Respect the Process

As a newly published author, I know I have a lot to learn and improve upon in terms of my writing. I hope to get better with each project and learn new aspects of the business of writing, but I also hope to evolve, expand my wings so to speak with the craft of writing, the process of how I write, and what I write about.

I know it's an unending process. As Josh Lanyon said in his last post on this blog, "Writing doesn't get easier." (okay, I admit it…I was kinda freaked to hear that from Lanyon, but I believe it's true.)

Intellectually, I know this, and I'm prepared for the difficulties of continued publication: the work it takes to write and balance the other activities of being an author, the critiques and reviews, the deadlines.

One of the things I hadn't prepared myself for was my reaction to my own process of writing.

I'm a plotter. I plan the story and characters in detail before I begin writing. Even through the years of writing fiction that no one ever read, I had pages and pages of notes for every story (at least the ones I attempted to write).

But this time around something odd happened when I sat down to outline Trapped, the working title for my third novel-length romantic suspense (fourth if you count the one I haven't submitted yet). I panicked. Am I doing this writing thing all wrong?

I had a few details about the characters, and I knew how I wanted the romance to evolve, but the rest of the plot was slow going. Normally I wouldn't panic, just keep plugging away at ideas until something struck me as "the story" for this couple. Only this time, I was writing the outline at the same time as my first release was featured on the digital shelves at Loose Id. I had readers. I had an editor waiting for more work. I was on Twitter and Facebook. I also had new writer friends both on-line and in-person. I heard the daily progress of other writers whom I admire, other writers who had varying styles of how they work.

As the ideas slowed and panic swirled in my gut, the creative part of my brain seemed to freeze up and questions filled my mind. Should I be writing in a different way? Should I skip the outlining? Was the way I was planning the writing holding me back from getting into the story? Would I be better served if I opened up a blank document, wrote "Chapter One," and just dug into the story?

I decided to ignore the questions for the moment. I've been known to say to others that they need to go with what works for them, so I pushed aside the panic and kept working.

Now, a few weeks later, the outline for Trapped is complete at 22,000 words. It's the most detailed outline I've ever done, and I hope it's going help the rest of the words flow when I start back at writing chapter one.

It wasn't until I got the ideas into this coherent outline that I fully relaxed. That I remembered this is how I work best. This is how my brain thinks. This is how I can come up with ideas. Brainstorming, freewriting, outlining, character sketches, research -- it's all how I find a story to tell. I can't start chapter one until I've done my own form of "due diligence."

It wasn't until I had a stack of note cards five inches high (photo included) on the desk in front of me -- a story I'm excited to tell -- that I remembered, Yeah, this is my process. And I need to respect that.

Sloan Parker
www.sloanparker.com