I've Got a Writing Process, You've Got One, We All Have a Writing Process

But many of us don't recognize it

Mindset, motivation and inspiration for writers, with a dash of instruction about writing craft added in, from novelist, writing coach and workshop leader Charlotte Rains Dixon. I also carry on a lot about process, because: there’s no one approach to writing that works for everyone. But I can help you find what works for you. I love all of my readers, every single one of you and I’m truly grateful when you read my work and connect with me. Subscribe to get the fuel you need for your writing career. I truly adore all my readers, and a paid subscription helps my bring these words to you.

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I’m deep into research on author branding. And by this I don’t mean learning how to do it. I refer to looking at my author comp’s book covers, social media, and other marketing. Figuring out my ideal reader. Etc. And on and on. What this means for me and my peculiarities, is that I have gotten completely absorbed in deep dives on Amazon for hours on end. I’ve made notes on page after page of a pink legal pad in a higgledy-piggledy fashion.

And then I slam down the lid of my laptop, throw the legal pad aside, and scream in frustration. Okay, I don’t scream, because that would scare the children. But I feel like it.

A day or two later, I return to the project and it all starts to fall into place.

And this incident reminds me that, messy and disconcerting as it is, such is my process. I need to rummage around in the middle of a whole mess of words and then go deeper and wallow until I’m hopelessly overwhelmed. After a break of varying lengths, my brain has sorted things out and I return to my WIP and off I go, wallowing forgotten.

I hope to god this is not your process. Have I mentioned that it is messy and disconcerting? I would much prefer to be that writer who gets an idea, writes an outline, sits down at the computer, and enjoys the words flowing. But I am not that writer. And you might not be either. Your process might be more like mine, or not, or most likely something else entirely.

Why am I exhorting you to figure out your process (because that is what I’m about to do)? I didn’t understand mine for a long time. Once I did, magic happened. If you consider it magic when your angst about being unorganized and slow at figuring things out disappeared, suddenly making it easier to write.

To me, that’s the biggest plus to knowing your process. Once you understand the way you approach writing, it takes the sting away. Once you learn that really you need strict organization when all this time you thought you were a pantser, it opens up whole new worlds. Or maybe the best way for you to write a novel is to pants, as free as the wind. Or something completely different. (I remember reading the author origin story of one of those cool Norwegian mystery novelists. On a plane to Australia, he had an idea for his first story. When the plane landed, he holed up in his hotel room for days until the story was written out. That is not my process. Number one, I’d get hungry. Number two, I’d want a glass of wine. And number three, there are children around here that preclude such absorption.)

But here’s the most important question today: do you know your process? In my ponderings on process, I’ve come up with the following things to consider:

Process is time-based. When is the best time for you to write? I prefer early morning, when the veil between sleep and wakefulness is thinnest. In other words, when I’m not alert enough for my inner critic to be active. But many writers I know love staying up late to work.

Process is procedural. Are you a pantser? Are you a plotter? Do you start with character, or setting, or plot? Do you follow a strict outline or let the characters take you where they want to go? Do you waft and wander and rove through scenes as you write?