This is a bit of a tough topic to cover because everyone's process looks so different. I am by no means an expert, but I can share what works for me and maybe by the end you'll have some new ideas.
Whether it's acknowledged or not, every writer has a process. And that's not to say that every book will follow the same process; each book is different and therefore the process to bring that book to completion might change as well. However, there are likely going to be poritons that stay the same throughout.
I'm a huge planner. When I was in gradeschool, I attempted to write and rarely ever made more than a couple chapters because I didn't know where my story was going. When I ended up with my first really book idea in years, I knew that I needed to outline.
As an overview, my process looks like this:
1) Inspiration
2) Character building
3) Outlining
4) Draft 0
5) Let it simmer
6) Draft 1
7) Off to CPs (critique partners)
8) Draft 2
9) Repeat
And repeat Steps 7 and 8 to infinity. I'll take as many drafts as I need until I feel the project is good enough to be called "finished."
Step 1: Inspiration
When people say inspiration can come from anywhere, they're not kidding. My greatest moments of inspiration have come when I wasn't even thinking about writing at all. For example, being in line at Tim Horton's (yes, I am Canadian), taking a trip to the mall, listening to music on a walk.
But if you're having trouble forming that perfect idea, some great places to start are: Pinteret, your favourite playlist, people watching (seriously, so many interesing people), or even just reading other books.
Step 2: Character building
This is where I tend to have the most fun. You get to ask a lot of questions and really get the creative juices flowing. This step generally takes me a few days until I have a cast of about 10 characters (which will expand once writing), but I start with the ones that I know are integral to the plot.
I'll spend more focused time on my main characters and less on the outliers. But each of them get a Character Worksheet. Once those are all filled in, I'll move on to outlining.
Step 3: Outlining
Most of my plots center around the main character, so before I even start thinking about how everything plays out I have an idea of the story that I want to tell. It's heavily tied to the MC's (or main character's) wants, needs, and fears. This adds tension and helps to drive the story forward because I know the pieces that need to be withheld in order to keep the main character active.
When I started writing Draft 0 of my current project (we'll name it CoS, for now), I hadn't gone through the steps of deep character building or outlining. I only had the bare bones.
I knew that my MC was exiled and hated by her people, and I knew that there was a giant rift formed over centuries between two races. I had an idea of some character traits, but the biggest problem with my first draft was that I didn't know my characters.
One of my favourite authors, Ally Carter, said once, "The characters just haven't shown up yet." I love this phrase so much because I feel it in every draft I do. There are certain charcaters that just fall onto the page, fully formed, but most often I need to spend time with them to learn their motivations and how they react to certain situations. You can plan all you want, but until you get writing it's difficult to know how the story will shape up.
So, CoS needed a lot of work and a ton of drafting and feedback in order to get it to a place that I was happy with, but I learned from that first book and kept adding to my process until it was streamlined to what I'm sharing today.
Step 4: Draft 0
Some authors have different terms for this; I like to call it Draft 0 because that's what it is. It's not totally a book, but it's everything that's been floating around in my head written down in Word. It needs a lot of help to smooth out plot holes, character inconsistencies, foreshadowing, and more, but I can set it down with the knowledge that I wrote that book.
When I start drafting, I aim for about 50,000 words. This is quite shy of my actual target, but again, it gives me enough to round it out to 75,000-85,000 words in Draft 1. It's enough to lay the foundations.
Step 5: Let it simmer
Once Draft 0 is written, I'll leave it alone for at least 4 weeks. I won't think about it, talk about it, open the document, nothing for 4 weeks. This allows for my brain to reast and when I come back to it I can see the things that need to be fixed with fresh eyes.
Step 6: Draft 1
Editing your own work is one of the hardest things to do. It's easy to become attached to the prose, to the plot, to certain characters, but there are times when those things that you love so much need to go.
Coming back to Draft 0 after letting it simmer shows me the things that I may be holding on to too tightly and allows me to cut without that strong attachment.
