Hello, my friends and first time visitors! The last few months have been something of a trip, some good and some not as much, but here we are still standing. Personally, I’ve been dwelling on the more technical side of writing and haven’t produced much actual writing. As always, I have multiple projects in varying stages and that got me thinking about process.
A writer’s process is wholly personal and unique. It’s something that develops and changes over time. I feel like it’s something new and aspiring writers struggle with, maybe feeling like they should already know what they’re doing. Trust me, none of us knew what we were doing when we started. I feel confident in saying we’ll never really know, but eventually we decide to run with it anyway.
Allow me to give some context and personal experience, especially for those who are not familiar with me and my writing. This is a glimpse of my writing world. I currently have five books available on Amazon, three separate series. This August, I released the fifth book, the second in my Order of Crows series. After that release, I found my way back to writing the sequel to The Nameless (Fae-Cursed series), which had been sitting at about 70% finished for months. The muse was cooperative and I managed to finish the first draft. That draft went in timeout for the requisite two weeks – which turned into quite a bit longer than two weeks – when I accepted an editing proposition, and also have been reading for a writer friend. Once those two things wrap up, I’ll be focusing on my Order of Crows Book 3, which has been abandoned as a first draft for years. Literal years.
Let’s talk about this Book 3. It’s what inspired this post in the first place. None of the books I’ve written and finished have given me as much of a fit as this particular book. I wrote and structured the beginning three times before I settled on it enough to write the rest of the story. Something the first two books taught me is that sometimes I had to go out of order. I had to push Aleister’s (my main character) story ahead of the narrative as a whole to advance the story. It was the first time I wrote chapters out of order instead following a linear process. Another first for me with the first draft of Book 3 was that I had to write the beginning and the end, then fill in the middle, something I’ve also done for the fourth book. I do think it’s worth a mention that with the second book, I ended up keeping some of the major plot points and completely rewriting all the words. Needless to say, this series has been a learning journey for me.
Back to Book 3. As I return to the writing cliff, I’m once again staring down the book that has given me all those fits. I recognize that the face of the manuscript will once again change. It’s just as challenging and intimidating as it has always been and I’m realizing I’m going to have to bend my process yet again to revise and rewrite this beast. The structure of this part of the story has always been the hardest part. It’s not like the first two books, not like anything I’ve ever written, and the scope of the narrative is … big. I’ve come to the realization and acceptance that I’m going to have to deconstruct the narrative.
What do I mean by deconstruct the narrative? Well, there are several smaller arcs within the story and, rather than trying to develop them alongside one another as I have done in the past, I need to separate them into their own stories so everyone gets the correct amount of attention and story development. That means I’ll have several narratives that are all the same story. That also means major scene surgery to integrate them once those stories are all written. That’s scary, isn’t it? It is to me. It’s different and it’s a huge task.
My point? No matter how long you’ve been writing, whether you’re new or seasoned, sometimes you’ll have no clue what you’re doing. If I can drop a little advice right here, at the risk of sounding cheesy or preachy, do it anyway. I have twenty or so years of writing experience and yet I’m still facing something brand new that I’ve never tried before.
I used to feel like a failure when I’d write, say, 70% of a story and stall out. I’ve written narratives straight through to completion in less than a year. Some of them have hit that ominous 70% and I hit a wall so hard I got those little tweety birds around my head. It took me a long time to realize that’s just one of the ways my process works. It’s not a bad thing. It just means that occasionally I get to wander back to one of those stories and make that final push to have a finished book. That finished book is just as valid as the one I tore through in ten months.
I guess I’m writing this in hopes it will reach someone who needs to see it. Your process might seem strange to you. Maybe it doesn’t but it does seem strange to someone else. Who cares? Push on, let your process and your style grow. Be weird. If it works for you then own it.
If you’re not a writer, maybe this will help you understand that writers do not function on demand. There’s a lot that goes into creating stories, especially if the writer is indie. Patience and support are the best ways to get more of the books you love. This time of year is a great time to exercise such support. As we move into the holiday season, consider supporting artists and authors before you head to big retailers for gift ideas.
Thanks for stopping by!
Aj Elmore, Author 