2022: My Writing Process

Hello Readers! Welcome back to another 2022 article. In this post, I will be sharing what my writing process looks like. I hope you enjoy!

I’ve never really thought of my ‘writing process’, but after some thinking— I realized it might be an interesting topic. My writing process is a bit messy, to be honest. I’m what writers call a ‘pantser’, which is a writer who ‘writes by the seat of their pants’. Basically, it’s a writer who doesn’t plot and makes the story up as they go. It’s a free-for-all kinda writing. But sometimes(most of the time) this style of writing can get a little messy.

I’ve never been the type of writer to put sticky notes on the walls or write out how each plot will go. I don’t even use outlines! Everything you read by me is very raw, and straight from my mind. I really can’t stick to a plan. After the first few sentences, the paper begins to write itself. Of course, I always have a small plan for what I write. If I didn’t, I don’t think I’d be able to finish anything. I’d jump from story to story, with no goal. Every writer has a goal. A finish line. Something that motivates them. My biggest motivation for each of my stories are the endings. Once I get an idea for a story, I figure out the ending right away. Knowing how I want the story to end, gives me some direction for when I’m writing. This way I don’t stray too far from the storyline.

Everything I’ve written started as a random idea that popped in my head, uncalled for and unwanted. Once I get one of these ideas, I can’t stop thinking about it, and I won’t stop thinking about these random ideas of inspiration until I sit down with my laptop or notebook and just let the ink bleed. I know that sounds kind of crazy, but that’s how all of my story and article ideas begin. They’re born from raw flashes of inspiration and shot down on paper without worry of grammar mistakes and/or if the sentences flow correctly.

Let’s take my current work, for example. The idea for this story came in the middle of editing my first novel, Loading. Talk about random. I was editing a super sci-fi, dystopian— and out of nowhere, came an idea for a story set in the deep south that involves witchcraft and mysteries.

I wrote the first few chapters of my current work about a dozen times, but I just wasn’t satisfied. The idea for this story was still printed in the back of my mind, but it was like I couldn’t find the right words to paint its picture. Another step in my writing process is rewriting. I’ll rewrite a sentence about a hundred times until it sounds good to me and I feel I can move on. This alone is one of the reasons why it takes me a long time to write. I have to be able to find the right words to write, or I just won’t write at all. This is where writer’s block can sneak in if I’m not careful. Whenever I’m experiencing writer’s block, the thing that helps me the most is listening to people’s ideas and reading good books. This usually puts me back into a writing mood.

I can write pretty much everywhere, but I prefer to be in a quiet area with my headphones on, where I can politely ignore people around me and put all my attention into what I’m writing. I write the best when I’m completely alone. And when I say the best, I mean I can get the most writing done when I’m completely alone. As I said, I can write pretty much anywhere— traveling in an RV across the country, at my family’s shop, at the ice rink while I wait for my little sister to get out of lessons, at a farm, at the beach, etc. If I can write somewhere, I’ll most likely be writing. My ideal writing day, though, is writing at my desk by myself with some lo-fi/jazz/folk music playing in the background, drinking a chai tea latte, with no distractions and no writer’s block.

After I finish writing something, I give myself a good break before jumping into the editing stage. This break could be just an hour, or maybe a month— depending on what I write. When I finish an article, I normally take half an hour to an hour break before proofreading it. With Loading, though, I gave myself about a month. Taking a break and coming back to my writing acts as a sort of reset for me so I can read my work as the reader, not the writer.

Editing and proofreading used to be difficult for me, but I knew it was something I needed to learn as a writer. When I first started blogging, I wasn’t confident in my writing, and I really had no idea how to edit my work. Thankfully my grandmother loves grammar and helped me out with my early articles until I learned enough to fix my own mistakes. When I was publishing my book, I wanted to hire a professional editor, but then decided to try my best to do it myself. By choosing to edit Loading myself, my skills sharpened— and I found that I actually enjoyed editing.

It takes me about half an hour or so to edit and proofread an article. Sometimes when I feel like it's missing something, I’ll ask my parents or sisters to read it over, but for the most part, I edit all my writing myself.

Last but not least in my writing process— publishing(or posting). I don’t have any problems publishing my work. A lot of my writer friends tell me they’re scared to publish their stories in fear of what people will think. ‘What if they don’t like it?’— is the most common concern. It’s kind of funny because I almost never think of my readers when I write. I write for myself, without thinking about how readers will react.

Thank you for reading this week’s post! I hope you enjoyed reading about my writing process. If you have any questions about my writing process, feel free to ask them in the comments below, and I’ll do my best to answer them. Remember to like this post, subscribe, and as always, come back for more!

Read On,

Kait The Writer

P.S. Did you know I write short stories? Check out my Reedsy account if you’d like to read some of them!