I’ve talked about bits and pieces of my writing process here before, but I don’t think I’ve ever shared my complete process. So here you go!

Ideas

When I first get an idea for a new novel, my mind is in overdrive. Ideas come to me rapid-fire and I take notes haphazardly in an effort to get it all down, either in notebooks, stickies, or my phone’s note app. Then I transfer those scribblings into a word document and organize them into character development, backstory, and the story itself.

I need to know how the story will end before I can start writing, so outlining is a big part of my process. First I sketch out a timeline—an actual line with hashmarks indicating key plot points—and that shows me where my gaps are. THEN I start writing my outline.

Outlining

A lot of writers are afraid of outlines. They think once they set their characters on a certain course, there’s no room for spontaneity or change. But that’s not true! My outlines are more of a guide. I write 2-3 sentences per chapter—just enough to keep me on track. When I start writing, I paste each chapter’s outline into my manuscript so it’s always at the bottom of the page. This does two things: it constantly reminds me where I’m heading with the story and helps me avoid staring at the dreaded blank page. By having text farther down the page, I trick my brain into thinking I’m just adding a bit to the story—not writing into the great white abyss.

With The Trail Rules, I had to completely change my outline halfway through the book because Mike, the main character, had a change of heart that I didn’t anticipate. But it was okay! (Aside from a few moments of banging my head against my desk.) I just updated the outline and carried on.

The Writing

As for my actual writing, I write for an hour every morning before work. I live two miles from my day job and don’t start until 8:30am, so I get up earlier and get my words in then. I prefer writing in the morning because my head isn’t bogged down with the day, and after that I feel like I’ve already accomplished something. When I used to write after work, I always felt like I had something hanging over my head until I finally got my words in.

I’m not one of those writers who has to have the perfect setting, and I don’t get writer’s block (knock on wood). I need either water or tea by my side, and I prefer to be in my writing chair in my office, but quite often I write in the living room, or wherever I happen to be at the time. And because I outline, I rarely get stuck. If I do, it’s usually because the scene isn’t interesting or going the way I want, which means the reader won’t like it either. So I back up, tweak my outline, and press forward.

The End

It typically takes me about six months to write a first draft, but I’ve written a few books for NaNoWriMo and finished those in 2-3 months. Then I go through 3-4 revisions, sending it to different beta readers and editors each time. My goal is to publish one book per year—at least while I have a day job—but I have two coming out in 2018. And I already have several story ideas fighting to be next.