A year ago I wrote a post about the writing process and I thought why don’t I write an updated version?!
Within this past year, I have learned a lot more than what I thought I knew about the writing process and a lot more about what it means to be an indie author.
Let’s begin with the basics—writing a book is frickin’ hard work, for instance, I have been working on Dream Catcher since April 2013, and it’s not finished yet. Three years I have spent slaving over that manuscript even throughout my cancer treatments. It has been a wonderful, yet tiring, experience.
First there’s an idea. An idea can spark from anywhere. The idea for Cleo’s adventure in Dream Catcher came to me when I was driving up the road of my hometown, out of thin air. I knew I wanted to write something, but this idea came to me out of the blue. I think with all creative minds, our brains are developed to spark new ideas and always look for inspiration in the simple things.
Next, there’s brainstorming. This is one of my favorite parts of the writing process. You can literally throw any ideas onto a page and let your imagination run wild. There’s no need to worry about if the story fits together perfectly at this point. You have so much freedom with brainstorming and you can let the story flow in so many different directions. This is the basis of your soon-to-be manuscript. This is the part where you design the world in which your characters live, the relationships among those characters, and the whole plot of your story.
Then you begin to write your first draft. This will be the first of many, many drafts. I cannot even tell you how many times I have re-wrote Dream Catcher. But don’t worry, the first draft can be garbage, so to speak. The main point of the first draft is to get the story out on paper. Do not worry about editing yet. Don’t change your mistakes—go back and do that later.
After the first draft comes editing and rewriting. This is the part that most authors hate about the writing process. Writing the book is fun! Editing…not so much. It is the part where you have to spend the most time. This should take twice as long as writing the book. You have to go over plot holes, world building, character development, grammar and spelling, and the list goes on. You will have to write and write until you get sick of looking at your own words. But don’t give up yet, this is just one hurtle you will have to get over to get to the end goal. All of the frustration will be worth it in the end.
Let’s just say you have all your rewrites complete—now what do you do? Well, the choice is completely up to you. If you are thinking about going the traditional route, you will have to find a literary agent through writing query letters, and keeping fingers crossed you will be picked up. Then you will hopefully be signed by a publishing house. If you choose to go through self-publishing, well, your road is very long (but rewarding). You will have to market and publish your book all on your own.
Either way, like in a previous post from a few weeks ago, whichever way you choose to publish, is completely up to you! Both are great! Even if you choose not to publish, having written an entire story or manuscript is an achievement in itself. Way to go, you!
