My Writing Process

Having no formal writing training, I have never followed a storyboard or worked out my story beforehand as some writers do. I come up with a vague idea for the story and then research the topic until I am comfortable with it and all its companion sidelines before I write the first word. My stories, although fictional, do not leave reality, so before I write about a particular setting, I research, Google and Google Earth it to death so that it is as accurate as possible, thereby making it as real as possible. I want my stories to be as true to life as I can get it. I want the reader to believe that it could actually happen. Knowing the topic so intimately, I am able to find facts on-line quickly and it rarely slows down the writing process.

I have never developed my characters before starting either. I do, however, see the merit and may attempt it in the future.

Having a general idea of where I want the story to go, I strike out and let the story move me where it will. I don’t try to push it as that is when I find the story will get hung up. The setup of the story, to me, is the most cumbersome part of the writing process and it is not until 15-18 chapters in, will I have a clear path decided. After that, the story flies onto the page and I can often write one or more chapters in a day. For instance, this Easter weekend (2016), I was able to write four solid chapters in three days. And I still have Easter Monday.

It may be different, but it works for me.