My Writing Process...

Sometimes I get asked to describe my writing “process.” I’m not sure if what I do qualifies as a process but I will try to describe some of my thoughts about writing fiction.

First, I’m a big believer in writing shitty first drafts. My first drafts are horrible. Unimaginably bad. But they serve a purpose. Their job is to take the clutter in my mind and put it on paper. Once you have a first draft the real work begins as most of the surprises and creativity are already exposed. For me, rewriting is more laborious and less attractive than writing a first draft. I’m not saying that I find writing a first draft easy. It’s just that mixed in with all that crushing work are moments of flow. Transcendental moments when and hour passes in the blink of an eye. 

I often work on a book idea for more than a year; slowly researching and developing the plot and characters. Sometime I place myself in similar setting to what I am trying to describe in my novel. For instance, my first novel describes a protagonist who must survive on a small northern island. In this case I spent the better part of a day building a shelter under a log on an island on the Yukon River in the winter. It gave my writing insight and allowed the prose to be developed much easier and with greater authenticity. 

I like to write from a detailed outline that I discuss with my editor before I start writing. She always gives me frank suggestions about where I should develop the story to make its arc stronger and characters more believable. I find that this process helps me write more focused books and prevents me from spending time describing things that will be cut later. I find writing difficult and I try to prevent writing anything that will not make it to the final draft.

When I’m working on a first draft I try to write for at least a few hours each morning. I take long walks in the afternoon and try to settle my mind by not reading or talking too much. Having long walks allows me time to reflect on the manuscript and relax. I pamper myself with good meals and feel it’s important to embrace the moment as one of life’s true pleasures. After all I have the opportunity to write a book and I like to savour that privilege.

I usually can write a first draft of a novel in a very immersive month or so and find it energizing to get many pages written each day. Writing in the mornings is important because when you sleep you tend to work through your story. Many times I have awoken to find an idea that I’ve been struggling with has a solution I hadn’t previously considered. An added benefit is that you have wonderful afternoons when you’ve written a lot in the morning. Plus, you have the option of writing for another shorter session later in the day. 

When I’m writing I never reread what I have written until I am absolutely finished the entire draft. I don’t want to slow down the writing process and slip into a critical frame of mind. And if I come to a spot that I can’t finish because it requires more research I simply leave a hole with some notes indicating where I feel the prose should be headed. Before I begin the second draft I fill all these holes. 

I usually use the second and third drafts to develop characters as I find my first drafts tend to be more action oriented. Second drafts are terrific for making certain the story flows and the characters are becoming three dimensional. But to be honest I am often still working on these qualities until the final draft. My first novel required seven end-to-end rewrites and I can say with certainty that each subsequent draft improved although the last few required less of an over-haul. I usually have a structural review by an editor after at least a few rewrites. At this point we don’t touch the spelling or grammar and are more interested in ensuring the story is developing believably. The last couple of rewrites are focused on syntax, grammar and copy editing. But every book is different and require different levels of rewriting and editing.

I don’t find writing easy and many times it’s maddening. However, it’s always meaningful and rich and I feel lucky to be able to call myself a writer.