A family friend asked me one day if I loved writing like I love breathing. It’s when I answered, “Yes” that I realized that I want to do this for as long as I am able. I think she asked me that question around the time that I was publishing my second novel, Eeala And The Water Dragons. I’m not sure. Somewhere between my second and third published book. That question lingered on my mind for many years now because whenever the process gets tough, I refer back to that moment and my answer.
Fast forward to the present where I’m currently in the process of finishing my sixth novel; I feel reflecting on the process of writing is beneficial to the reader (you) and to myself. So, I’ll start.
“In the beginning, there was light.”
This biblical quote exemplifies that there first needs to be a spark to get anything done. In other words, before you get to the page, you have to work on the idea.
What are you trying to convey to your audience? Who is your audience? What is the purpose of writing in the first place? Your purpose. Finding the purpose might mean creating an outline or writing a note about where you want the story to go or what you want the story to look like. I like to find the ending of the story while still creating the beginning.
As writers, you’re painting pictures with words. First, you need to see it before the audience even knows it exists. That requires many notes and possibly an outline of the story in its entirety. It will help if it’s organized because then you can play with characters and piece together plot twists.
But we’ll get to that.
The second move you should make after having the notes and the outline is simple: write. You feel ready. But you have to “put pen to paper.” Just write and see where it takes you. It may suck. You may hate it in the beginning BUT keep going. It may take you places you never thought you would go in the story. The more time and effort you spend building your plots and characters, the more it will grab the reader. You’re putting in the effort!
You may get tired. You may need to take a day off from it or a week. Maybe a month. Keep building the juices up in your head. Let it be your focus and you will come up with more details and feel the need to get back to it.
Now you might be close or closing in on the end. You put in the work. The effort can be seen now and you’re almost ready to share it with the world.
Read it. Share it with a friend and see what they think. Share it with an editor. Engage in your community (local or digital) to see if you can find people to work with you on your projects. It will help. “No man is an island.” Side note: I wrote that quote in one of my books, but you’ll have to buy it to know which one.
I’m working on two series. The first one is titled The Exhale Chronicles. The second is titled Tales of the Aceustik Sea. So far, I’m almost three quarters done with a four-part series (Exhale) and one third into the other. How I balance maintaining each story and keeping it relevant to the plan is to reflect and go back to notes when I feel like I lost the direction of the story. Give yourself grace when you’re stuck on a plot point. I have found it will come to you if you focus.
I switch off from series to series so I write one of Exhale and then one of the other (Tales…) but you should find your writing style and pace by doing the work: writing. Your own process will come to you. I’ll leave you with that.
Q. Imagine
is a multi-disciplinary writer, with titles such as author, a screenwriter, playwright, poet and book reviewer of The Scene (thescene.life). Some recent publications include, Worlds Of Possibility, Nebulous Magazine, Bards Annual, Alien Buddha Press, Quill & Crow and Suffolk County Poetry Review. Her book, Eeala And The Water Dragons was nominated for the 2021 Reader’s Choice Awards. Besides writing, she is an avid lover of music, spending time outdoors and watching movies. She has been writing poetry since she learned how to write. Her work can be found on Medium, Instagram and Amazon under her pen name, @qimagine.
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