I find my process changes a bit with each book but basically I write most days and try and meet a weekly page goal. I’ll write in order as long as I know what’s happening next. When I get stuck, I skip ahead to the next bit of the book I can “see” and write that then figure out how to go back and stitch things together.
I write a fairly short first draft, full of dialogue and talking heads, then have to go back and layer in more details. It’s like the first time round, I can mostly hear the characters talking but the pictures that go with them are fuzzy. In revisions, I get a clearer picture, so can put in more details and fix what I got wrong the first time round.
As for actually doing the writing, I mostly work at home at my desk. I find it hard to concentrate in cafes etc but will do it if I have to. I do a lot of first drafting with Write or Die (basically doing writing sprints) so I can get the story down without stopping myself to much. I use Scrivener and Word to help pull it all together after that. My home computer is a Mac. I also have a Macbook Air that I love beyond reason.
I put together a soundtrack for each book and listen to that as I write, either all of the songs or one song on repeat, depending on what I need at the time. There are songs in my soundtracks that I get pretty tired of by the end of a book. I don’t really do a lot of pre-writing, plotting or worldbuilding before I write. I’m pretty much of the “if you build it as you go, they will come” school of writing. Which does sometimes mean having to stop and figure stuff out as I go and sometimes having to circle back to fix things because I’ve stuffed something up world wise. The only thing I really do before I write, besides choosing the soundtrack music, is a digital collage which helps me get the mood of the characters and the feel of the book.
Posted in: Writing