Writing Process

So, I know I've covered how much I hate editing, but that is just one part of the writing process.  There is a fantastic post by Amanda Hocking, as she details her own step by step process of writing her first draft.

I have to say that post was so helpful to me, I will probably model my own process after her own.  I am a huge fan of the outline.  A lot of the other  resources I have visited have suggested I buy some book or even attend a writing course to learn pretty much everything that Amanda has shown in that post.  I definitely want to say thank you to her.

Now, Amanda Hocking isn't the first to talk about how she writes a book, but from my own personal research she is the first that I have run across that details it so specifically, and with an actual example from one of her own trunk novels (I've read Stephen King's, On Writing and while it has a section of him editing a rough draft to a next draft, there just really wasn't enough for me to sink my teeth into).

My first attempt at a novel was pretty organic, where I just discovery wrote the first few chapters.  Then I realized there was so little I knew about this world I was writing.  It was loosely based on our modern day world, but I had no clue where anyone was in relation to anything else, what the emerging future magic system will entail.  And I also didn't know which milestones I needed to try and guide the story toward.  So I started what I later realized was a very, very vague outline.  It was basically an outline that started like this:

1. Establish setting
2. Show main character
3. Create attachment for character
4. Rising action
5. Story arc revealed
6. Some sort of failure

Terrible right?  No wonder I kept spinning my wheels on the world building.  The above is the most generic outline ever.  I basically just copied what I could remember from my literature classes in middle school.  But now it is better.  My outline actually mentions my characters, and references specific events.  Crazy, I know.  While I had done all this before Amanda Hocking's post on the subject, she shared so well on that subject I definitely wanted to cut out that middle time for any other author who stumbles on my site.

I don't have any trunk novels yet, but once I do I will definitely be more than willing to share with all three people who visit my site how I do it.

The trick though is to do it at least once ;-).