Hi Folks,
I have this pasted across all three of my computer screens as a picture on the desktop (21″ editing monitor, 14″ business computer monitor, 12″ writing ‘puter monitor). I don’t write every day, but I *want* to write every day, and I do write most days for at least one hour. Usually that becomes two or three hours, and when it wants to, I let it. If you’d like a copy of this (it’s a photo) email me to let me know and I’ll send you a few sizes from which you may choose.
This is the final post in the Professional Writer series. In this one I’ll share with you how my own writing process works. Much of this mimics the process of Dean Wesley Smith, from whom I’ve learned a great deal.
- First, the idea occurs. For me, usually it’s either the protagonist or antagonist, the first sentence or scene, or the mood or tone of the story. Sometimes it presents as an action sequence, sometimes as a sentence of dialogue or a conversation among characters.
- I write the story. I trust my subconscious, writing into the dark. I start writing and just continue, going where the characters lead me (after all, they’re the ones who are actually living the story) and writing down what they say and do. (Note: This is while remaining in the Creative Mindset. When I’m writing, I’m living the story as the narrator and/or the characters. I’m not “directing” them as the great, all-knowing writer-on-high. I’m not consciously aware of plot structure, scene creation, etc. etc. etc. I’m focused on the characters and the story, period.) Writing into the dark has two distinct advantages:
- It makes writing fun by enabling me to surprise myself. As Ray Bradbury said, if the writer doesn’t surprise himself, how can he hope to surprise the reader?
- It makes writing exciting because I don’t know how the story will end until I practically stumble over it. Once I know the ending, I’m actually almost bored. I just want to finish it so I can create a cover, publish it, and write the next story.
- IF I get bogged down, I almost enjoy it. I just write the next sentence. Then I write the next sentence. Then I write the next sentence. The characters and the story invariably lead me back to where I’m supposed to be. (Per my previous post, if the story dies, I save it and begin a new story.)
- When I’ve finished the story, I run a spell check to be sure I didn’t miss anything as I was writing. (I consider this my “second draft”.)
- I send the story to a first reader who knows to point out any inconsistencies and anything that might throw the reader out of the story.
- I revise lightly and only as necessary, create a professional cover, and publish the story to Amazon and Smashwords. If it’s the first short story I’ve written that week, I also post it to my blog at Harvey Stanbrough & Friends Writing in Public. (Note: It’s very important to note that revising is not rewriting. I don’t allow my conscious mind to reconsider sentence structure, plot twists, etc. That would be rewriting, which equals making the story fit a mold. Ugh.)
- (This is the fun part.) I write another story.
The important thing is that you write the next story.
In my own process, I strive to write at least one hour per day. For me that’s about a thousand words. Usually if I get an hour, it expands into two or three hours. If I can do this, You can do this. It was simply a matter of retraining myself and setting my priorities. I don’t doubt for a moment that you can do the same.
Some of you are thinking, But I don’t have an hour (or two or three) per day. Sure you do. It’s all a matter of priorities. I wouldn’t dream of telling you how to set your priorities, but I will tell you that how you set them is up to you.
Some of you are thinking, But I don’t write short stories. I write novels. That’s fine. The same process applies. This is about Writing, not what you write. If you write only one thousand words a day (3 – 4 double-spaced pages), in one month you will have written any number of short stories of varying lengths, two to three novellas, one short 30,000-word novel or the first half of a 60,000-word novel. As I mentioned in the post on Retraining, Dean Wesley Smith wrote a complete 70,000 word novel while writing into the dark, under contract, in ten days. He did that while attending to all the same routine life stuff and business stuff that we all put up with.
And finally, in my own process, I follow Heinlein’s Business Rules for Writers, updated for today’s world of self-publishing opportunities. If you want to be a professional writer, you will follow them:
- You must write. (Duh)
- You must finish what you write. (Duh cubed)
- You must not rewrite. (Oh what a relief it is!)
- You must publish your writing so readers can buy it. (Get it out there!)
- You must keep your writing published so more readers can buy it. (Don’t take it down and interrupt sales when someone finds a minor typo on page 263. Leave it up. It’s a book. You’re a human. Typos happen.)
Now, if you’re still chasing agents and New York publishers, as I wrote in the earlier post on How to Be a Writer, the rules still apply. Just change the last two to read Mail your work to someone who can buy it (agent or publisher) and Keep your work in the mail until someone buys it.
If you want to do what I’m doing and you need the inside scoop on self-publishing, I recommend you visit http://HarveyStanbrough.com and click the Downloads tab. There, select Quick Guide to Self-Epublishing & FAQs. It’s a free PDF file. You can also get it at Smashwords in Kindle or Nook format, again free.
This ends the series on The Professional Writer. Thanks for your attention. Next up, I get a little grouchy at folks who would rather collapse into wistfulness than actually grow as a writer. ‘Til then, good writing!
Harvey
PS: By the way, I just lowered the prices of ALL my short stories on Smashwords to 99 cents each. If you want to sample some of my work (either as written by Harvey Stanbrough, Eric Stringer, Nicolas Z Porter or Gervasio Arrancado) visit My Smashwords Profile. Thanks!