My Writing Process

Well, I said that my book might not get finished until May, and I was right!  Actually, I did have it finished on April 30, but I had to proofread it, then upload it to CreateSpace and order a proof copy. After all was said and done (along with one more proofreading), my book was officially available on Amazon on May 13.  It’s been rather fitting that things happened the way they did because May 10 was my birthday and May 11 was Mother’s Day, so I am happy with the timing of how everything played out.  

I did not mark the date on which I started this novel, and I’m very sorry I neglected to do that.  I don’t feel it matters how long it takes to write a book, but I still wish I had noted it.  I do know I started it sometime in 2013, but I didn’t work on it for long periods of time, so I know it was less than a year total I spent on it.  It did rather consume me, though.  I would lay in bed at night thinking of things I wanted to include, or sometimes I would remember a detail I had left out that I wanted to make sure got in there.  I would be very tempted to get up in the middle of the night to either write or at least make notes, but I resisted.  I have read of writers who have actually done that, but I guess I’m not quite that obsessed yet. 

It seems my best time for writing was in the afternoon, at least it was for this project.  I read a few articles on supposedly the best time to write, but I feel the best time to write is when it feels right, not from some prescribed formula or time period.  Next time, I might write early in the morning or evening or even all day.  I don’t set limits.  Maybe I should.  Perhaps that way I would get done faster, but it simply is not about speed for me. 

As this novel was about the life of my mother, the first thing I did was write down ideas and events.  I jotted down anything and everything, even if it was something minor.  I didn’t necessarily use everything on the list, but it was a very definite help in figuring out how I wanted to proceed.  I also did not put things in any order, at least not for my beginning notes. The next step I took was writing down chapter ideas.  I did put those ideas in chronological order, and then I went back to figure out where I wanted to place my original list within those chapters. Some were easy because of when events happened, but others were a little more difficult.   What I wound up doing is using what I call “interjectory” chapters.  In other words, I interrupted the story to write about some of the minor or funny events in my mom’s life. I felt this would give the reader a way to get to know my mom—her personality, her quirks or habits, and so on. 

As I started a chapter, I would make further notes on that chapter.  I would jot down the details, and once the chapter was done, I would re-read it and add in any further notes that I felt would help me better remember each individual chapter.  If I had not done that, I was concerned I might repeat information that the reader would not need to read again.  I caught myself a couple of times doing just that, so it was very helpful to have those notes to refer back to, which I did throughout my writing process. 

I have decided to keep all of my notes.  I almost threw them away, since I obviously don’t need them anymore, but I feel those notes are my diary of the time I spent writing this book.  I plan to follow the same process whether my next book or books is based on real life people and events or completely made up. 

I also think it’s important to have someone else read your book as you complete a handful of chapters.  I was fortunate in that my husband is a good editor, so he would make additional notes for me, make corrections on typos or perhaps change a word here and there or catch a grammatic error.  There were a few changes he felt I should make that I did not agree with, but for the most part, I did make most of the changes or corrections.  It’s not about agreeing with absolutely everything your editor might suggest. After all, it is your story, but it is very easy to overlook a detail, a grammar point, or a typo with just your eyes looking at it.

With self-publishing, it is so important to proofread and proofread again.  Make sure your spacing is correct.  I found a few chapters that were in the middle of a page rather than at the top of the next page and a few paragraphs without spacing.  But beyond that, I was very glad I re-read my book before I submitted it because the first time around, I did not catch the fact that I was using the words “really” and “just” way too often, so I took most of them out.  They are fine when emphasis is needed, but I really just used them way too much.  Maybe the reader would not notice that, but I sure did.  

Next time, I’ll talk about royalties and how all of that works.  For now, I have to think about my next novel.  I love this process!  It is a lot of hard work and some sleepless nights here and there, but it was absolutely worth it for me.  If you have that itch to write, whether it’s a blog, an article, or an entire novel, I have one word of advice for you—BEGIN!

As always, thanks for reading and enjoy your day!