning or outlining. Some only revise once, and take care of the editing during revision. Others have to follow the writing process or they get lost and confused, tangled up in their own words.
But we all start with an idea and hope to finish with a completely riveting piece of writing.
So Listen to Your Own
Like I said, that day when I overheard my boss saying that I’m methodical was many years ago. Since then, I’ve loosened up my methods. Oh, I can still whip up a streamlined procedure and implement it. I have to do that for my own business all the time, whether it involves maintaining my client contact list or managing my quotes and invoices - having a system for that stuff is good.
But my closet no longer looks like it’s maintained by Martha Stewart. Sure, it’s still pretty organized, but not by color and season. It helps to know when a system works and when it’s all hype.
Writing processes are good. The reason our mentors developed these processes and share them, along with a host of other writing tips, is to help us be more productive and produce better writing. A lot of the techniques and strategies they share with us are beneficial. But it’s our responsibility to know what works for us as individuals and as creative (and sometimes crazy) writers and to know what will have us spinning our wheels all the livelong day.
I Showed You Mine
…now you show me yours.
What’s your writing process? Do you have one? Do you ever get stuck in the writing process? How do you get out?
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Hi Melissa: I do a lot of research on the topic I’ve chosen to write about. As I do the research I take notes on a word perfect document. When I have a whole lot of information written down–in a jumble–I usually leave it and go do something else. Then I sit down and start to work with the information I’ve gathered and just start writing. The first draft I come up with is usually pretty bad, and then I revise and revise until I have something beautiful that I feel is fit to share with the rest of the world. That’s when I hit the “publish” button
I’m trying to implement Parkinson’s Law to focus my thinking a little more as I write so that I can get the articles out a bit faster.
Marelisas last blog post..30 Ways to Increase Your Creativity
My favorite pre-writing process would have to be getting a nice big whiteboard and charting characters and plots down. I find that it really helps me anchor on to specific traits of a character, especially if the persona happens to be a dynamic one. Such charting helps me out dramatically in creating an evolving storyline by not allowing me to forget key twists and other storyline-intensive elements =)
That being said, my favorite pre-charting process is going out the on nights leading to it for a few rounds of beer with good friends!
joeys last blog post..Definitive tools for Freelance Writing and Blogging
Hi Melissa - 50,000 words in 30 days is impressive. Good luck.
I’m like you - I do different things depending on what I’m writing. With the novel I’m working on now - alot of stuff I write won’t even go into it.
Some of the stuff the gurus recommend are the kind of things I’d do if I was writing an essay - but nothing else.
I don’t know if I have a set process. I start with morning pages and journaling. then whatever comes streaming from that gets written. As I go about my day I have a notebook that stays with me whereever I go and I am constantly writing in it, notes, ideas, themes, Sentances that begin with “I wonder…” and then then next monring the notebook is with me during quiet time and these thoughts are often carried right in to the process all over again. So…if that is a process, I guess…I never really thought about it. As I have said before, a lot of my writing also takes place in my jacuzzi..so…
I guess my process is that when its falling out of my head I try and catch it.
This will be the first year that I attempt NaNO so I will need to be more organized. This is good for thinking ahead. One of the reasons I started blogging in the first place was to get in the discipline of writing every day. That was the first step. Just creating the habit. This will be a good next step.
Wendi Kellys last blog post..Wide-Eyed Walking
These days, I feel so scattered, I feel like I’m not getting anything done at all! (grin)
–Debs last blog post..Got Grammar Questions?
Melissa, I am really organized but my writing process has never followed the guidelines. I’ve tried them on for size and find that they don’t fit. Even in school, I never did outlines and drafts so I suppose I trained myself against the system! I always do research first and gather all of my notes, clips in one location. As for the writing process itself I let it rip, then go back and fine tune. It has worked for me thus far but I’m always open to trying new techniques on for size, hey if they fit I’m all on board!
Karen Swims last blog post..Perception and Art
@Marelisa, That doesn’t surprise me. Your posts are comprehensive, detailed, and extremely informative. I can tell that you care a lot about your topic and about your writing. That’s one of the reasons I enjoy your blog; your passion is palpable.
@Joey, I love the planning stage too. In fact, sometimes I get stuck there and never make it out. Ooh, and white boards. Yes. Those are good. Usually I just use drawing paper though. When I do NaNo, I’m going to try to do less planning. In fact, I’m going to plan in October and just write in November. I’m hoping this new strategy will result in winning my word count goal
@Cath, I sort of pick and choose which tips from the gurus I use. Yes 50k in 30 days is intense, but hundreds (or is it thousands?) of people do it every year. Hopefully I can too! Wanna give it a spin? Hehee.
@Wendi, You write in the jacuzzi? That’s cool. Or hot. I guess it’s hot. Your process sounds really natural. I started blogging for the exact same reason — to write every day. I’m excited to hear you’re doing NaNo too. That will be fun and we can offer each other moral support!
@Deb (Punctuality), Sounds like you have a lot going on! I get into that mode sometimes, where I’m so overwhelmed, I can’t get anything done. It’s really frustrating. Sometimes I have to shut down for a day to get my bearings and that’s the only way I can get back on track.
