When it comes to my writing process and how I write books in 6 months to a year, there's two areas I think of: my overall timeline and what I'm doing each day. In order to write a book or finish any other main project, you must pay attention to the overall strategy and what you are doing each day. The big goals give us direction, but the day-to-day is where the work gets done! The Big Picture My timeline for the big picture is quite simple and can be divided into five main phases. Phases 1: Outline and Ruminate This phase can take anywhere from one month to five months. Usually I ruminated on my next project during the final phases of my current one. For the YA thriller I just started, I considered where I wanted it to go and what the story would be since January, but I didn't sit down to write my outline until May 1st...and then I started writing it May 2nd. Phase 2: Draft I like to fast draft my projects. When drafting, I don't edit anything. No matter how stupid something sounds, I still write it down because it's easier to edit a horrible page than a blank one. Usually, drafting a novel takes 1-2 months. I let the novel sit for a couple weeks after it's done and then I do a read through. During the read through, I don't edit anything, instead taking notes on the necessary big picture changes. Phase 3: Developmental Revisions Here is where the bulk of my writing process lies. Usually containing drafts 2, 3, and sometimes 4, developmental revisions are improvements to the story so it, well, makes sense. This is where the magic happens and the story truly comes together. After I'm done with these revisions, I ship my WIP off to my critique partner to make sure there's nothing huge I'm missing. I also do another read through to assess if more developmental revisions are needed or if I can move on to phase 4. Phase 4: Voice Edits and Line Edits Here, I work on smaller sentence by sentence changes that can take a story from good to oh-my-god-I-can't-put-this-down!! Usually, this phase takes 2-3 months. During this time, I also write and revise my query letter and synopsis. Then, I send the novel out to betas and back to my critique partner for more feedback! Phase 5: Querying + Publication If betas like the story, I move on to phase 5. If not, it's back to revising. Phase 5 is where the writing stops and the business begins--it's when I query literary agents and hopefully set off down the path to being published. The Day-to-Day Try to find a routine which works for you! For me, my routine is: 1. Turn on my writing playlist. I also have a blog post about how to create a writing playlist if you don't have one yet!! 2. Freewrite Get out all the junk from the day and write your goals for the writing session 3. Open up the draft and actually get writing Whew! This is what you came for!! 4. Once I've reached my goal, I set my goals for the next session By always having my goals ready to go for next time, I'm eliminating any excuses about not knowing what to write! If you want to learn more about writing when unmotivated or how to develop a nighttime writing routine, I have blog posts about that too!! What do your writing process and writing routine look like?
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AuthorI'm Angela Anne, a Young Adult contemporary writer committed to helping you achieve your writing goals + giving you writing inspiration. ArchivesCategories
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