Evolving As An Author (and a secret cute cat)

I hope everyone had a good long weekend! Regardless of how the world is right now, it's always nice to have a three day weekend, especially when you don't get them as often as you wish. Holidays aren't guaranteed in my day job, so anytime I get to spend one away from work is a good time. It helps me live the dream of writing full time, and that's what I'm here to talk about today.

First and foremost, if you look to the right, you'll see the final tease for the next book: Refining Ties! It's been a long time coming, and I'm excited that I'm getting to a point where I'm able to actually start sharing more and more with you all. I've been working diligently on getting this first revision done - ok, it's actually an entirely new draft but lets not focus on that - and as I approach the end of the line, I wanted to share some things I've noticed along the way.

I've said this many times on here, but I've always considered myself a "discovery writer". I've tried outlines and plotting and planning in the past, and it's always killed whatever spark I had for the story before I ever finished it. The joy for me in writing is finding the story along the way, not knowing which direction it will take, and navigating the obstacles that come from the undiscovered twists and turns. If I go through that process with an outline, I've done it already, and "fleshing it out" with prose is an impossible task.

After working with my editor for both Bound To Parish and Refining Ties, I've been dabbling a bit more in the structural aspects of things. The first draft is still by the seat of the pants, unplanned and spontaneous. However, after she gets it and provides the tweaks and changes it needs, I've found that mapping out the scenes and chapters needed to implement them has helped tremendously. I've also found a joy in crossing out a chapter on the outline when it's finished. Being able to see the progress as it goes is something I need, mostly for my sanity.

Another thing that has evolved since the last book is my writing process. I think I've had a slight variation with each novel I've finished. With the last book, I wrote for an hour each morning, before work, so I would have a fresh mind and be able to spill out 1,000 words with no problem.

Then I got Harley:

She's a cute, catastrophic creature and has taken over every aspect of freedom and self discipline I thought I'd had. One big focus for her, recently, is her need for play and attention. It seems that any time I sit down to pump out some words, she gets jealous of the affection I'm showing to the keyboard and demands satisfaction. This has led to morning writing sessions being cut short, or scrapped altogether. Even as I write this, she's prowling around my chair, looking for a way to grab my attention.

Because of this, I've changed to an evening writing schedule, opting to try and get some words on paper while she eats dinner, and in between play sessions. Generally, she winds down as the night wears on, and the words come a bit easier. Progress has been steady with this method, and I foresee this being the process for the remainder of this book. Now, will this continue into the next one? That is yet to be seen.

The gist of this post, beyond showing you all the final tease (and my cute-as-hell cat) is that writing changes over time, and we're always growing as people. Either personally or professionally or artistically, you can't be afraid to roll with the changes. Even if you have a "system" that works for you, don't be scared to tweak it, or change it, or drop it completely for something entirely different.

You might be surprised with what happens.

-Dave