My writing process is fairly straight-forward, combining
practical common sense with a bit of unbridled creative passion! First of all, I glean all the information on
my next topic (eg Rhuna in Ancient Egypt) from my stash of historical, New Age,
spiritual, pseudoscientific books and take notes of the points I like. From about 50 such points, however, I might
only end up using half or less, but that’s fine. In the beginning, I don’t have a clear idea
of what I’m going to use, but if I have a nice long list of
ideas/topics/facts/myths to choose from, then it’s easier to grab one as I’m
going along.
Before I start writing, I formulate a general plot in my
head. Since this a series, I have a
definite starting point (the cliff-hanger from the last book) and end point
(the cliff-hanger leading to the next book).
I have some definite ideas what will happen between both points; not
just in terms of events but how characters will be affected.
Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash
Once I have a fairly solid base line to follow, I allow
myself to develop and add things as I go along, and this often happens almost
by itself from Part II onwards. Often I
have Part One clearly defined in my mind before I get started, and this helps me
lay the groundwork for the rest of the book, such as setting the scene, raising
the new issues or problems Rhuna will be facing, and creating some suspense as
to what will happen.
Usually I write to story in sequence, but at times I’ve been
overwhelmed by new ideas or a description of feelings or events that happen
further along in the story. That’s when
I let the creativity flow freely, and later I connect those scenes with the
ones written in chronological order.
Some advice I’d gladly pass on to new and aspiring authors
are these:
·
Be yourself.
Don’t try to write in the style of a popular author, or even your
favourite author. You have to find your
own inner voice and then let it shine forth.
·
Every word you write should come from your heart
and soul – not your brain dictating how you think it should read. If you do this, readers will instinctively
feel it and have an emotional response to your book.
·
Remember that books are like people: with some
you immediately ‘click’; with others you just can’t gel. This goes for the books you read yourself,
but also what to remember when readers don’t like your book. Not everyone is going to like it, just as not
everyone is going to like you personally.
That’s just the way it is.
·
If you are being yourself in your creation, then
continue to be true to yourself. Keep
writing and growing while doing the necessary promotion and marketing of your
books, and your readership will grow:
slowly but surely.
Being creative can be more mentally exhausting that you
realize, so it’s important to make yourself have a break before you feel the
brain fog or mental block developing. In
my case, I have another creative outlet, namely art: sketching, oil painting,
acrylic, watercolour, still life, portraits or whatever grabs my fancy. I meet with other artists at the local Art
Society’s studio once a week, and this is already a great little break when
I’ve been writing or thinking a lot about a book. Other times, I feel I need a week or two away
from writing and just do paintings and sketches around home.
When I’m out of creative gusto, I play games: jigsaw puzzles
(on the computer nowadays – much easier!) some hidden object mystery games and
Super City on Facebook. Other times just
going to the park with hubby and the dog is enough unwinding for a few
hours. And believe it or not, doing some
necessary chores and housework can also help to unwind mentally just by giving
you some distance from the work you were focussed on.
