I'll probably never be a famous writer, but I can read and write okay

I'm always really interested in other's creative processes and how they get into doing all this. Each is unique and develops in different ways. So, today I wanted to share mine.

I've always loved writing. My mom used to have me and my brother write daily journal entries as part of our school day where we could write a little story about anything (our day, a dream, an idea) and draw a picture related to it. I credit this to the start of my passion. Then I started writing my first story when I was 12. Granted, I didn't know what I was writing at that point was fanfiction, but hey you gotta start somewhere. Now, here I am at 22 and after 10 years and roughly 25 total books, I think I've finally settled on a process that yields the best results for me.

First, we gotta wait for the idea to hit. Definitely the hardest part. I can't really explain how this happens. Sometimes, I'll be watching a show or listening to a song and one part will stick out to me and start to morph into a bigger scene in my head. Sometimes my best friend gives me ideas. Sometimes it's just BAM! A scene starts playing out in my head like a movie and if I don't put it on paper it'll consume my thoughts, rendering me useless until I can get it out of my head. It's the worst when this happens at work and I can't focus anymore.

When I first started, I had to write chapter by chapter in order. It felt wrong to do it any other way and I thought I would lose track of where I wanted to go or not be able to piece together a full story. However, that crashed and burned in college when all my priorities shifted. I've found since then that writing scenes as they come to me instead of trying to fill in the gaps first helps me build my worlds easier than suppressing the ideas until I work up to that moment. It also helps me write more accurately to what I see in my head if I do it as I think of it. After I get the initial idea, I try to write a couple of scenes (chapters) before I decide if I can make something out of this. When I say scenes, I mean the chapters I write play out like a show in my head. I can see the characters acting out what I want to happen, what they're saying, how it's going to develop. It all unfolds like I'm watching an episode. If it goes well and starts flowing, I try to nail down a plot using my diagram:

It's technically a five act play diagram, but I found I really benefit from using this to visualize the key points for my books. It represent the beginning, the build, the climax, the fall, and the end. I draw it out on a piece of paper, fill in the blanks, then post it on my wall so I can see what I'm trying to reach if I get stuck. I started it originally with Battle Scars, I think, and have used it with every book I've tried writing since. And got it permanently on my body so here's to hoping it keeps working for me.

Along with the outline, I write character bios. On the wall in my bedroom, there's a sheet of paper for each main character in the book I'm currently working on. It has their full name, descriptions of their appearance, lists of their favorites, their personality, and some developments I want them to have throughout the book. This helps me see them as real people with depth instead of 2D objects. Of course, this also comes after I've settled on names for the characters which is quite possibly the second hardest part of this whole process.

Names for characters, the outline, and a title for the whole book kind of arise all at the same time. I've been on this kick since Battle Scars of naming my projects after songs or lyrics that I feel like represent something in the story or the theme of it all. I've started 5 projects since completing Battle Scars 2 years ago and each of them have had some kind of musical reference. This also tends to spark a playlist that goes along with the book. Any song that I think could play in the background of a scene or describes what's happening, goes in the list. It's like creating my own personal movie.

From there, it's just a lot of hoping and feeding into inspiration, trying to work through any blocks. Not having to go in a particular order really lessens my writer's block I think. There's no boxes I'm trying to fit into. I don't know what exactly gives me the most inspiration, but staying up later usually tends to be a pretty good time to work. The world's quiet and I'm not focused on everything else in my life, my mind isn't jumping from one thought to another.

The past year, I've fallen back in love with this crazy thing and now I have another book that I really like working on. That's probably the biggest factor; I have to love what I'm writing and if I don't it's harder to keep it going. This one involves a lot more research, which all gets written down in a separate journal for me to keep track of and pull whenever I need it. That's another thing, I hand write all of my chapters and then type them into a word document. I can't type fast enough to keep up with what's playing out in my head. I have calluses on my fingers from holding a pen. Back when I wrote nonstop, I would get little blisters. It also kind of made me feel accomplished. Now, I don't tend to get those but I am left handed and the ink smudges that I get on the side of my hand have replaced those blisters to give me that same feeling.

That's the basis of how my process goes. Every project is the slightest bit different, some require me to keep lists of rules or laws or relevant information. And then some are pretty straightforward just from my own imagination. Either way, the general process is the same and I'm really happy to finally have figured out what works best for me. It's not the longest and I probably left out something, but that's okay.

Thanks for reading!
-Shelby