My Writing Process

My writing process is something that I am still trying to figure out. I am currently revising how I come to write my pieces. I am certainly the type of writer who lingers on the planning process and tries, at any cost, to avoid actually writing.

​But I've had a lot of inspiration recently, particularly for planning short stories. It could be because I'm back to frequently reading, but It could also be because I have a new notebook, and I've decorated it with loads of stupid stickers. I'm going to briefly talk about my writing process, as it is something I've been thinking about a lot recently. It goes as follows:

Initial Plan:

Because I've spent the last four years of my life learning about creative writing in University, I find that I've adapted my planning stage based of what other students do. In the first couple of years on the course, I would just write as I went along. Now, however, the thought of doing that makes me feel a bit nauseous. Not to say it's a bad thing, at all, it can just be a stressful thing. When I plan, especially short stories, I start with a few things. Sometimes, I start with a plot, whatever that may be, and then I work on characters and then settings. Recently though, I've been creating characters first and then plots. If I really need to plan out a character in depth for a university assignment, I will find character sheets online and fill them in. But usually I just rely on creating collages, and then I can focus on writing.

Creating Collages:

A lot of my writing process takes place on Pinterest, to make the characters and settings visible. It's helpful for me to have something to look at when I'm writing to immerse myself into the world. I have to keep my boards simple, otherwise I can get extremely overwhelmed and put off a project altogether.

First, I make a basic Pinterest board. This is usually the title of my short story. Sometimes I will put images in the main board, to create a general mood-board for the whole story. But a lot of the time it feels cluttered and overwhelming, so I tend not to.

After that, I make sections in my boards, these are often named after a specific character or setting. They are usually free reign, meaning that if there's something I see that vaguely reminds me of a character or setting then I add it in.

Writing Routine:

To say I have a writing routine is a complete lie. I only included it in this post to give some vague idea of how I write. My routine so far consists of having a cup of coffee or tea, sitting down and writing. It sounds simple, but I am not consistent in this at all. If I allocate myself a time and place to write, I often find myself staring at a blank screen. I write when I find the will to write, which is difficult a lot of the time. If it's for university, sometimes I even have to force myself to write, but I wouldn't suggest that. I've been writing a lot more frequently recently, and I think it could be because I'm reading more. I try and write in my notebook as much as I can, and keeping it on me at all times has been super helpful to build a habit, even if it's just writing on the train home.

In the near future, I wanted to explore the routines of other writers, just to see if there is any benefit for me having a routine.

I hope this has been in some way, shape or form, helpful. If not, I hope you have enjoyed reading it anyway.

All my love,

Talia <3