Today I thought I'd elaborate on my previous post on my writing process.
Please don't get excited, I am not an Alchemist and can't tell you the secret to enable you to write golden literature.
My process is embarrassingly very unorthodox compared to other authors.
The majority of writers have a tried and tested method, and here it is:
1. Get a great idea
2. Write your idea as a premise
3. Set a deadline
4. Set smaller deadlines building to the final deadline
5. Figure out what kind of story you’re trying to tell
6. Read novels and watch films that are similar to yours
7. Create structure, structure, structure!
8. Create a storyboard
9. Find the climactic moment in your novel
10. Picture your reader
11. Trust the process and don’t quit
12. Keep going, even when it hurts
13. Finish Draft One . . . then onward to the next
14. Draft 2, 3, 4, 5
You’ll be very disappointed to find out that I don’t do any of that. If I’m honest, those points fill me with horror, especially number six.
Which authors inspire my writing?
I made sure I NEVER read a children's book or watched a kids' movie from the day I decided to write for children. I didn’t want to be influenced or be seen to have taken a plot, scene or idea from anyone else. I knew my books had to be original. I took the saying ‘be yourself because everyone else is taken’ to heart. Part of me yearns to pick up The Wind in the Willows or Winnie the Pooh but I can’t in case I’m influenced in any way.
So what is my process?
Simple. I sit down at my computer with page one of chapter one and wait.
Suddenly something comes to me. Maybe a name or an occupation or a place. Soon stuff starts to flow into my head and it flows fast….faster than my fingers can type usually. When I’ve written chapter one I go to chapter two and keep writing. I repeat this process till I get to the last page of the book.
That’s it.
There are the odd days when nothing flows out of my head, and when that happens I step away from the computer. I go for a walk, listen to music or meditate. I never force it.
Most of my books are written in about thirty days, however, the record for The Mouse who wanted to see the world was 8 hours! That doesn’t happen all the time, I hasten to add.
Is there ever a plan?
The only thing that’s planned is the length of the book. I try to keep my books to a set length. 250 pages for most stand-alone books and 100 pages for my short stories. This may vary by 10%.
I keep track of the progress so that I know when to turn the flow of stuff off as I approach these magic page numbers.
How many drafts are there of each book?
There is no draft. It’s a one-shot take. What flows into my head goes down and that’s it. The book obviously goes to the editor, but that’s just for spelling and grammar. I think that just like an artist, you can work and rework a painting, and if you’re not careful you will keep adding a bit here and a bit there - and you will never feel it’s finished and can keep doing this for years. It’s important to know when to step away and say ‘it’s done!’
So there you have it. There’s no big secret really. If there is a secret it’s remembering that I’m writing the books for children and not for me. I try to place the child in my head and remove my own ego. The books are never for me, I’m not important. The only participation I have is tapping the keyboard and remembering that if it makes me giggle then probably children will giggle also.
That’s what my writing is all about and the process that works for me.
Find your own process and enjoy every moment of your writing.
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