Last night, as we watched the very long Boston Red Sox game (the one with the lousy outcome), we had a conversation about the writing process. I shared that as I have been reading posts from other authors at Solstice, it is clear that there isn’t one “right” way to write. Some writers seem to outline their entire story in detail prior to starting the actual writing of the story. Others seem to use a variety of index cards (digital or paper) to write down ideas, then organize them, then start writing based upon each card. Some seem to seek input from others on their stories right from the beginning, others (like me) not until the draft is done. Still others seem to use voice technology to talk through their stories. I’m sure there are many other ways as well, I just haven’t read them all yet.

For me, stories arrive in my head basically with one or more of the characters walking into my consciousness. Suddenly, the story begins to take shape, all before I start writing. Then I sit down at the computer or ipad and start to type. I start where my brain is at that moment, and go forward from that point. Then, as a draft develops, I print it out every few weeks, go at it with a purple gel pen, and add as the story seems to need it. Sometimes large parts of the story line seem to not work in the review, and they get scrapped. Once it seems to be basically together, I share it with a good friend and great editor of mine, and ask her for her thoughts.

With all of this in mind, today I continue writing my fourth romance novel, the one which is a sequel to book three. Suddenly there seems to be a youth hockey tournament in the story, can’t wait to see who wins that one!