Writing Process
My writing process is probably not the norm for most authors. I began writing after having several dreams that were all one continuous story. After I wrote everything I had dreamed of so far, I had an idea of what I thought would come next, but I then had another dream that took the story in a completely different direction. I scrapped my own ideas (I don’t even remember what they were now) and stayed true to what I saw in my dreams.
The same trend continued while writing books 2 and 3 (which are still in manuscript form). Sometimes, I don’t remember the specific dream, but I just wake up knowing what comes next. I don’t do book mapping as some authors do or think of different scenarios and weigh the options before deciding which route to go. I simply write until the point I don’t know what’s next and then wait until I wake up with the next part in my head. Many times, I’ve awoken in the middle of the night with an idea and made a note on my phone so I’d remember it before falling back to sleep.
I wrote my entire first draft on the note app on my phone. I then copied and pasted it to a file I could access on my computer. Putting my visions into words is the hard part. For some things, I do research and watch videos to, hopefully, ensure that I describe things correctly. For other things, I talk to someone who is an expert in that field. When it comes to Biblical concepts that are included, I pray and rely on the Holy Spirit as I write what I feel led to write. I also read Scripture. It’s the main thing I care about getting right, and I’ve so often second-guessed myself because I don’t feel qualified to write it. I cannot tell you how many times since drafting my first manuscript that I have sat in church on a Sunday morning, turned to my husband after the pastor said something, and whispered, “That’s exactly what I wrote.” It even happened just this past week. Through those moments, God has reassured me of my purpose and that what I’ve written needs to be said and he intends to use it to reach someone.
Once I have completed the first draft, I read and reread and reread it again, and then I read it a few more times after that. Through this process, I look for details I may have left out (mostly descriptions of how I see the characters and setting), words that are overused, sentences that are too wordy or lack clarity, and other errors such as these. I take pages of handwritten notes, so that I can compare different scenes and the use of certain words side-by-side. I’m a perfectionist, so this part of the process takes the longest for me. (While the publishing company I went through does have an editing team, they mostly check for grammatical errors [e.g., comma usage and spelling errors]. They do not make many suggestions, if any, about changing other things because as a self-publishing company, they leave the content of the work solely up to the author.)
I have my husband read what I’ve written and ask for his feedback. I share excerpts with friends and family, usually changing character names and often leaving key details out so as not to give too much away. I typically share excerpts when I’m making a decision about wording. I’ll word the excerpt different ways and ask which wording they prefer. I’ve never asked for opinions about the plot itself or made changes to it though.
I find it beneficial to step away from my work from time to time, coming back days or even weeks (and in some cases months) later with fresh eyes to read through it again. Each time, different aspects of the story seem to stick out more than others. When I can read through it without making any changes, it’s time to move forward with the next step in publication.