Writing Process

It’s a fact: everyone writes differently. Some start with a tidy outline, some start with an idea and lots of blank paper, while others can be a mix between the two. I’m part of the latter group.

For novels (ie: prose only):

The Wanted Child was my eighth to write (but only the second that was decent, and the first I felt was publishable — yes, I’m a perfectionist when it comes to stories), so I have a pretty good idea of what my process is like.

I average about 9 drafts from start to finish. My usual process goes something like this:

• 1st draft:
      I basically dump all the ideas I have brewing in my head and try to sort them into a more cohesive order. I love to ‘build’ a story, so I must know the ending and the important turning points in order to know where to go; kind of like figuring out a general direction if you’re going on a roadtrip. Little details are completely ignored during this stage including any sense of good grammar.
• 2nd draft:
      I now attempt to sew scenes together and try to figure out how to get from point A to point B to point C and so on. Lots of cool ideas get generated during this stage and the story usually changes drastically from its original premise. However, the general direction and ending still remain relatively the same. Kind of like doing a roadtrip where you take lots of unplanned detours but still arrive at your destination at the end. This is where I finalize the plot and starting noting where crucial details and foreshadowing need to show up. Scenes and prose are usually rather sparse, containing only the essentials to move the plot and characters along.
• 3rd draft:
      The hardest and longest phase. This is where I write the story for real, starting from the beginning and going all the way through the end, paying attention to little details, beefing up scenes, and maximizing tension and emotional buildup. My best ideas get generated during this process, causing me to back up and re-write, but it’s always worth it in the end.
• 4th draft
      By now, the story is in a form that others can read. Now I’m just going through, cleaning things up, and making sure all old/outdated ideas have been rooted out and that the newer ideas agree with each other. Once this draft is done, I send it to alpha readers.
• 5th draft
      Alpha readers have gone through it. It’s amazing what another pair of eyes can see in a story. Usually, there’s a lot of confusion; I don’t always explain everything thoroughly since it already makes sense in my head. Also, a lot of plot holes are found which I have to go fill up. So I add more details, clarifying things and making sure characters, places, and settings are consistent. New ideas tend to get generated again which I try to incorporate into the story.
• 6th draft
      I now focus on tidying things up, tightening scenes, and making sure each character completes their arc as well as the main plot. Basically, I’m making sure the entire story works and that there aren’t any more plot holes. I sometimes re-send to some alpha readers for one more check.
• 7th draft
      Once I’m sure the story ‘works’, I start focusing on the prose and prettying it up, sentence by sentence. I am not a natural wordsmither — nor do I really enjoy it. So this draft tends to be very tedious and annoying but I do it anyway. When I’ve done all that I can, I send it to an editor who helps to elevate my writing even higher.
• 8th draft
      Final edits. I go through and fix all the errors as well as muse over the suggestions my editor gave me.
• 9th draft
      Proofreading stage. I root out any error I can find, hoping to have a perfect, mistake-free book by the end of it.

If all goes well, I can call the book finished and send it off into the world! Hurray!!

For graphic novels (ie: pictures and words):

Not A Villain is my first foray into the world of graphic novels so I’m still perfecting my process. But it combines a lot of my prose style.

Basically, I completed the the 1st and 2nd draft before I began to draw in order to have a general idea of where to go — now I’m just in a perpetual 3rd draft while I slowly finalize a chunk at a time.

As for the art process, I’ll go into detail of that later.