My Writing Process (for those who want to know)
I got an ask today about my writing process and I was able to give a somewhat satisfactory response, but I wanted to come back and give a few more details and examples for anyone who would like to know. It turns into an instructional more towards the end, but those are all things I do in the various phases, especially checking myself and asking questions.
Phase 1: Idea.
This is the bare root, it’s where I start with a character and maybe a scene. My original story starts out with a girl looking at a setting sun while standing on a bridge asking herself some questions. I then wrote a story that contained the answer to her questions and a lot more. Champion started out with the idea of Garnet being an underground fighter for Yellow Diamond with Pearl being a growing romantic interest. Everything else was built from there. Smoke and Grit started out as a Bad Pearl putting her moves on Officer Garnet who rebuffs her due to their previously failed relationship. I then built a story on why they broke up, and then some, lol. So phase one is just a starting point. Solidify your idea, whether it be characters in a scene, or a relationship, or something that just really grabs you. Start there and build.
Phase 2: Brainstorming.
To me this is a very enjoyable part because I just let my mind go wherever with the characters and scene I start with and add more characters, relationships, potential awesome scenes, and more to it. No restrictions, just go with whatever pulls you at the time. Most likely the final product will not look like how you first imagined it. For example Champion had a very different ending and handling of several characters, especially for Jasper and Amethyst, as well as a number of scenes between Pearl and Garnet. Scenes that I loved daydreaming, but never fit in the flow of the story. This is also where I let myself (because I tend to be kind of a dark writer) go dark and dangerous to work it out and really see if I want to go that direction or not. For this phase daydream, nightdream, brainstorm away. This is for generating ideas that can be molded or used or scrapped entirely. It also helps you get a feel for your characters better too. Brainstorming for me is done throughout the whole process as I figure out scenes and make adjustments. I recommend spending a good chunk of time just brainstorming. For Champion I did this for about 4 months before I wrote anything. Smoke and Grit was more like a month. It varies!
Phase 3: Research/Nailing down some of the basics.
Create the city they live in, get their names set, relative ages, personality, descriptions. Key points or aspects of a character. Like for Smoke and Grit, Garnet wears sunglasses to cover and protect her half-blind eye and has a British accent. Create key locations and decide on a few scenes that you want to build the story to. Then research. Consider your location, the time period, what level of technology, what level of religion plays, political unrest, are you in a city or in the wild. Once you have that, do your research. Know what you are talking about by using already established rules or create your own. Once you have your rules down, stick to them! Keep it consistent! Otherwise you and your readers will get lost. See “Outline 1″ for an example of some of the mapping I did for Points of Pain in deciding how Yellow Diamond’s base would be labeled and structured. This ended up changing, but I made sure to go back and keep it consistent.
“Outline 2″ is another example of some of the initial building for names and extra characters for Champion and some more on Points of Pain.
“Outline 3″ is the last example is from the beginning of Smoke and Grit and the initial names, relationships, basic info, and timeline.
So phase 3 is roughly create your world, characters, and rules. Do research on key aspects. I actually did a lot of research on weapons, making and selling meth, hairstyles, chemicals, police ranking and equipment, and a number of laws about loitering, trespassing, what happens when you don’t pay your phone bill, etc. If you don’t know, find out! Or create it so.
Phase 4: Outlining
Have an idea of where you are going to go with the story so you have a path to follow when writing, or creating comics. However! Don’t treat your outline like it has to be like this. Every single time I’ve changed it, added to it, or actually followed it. With Champion I mapped out the entire story in a timeline before I started any writing. See “Outline 4″
It was great for getting started, because that’s very hard, but it fell apart further down the road when my characters had grown and things just weren’t fitting. So adapt, edit, and reconfigure your outline. In “Outline 5″ the whole page of outline for Smoke and Grit was scrapped for what I went with on the sticky note.
Get a rough idea of what you want to do to get started and go from there! If sticking to it works for you then great! Do that. If changing things up works, do that. This is just another tool to help with your writing.
Phase 5: Writing
This is where it happens. All of your prep now gets put into action as the words or drawings appear on the paper. Some days it flows like a rushing river, while others it’s like a desert. You’ll get stuck on scenes, scenes will be rewritten, etc. Don’t give up, but also give yourself breaks so you don’t burn out. Practice. Practice. Practice. You only get better by doing it more. If you need ideas on how to write things, read another book with a style you like. Use a dictionary, use a thesaurus, use proper formatting and grammar. It should not take work to understand what is going on and who is talking. Don’t get into a pattern of sentence length, change it up! Be creative! Do something you haven’t seen before, avoid a typical trope, change up the speed and intensity, add diversity in shape, color, orientation, habits, skills, odd behaviors, pasts, and more! The main point here is get writing. Get your thoughts down (Some days I feel like it’s just word vomit). One day you will write a ton, other days your won’t be able to write at all and that’s completely normal. Keep going, keep improving.
Phase 6: Editing
Now you have all your hard work out, it’s time to make sure it makes sense. I value logic, so I try to keep my characters actions and situation as logical and realistic as possible. On my first draft of Chapters 25-27 of Smoke and Grit, there was no surveillance and Pearl and Garnet talked openly about their plans. My Beta reader called me out and I went back and added it in! Check your consistency. Check grammar, spelling, overuse of the same word. Don’t start every sentence with “the”. Don’t say “said” every time. Dictionary and thesaurus are your friends! Spice it up! Add more to a boring scene, go more in depth in your description. Most importantly, take a step away from your story (at least a day) then come back to it. Read it out loud. Have someone else read it. Get feedback, and use it to make your story better. (it hurts to have something you worked so hard on picked at, but it really helps you and your story improve. Take it like a champ and then thank them!) This is a continuous process that can either be a missing comma or a completely rewritten chapter. Do it!
Phase 7: Reviewing and posting/sharing (if you want)
Are you happy with the end result? If yes share with a friend, online, family, or keep it for yourself! All are acceptable. Be proud of your accomplishment! No matter if its a 100 word drabble or a 200,000 word novel. This took your time and dedication. Be happy and enjoy whatever compliments or comments you get. And then I recommend taking a break if needed (I know I usually do). Can be a long break or a short one. Congratulations you have created a work of art!
