The Creative Writing Process for Smarties

Because you're not a dummy.

In case you can't tell, I've really never been one for formal things. It just never seemed authentic to who I am. It weirds me out to be called "ma'am" or "miss," I never set the table, and if you ever see me wearing heels at anything other than a wedding, it's a secret message that I've been kidnapped and need help. I like being called "dude," we dish out our food while standing by the stove, and sweatpants are my favorite thing to wear. So, what's my point? 

My point is that thinking of things in terms of a 'formal writing process' (she said with air quotes and an exaggerated, posh-sounding voice) makes me want to break out in hives. Of course, there needs to be more of a formality to something like a research paper, but as you can clearly see by the title of this post, we're talking about creative writing, here. Feel free to let me know if you'd like to see something about an academic writing process. That's a whole different can of worms. So, without further ado, here's a rough idea of how I git 'er done.

Coming Up With Ideas

If you follow GetLiterary on Facebook or Twitter, which you totally should, you've seen me attempt this step in one way or another. There are tons of ways to go about it, but the ones I'm referring to in terms of social media are blatantly asking for ideas. There's no shame in saying, "Hey, there! Give me ideas!" (Although, if you actually want people to help you, consider going about it with a little more tact than that.) I like to ask my long-suffering  husband if this sounds right, or if someone would do that. Hearing what other people think or what they like to see can be a really good spring-board from which to launch your imagination. 

If you have a knack for getting help from others, you could also try being a people-watcher. Now, I obviously don't mean sitting around and just staring at someone until they feel like they need to put on a few extra layers of clothes. I mean just be observant. When you're in line at the grocery store, soften your gaze and take in your surroundings. What are people talking about? What situations are playing out that could easily develop into something interesting or dramatic? What is that guy who's scanning the chip aisle thinking? Using situations based in real life is one of the absolute best ways to make your writing feel believable and realistic. Disclaimer: If you use this method, don't let people know you're doing it. It's really easy to make people feel uncomfortable or judged. Just make it seem like you're minding your own business. 

Or you could try my favorite way to come up with ideas: Take a shower. If you say that you've never done some deep thinking in the shower, well, I've got news for you, bud... You're a liar. Sometimes, it comes when I'm jamming out to music as I scrub my hair, and others, the perfect plot pops into my head as I shave my legs. There's just something about showers, man. I can't explain it. 

However you get your million-dollar idea for a short story, book, or poem, that's when it's time to put the pedal to the metal. 

Planning 

I know, I said that I don't do formal things, and that's absolutely true, but in order to help avoid getting too stuck, I like to get something on the page about where I want things to go. And it doesn't have to be a perfect, English class-worthy outline. 

Do I want my protagonist to fall in love with his neighbor? Am I going to shift points of view throughout the piece? Is there a really wild plot twist in my brain that I have to make note of before I forget? 

Having no plan at all can be helpful when you're doing something like poetry, which is more driven by feelings and images, but if you don't have a plan with stories, you're going to get stuck, then get frustrated, and then abandon it. But what if that idea was super unique, or you really want people to know about it? You'll end up kicking yourself. (Trust me, I've done that more than once. In fact, I have a whole folder of things I've started and abandoned without a plan.)

Save yourself the frustration and curse words, and just scribble something down. You could sketch a character who's got a unique quirk. You could draw a flow chart of how your plot is going to develop. You could even list your characters and their relationships with one another. It makes a big difference to have something in writing that you can reference for inspiration when you hit a wall. 

Let's Do It To It! 

Anybody catch that reference to An Extremely Goofy Movie in my heading title? If so, you get a gold star! Anywho, this is where you actually write. You can sit at a computer and hammer it all out at once. You can take breaks for searching Reddit about mysterious murder cases. You can eat lots of food while you do it, or drink way too much coffee— not that GetLiterary condones unhealthy behaviors, but...😉— the point is that you put words on the page.

For obvious reasons, this is the longest stage of the process. You've got to develop your characters in a natural way (keep your eyes peeled for how to do that soon), you have to actually get your plot into action, and you have to expand a couple hundred words of the synopsis you wrote into a full on story. It's easier said than done, but whatever works for you is what is best. 

My specific writing process tends to have lots of dance breaks to jam out to The Backstreet Boys or Michael Jackson, stopping to keep my toddler from eating crayons, and referencing a thesaurus so I don't repeat the same word for the thousandth time, but hey, that's just me. You do you, booboo.

Bringing It All Together 

Now that you've got a first draft done, it's time for the fun— erm... Frustrating part. Editing. I hate editing. Like, a lot. As I've made abundantly clear by now, however, it's SOOOOO crucial. I've already made a post on how to do that, but don't you dare forget about it! Even though the process sucks, it makes all the difference between nobody wanting to read your work, and people not being able to get enough of it. 

This is also the point where I like to send my work to people I trust— my brother (Andrew), my sister (Breanna), a creative writers' Facebook group, or a friend who also happens to be a writer (Courtney). That way, I can make sure that my crazy brain didn't just think up something that's not even a little bit plausible. And I can also get a better grip on what works and what doesn't, so I can edit things accordingly in my next draft. 

And then, after you've done enough drafts and tearing your hair out, it's time to get it out there. Self-publish it. Post it to a blog. Email it to a publisher. Distribute your work however you want it to be distributed, and then kick back and relax. You just wrote something awesome! 

Happy writing, 

By the way, here's my beautiful sister, Breanna, and I. I thought I should include a picture of her because she's awesome at pointing out when things I write don't make sense. She's saved me from myself many times.

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