Writing Process
Everyone who writes has their own process - from idea to characters to plotting and writing. Some people are meticulous in their process, planning out every detail, while others fly by the seat of their pants
There is no right or wrong process. It's all up to the individual to find what works best for them.
I figured I would take the time to talk about the process that works best for me.
Whenever an idea enters my brain, or a spark of inspiration hits, I (almost) always jot it down in the notes app on my phone. It usually starts with generic or basic concepts- a story about X in a world about X. From there, I build upon the idea, creating the characters and more in-depth ideas, settings, or scenes. This is the foundation of any story I'm working on.
Some stories I build on far more detail than others, but I mostly try to figure out the beginning and end of my stories.
When it comes to my first draft, I love the freedom of taking a pen to paper. I let the words flow onto the paper, allowing the world to create itself and evolve as I'm writing. (3 scribblers pictured are my first draft of The Power Five)
During this time, I start to think ahead more than before the writing started, and may jot down notes on planned chapter ideas, but that is ever-changing with me.
Continuing with my process, after I handwrite the entire first draft, I digitize it into what I call "Draft 1.5" as I type it word for word, with very few and minor edits - rewording a sentence here, or adding a word that I thought I wrote and didn't.
Once draft 1.5 is complete, I will read through the entire thing and make notes on what needs to be changed, removed, or altered in any way.
Then I move on to draft 2. Currently, I have only written one novel, and for draft two I completely rewrote the thing from scratch - this time typing it rather than handwriting again. (I don't know if I will apply this to my second novel). Then I repeated the steps of reading it all the way through, making notes, handing it off to a beta reader and considering their feedback.
Draft 3 onward, I edit the previous draft, making new changes, adding descriptions and such, editing it along the way. The cycle repeats until I'm happy with where the novel is.
Maybe someday I can afford an editor, but until then I am my own editor.
All in all, I'm a pantser; I take pen to paper and let the ink scrawl out and create my worlds. I develop worlds and stories and characters, but I don't map out the entire thing scene for scene. That's what works best for me.
-W.J. Gardiner