I have to work in order, so I will edit from beginning to end and start over, adding scenes that were missing as I go. This helps me to keep track of what I've written and gives me a lot of context so that I don't end up rewriting a scene that was fine to begin with.
After a first pass, I'll write out the main three scenes in each chapter on my whiteboard to look at pacing, character development, overall plot development, and so on. If something feels out of place, I can move it around on the whiteboard without having to splice my manuscript.
I spend the time reforming this draft before anyone reads it because feedback too soon can ruin a project. If you're not 100% sure what you want it to be, having someone else read over your work can drastically change the trajectory. And sometimes, by the end, you look back and realize the story that you wrote and edited wasn't the one you originally set out to write.
Of course, this isn't always true. There may be times where you have someone read Draft 0 and tell you what they loved which actually helps give you direction to keep writing. This is good, this is what CPs are for, but this is also found through trial and error.
Step 7: Off to CPs
Once I'm mostly happy with Draft 1 (or simply can't articulate the problems that need fixing anymore) I'll send the work to a handful of CPs. For me, 2-3 per project is enough. Any more than that and it slows down my process. I work relatively quickly, and if I hand out my project to too many people, the time it takes to get all my pages back stretches on and on.
This is another area where you'll need to see what works for you. Is one CP enough? Do you like having more voices? Do you need to see 5 out of 6 people agree on something in order to change it?
I would also recommend finding CPs who are willing to re-read your story as you edit. It's great to get feedback, but if the peope who read it first aren't satisfied with the changes you made, there really wasn't much point in changing it.
Step 8: Draft 2
When all my CPs send their feedback, I compile it into one document and start on the next draft. I'll keep a separate document listing any overarching problems that need to be addressed throughout the whole book (this character should allude to this more, so-and-so should be angrier, etc.).
Then, I'll start at the beginning and address the changes I know how to fix. This could range from small things like adding commas or changing dialogue tags to big plot points. And once I've made one pass, I'll start from the beginning again and do the same thing until I've accepted or rejected every CP comment.
This method keeps me sane. It can be very easy to become overwhelmed by feedback. Especially if you're just starting out and have no idea how to fix 80% of the comments. But just take it one change at a time. Also, talk to your CPs. If they made a suggestion that you like but can't think of a way to incorporate it, your CP will probably have an idea. They were the one who suggested the change, after all.
One really important thing to remember at this stage is that this is your book. It's not your CPs, it's not your cousin's, it's yours. So if a suggestion doesn't fit your vision of the story, you have no obligation to change anything. Just keep in mind that, if your CP is good, they're making these suggestions to move your book forward.
Step 9: Repeat
At this point, I'll go back and forth between my CPs and drafting until I'm satisifed. The process looks pretty much the same for Steps 7 & 8, and while my book is away being read by others, I'll spend that time working on something different. This is a great habit to get into in order to keep your momentum going.
Getting my process where it is today took almost three years--and I'm still learning! There are still areas to improve upon and pieces that could be tightened. But the best gift of being unagented is that you have as much time as you need to learn your process and write those books.
If I were to give a timeline to each portion of my process it would look something like this:
1) Inspiration
- A few seconds (inspiration tends to come to me when I'm not thinking directly about it)
2) Character building
- Approx. 5 days at 4-6 hours per day
3) Outlining
- Approx. 2 days at 4-6 hour per day
4) Draft 0
- 2000-3000 words per day for about 20 days (I don't work on weekends)
5) Let it simmer
- About 4 weeks
6) Draft 1
- Approx. 5-10 days at 4-6 hours per day
7) Off to CPs
- Anywhere from 4-8 weeks
Every time I get a draft back, it takes me less time to do edits. Mostly because the problems get easier and easier to fix.
As I mentioned earlier, I'm no expert. This is just what I've learned about myself over the past few years and I hope that it will help you in one way or another! I'd love to hear about your process, too. Drop me a line on my contact form and tell me your methods.
If you're interested in my Character Building Worksheet and in-depth process, you can get a FREE downlaod by signing up for my newsletter at the bottom of the page. I'll be sending out monthly writing tips and book updates.
Happy writing,
Erin