Everyone has a process for writing. Mine blows like the wind. It exists but it is ever changing. It can blow soft and stir around a few fallen leaves or it can blow hard and knock down a tree or three.
When I started writing I set up a schedule of writing three times a day for twenty minutes. I was working with my tendency to avoid what I don’t like. I found that I could convince myself to focus on writing that much each day. If I wrote during those times, it was good. Those twenty minutes could easily morph into a half an hour or two hours if things went well. If it didn’t—I was still thinking about the book and I would count that as progress, which it was.
In future years my process evolved through writing each morning before leaving for work to writing late at night before going to bed. Now I usually write in the mornings, often take a walk to think through plot and character development and then sit down and write once some more.
Lately though, all I have been doing is rewriting, and rewriting and rewriting. Two months ago I focused on with the dragon book trying to tighten up the middle. Then I edged into the The Jinn’s Jest, sharpening a few more chapters.
This last month I worked on revising The Stone Lions, not even the type of rewriting that make exciting changes to the plot, just pouring over verb structure and looking for those little changes that can strengthen each sentence. And making more adjustments to further nail a historic period. All this on a book I already had out.
But it paid off!
The Stone Lions just got the gold seal of excellence from Awesome Indies, but it took work to polish it to a burnish. Many people helped, especially an editor at Awesome Indies, GJ Berger. He pushed, cajoled and encouraged me to go just a bit further to make my book shine.
Now that The Stone Lions is done (eight months after its initial release) I hope to take that time and energy and spread it out over my other manuscripts.
This is yet another reminder for me (and other indy writers) to give each book the full attention it deserves—before you publish!
When I started writing I set up a schedule of writing three times a day for twenty minutes. I was working with my tendency to avoid what I don’t like. I found that I could convince myself to focus on writing that much each day. If I wrote during those times, it was good. Those twenty minutes could easily morph into a half an hour or two hours if things went well. If it didn’t—I was still thinking about the book and I would count that as progress, which it was.
In future years my process evolved through writing each morning before leaving for work to writing late at night before going to bed. Now I usually write in the mornings, often take a walk to think through plot and character development and then sit down and write once some more.
Lately though, all I have been doing is rewriting, and rewriting and rewriting. Two months ago I focused on with the dragon book trying to tighten up the middle. Then I edged into the The Jinn’s Jest, sharpening a few more chapters.
This last month I worked on revising The Stone Lions, not even the type of rewriting that make exciting changes to the plot, just pouring over verb structure and looking for those little changes that can strengthen each sentence. And making more adjustments to further nail a historic period. All this on a book I already had out.
But it paid off!
The Stone Lions just got the gold seal of excellence from Awesome Indies, but it took work to polish it to a burnish. Many people helped, especially an editor at Awesome Indies, GJ Berger. He pushed, cajoled and encouraged me to go just a bit further to make my book shine.
Now that The Stone Lions is done (eight months after its initial release) I hope to take that time and energy and spread it out over my other manuscripts.
This is yet another reminder for me (and other indy writers) to give each book the full attention it deserves—before you publish!
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