@Karen, That’s probably why your writing flows so well, because you just let it do its thing. I remember learning to do outlines back in 6th grade but it didn’t stick. Later, in college, we’d have to do them as assignments, so I didn’t have a choice. I realized that they sped up the writing process. Now, I do them for some (but not all) projects. But I will say this: I actually enjoy outlining (weird?).
Melissa, I’m not a real writer but I do love reading how you, who are, go about the business of putting words to paper. As always, a great post. Thanks.
Milenas last blog post..Leaping Thought Wednesday
It is funny that you wrote about this today. I picked up an extra assignment with a today deadline. Let’s not talk about how long it’s been since I’ve written copy on that tight a deadline.
My mantra: “If it doesn’t make it I don’t get paid for it.” Rinse and repeat.
Also, I grew to enjoy outlining when I went back to university. Sometimes I’m happy just to outline; also known as a stall tactic.
As for my NaNoWriMo process, I created a calendar (excel I think). I looked at what days I would not be able to write NaNo stuff and crossed them off. Then divided the remaining days into 50K. So each day I wrote, I wrote a “chapter” at least that many words long. You might want to shift the first two weeks to more words per day as after Thanksgiving life gets wonky and daily quotas start slipping badly.
I found the book “No plot, No problem” (borrowed from the library)helpful but some of the text contrast is marginal (shades of gray). I found at least one personal story in each section relevant and that helped. And my secret weapon was finding a great forum family to hang out with and they were a great cheering section when I got really exhausted at one point; and we formed an LJ group and now we’re forming a critique group on a different LJ page.
Ah, my writing process?
1) Spit out mindgarbage!
2) Sort through mindgarbage.
3) Take out the handy scissors and glue (or rather, ctrl+c, ctrl+v…)
4) Revise Revise Revise
5) Edit, proof, polish…
6) Rewrite, revise rewrite, revise…
My prewriting is just writing. Writing trash. Then cleaning it up. 3 pages = 1 paragraph trash. Yeaaaaah.
@Milena, What do you mean you’re not a real writer? Of course you are. You write, therefore you are a writer!
@Deb, Sometimes those crunch deadlines really light the fire. I’ve been amazed at what I can write in a day when there’s a client waiting for it with a nice big PayPal deposit
I’m definitely going to try to do more NaNo writing during the first half of November, so I have some leeway later, when the holidays kick in. I can’t wait!
@Sam, That’s a good way to get it done! Do you freewrite your early drafts? I’ve been teased for editing too much, but it’s definitely worth it. You can get the good stuff early by just spattering it all over the page, then refine it until it’s polished and sparkling!
I never really liked the 5 step process when I wrote back in school, but I suppose that learning that did make me a better writer. I don’t have a set process, sometimes it’s just sitting at the computer and opening up my blog, or a blank page in Word. Sometimes things come from something that struck me during the day. I think I have to work on the discipline of actually sitting down to write more often! Practice makes perfect, or at least close enough, right?!?!
Jennys last blog post..Holy Macaroni!
I’ve tried to figure out what my process is, but it’s different depending on what I’m writing.
Blogging - 90% of the time, there is no process at all and it shows. I’m usually writing as fast as I can think, and sometimes I can’t keep up and I may just jump to the next thought at random. I may go back and read and finish thoughts that were left incomplete. I try to write my blogs as if the reader is having a conversation with me, which makes it feel natural for me to write.
Poetry - Most times I don’t like editting unless I’m really unhappy with the first draft. Usually I’m only changing or adding punctuations. But overall, I’ll get my inspiration and after reciting a few lines in my head and an idea of where I want to go, that’s when I’ll pull out some paper (or cardboard or napkins or laptop) and write a potential masterpiece.
Story/scripts - I plan the entire story in my head. One might call it a brainstorm, but I’ll go farther and say it’s a hurricane. I won’t stop with just a story, I’ll create characters, scenes, even background music. A lot of times I’ll get the idea but I won’t be able to write anything down, like if I’m driving, rock climbing, sky diving or underwater. A lot of ideas come to me when I’m in the bathroom. Without sharing much details about that, I’ll just say I have time to think and let my imagination go to work. When I’m able to get to some paper or my laptop, I’ll write out the story and flesh it out a little until I’m done, or I’ll keep working on the story in my head and bounce it off some people to see how they would react of this happened or that happened.
I don’t like outlines, but when it comes to screenplays, they help out a lot and it’s the only time I MIGHT use one. I’ve been known to go without them though.
t.sterlings last blog post..[Writers] WRETREAT!!!! [august '08 - part 1]
@Jenny, Practice does make perfect! I believe that. I rarely use the five-step process on paper, but I think that I often do some steps in my head, often without even realizing I’m doing them!
@t. sterling, I consistently get some of my best ideas in the shower. There must be something very inspiring about bathrooms. Like you, I have a bunch of different processes that I use depending on what I’m writing. And after reading all the comments, it seems like that’s how it works for a lot of writers.