My Process

Every writer has a process. Some get up and start writing first thing in the morning. Others write right before they hit the light for the night.

That’s the beauty of being a writer: There’s no right or wrong way to do it. It’s all about finding your process, figuring out what works best for you.

I think a lot of writers make the mistake of trying to imitate the habits of their favorite writers. I say this as someone who has tried this several times, without success. What Stephen King does works for him because he’s Steven King. You’re not Steven King. He is. So why are you copying his process?

In writing, you can’t imitate someone else’s success. You have to create your own path, using whatever you have at your disposal. Everyone’s situation is different. And now, I’m gonna talk about my situation: my process.

My Process

At the wonderful age of 33, I went from a fulfilling day job to an overnight position with less pay. Why would I do such a thing? So I’d have time to start working on my new career, my dream career – as a writer.

The overnight position allowed me between six and eight hours of time to myself. I use that time every night to write, read, and study the world of book marketing, amongst other things. I’ve been at it for four years and will be able to quit the night job and write full time soon.

Can’t write on weekend nights cause I gotta hit the gym!

I’m at my night job four nights a week. Each shift is ten hours long. From eleven to midnight, I read. From midnight until around four, I write. Then until about six, I read some more, work on some marketing, answer emails, and stuff like that.

On the weekends, I write whenever I can. I have my ten-year-old son most weekends, so I write while he’s playing violent video games right next to me or watching mildly-inappropriate TV shows. I don’t write after he goes to bed, though. That’s when I slip out to the gym for a long, late-night workout!

On weekends that I don’t have my son, sometimes I write, sometimes I don’t. Often, I like to be social on the weekends I don’t have my son and go on dates or do stuff with friends. Other times, I stay in and write for hours and hours and hours.

But, in general, most weekends I write for at least a couple hours each day. So that’s when I write. Now, let’s talk about how I write.

I’m always sippin’ on something. And, more often than not, that something has either caffeine or protein in it. I drink a lot of green tea while I write. I double bag it so each cup has more caffeine, theanine, and all the other good stuff found in green tea. And I drink a couple protein shakes a day, sometimes one while I write.

This is where I write while working overnights.

My posture is terrible when I write. When at home, I often write laying in bed. At work, I sit on a shitty, old, busted-up couch with my feet up on a table. The seat of the couch sinks almost all the way to the floor. It’s horrible!

Stephen King says you should write free of distractions. I’ve tried this and the lack of distraction distracts me. No matter what I’m doing, I almost always have the TV or music on in the background. When I eat, when I sleep, and when I write.

At home, I have my son’s video games and TV shows playing in the background. Or, if I’m by myself, I’ll put something on in the background while I write.

At work, there’s a big TV that I have on. I usually throw it on one of the HBO’s or MTV and have Ridiculousness on in the background all night (they play that shit allllll damn night – but it’s a good show). I don’t really pay attention, but I just like having something on in the background.

When I sit down to write, I usually look over my notes and outline and then read the last few pages that I wrote. After that, I start writing. I almost always start off slow, struggling to get the first few paragraphs out. But after a little while, I usually find my flow and start writing faster.

And that’s more-or-less my daily writing process. Like many writers, when and how I write varies from day to day. And I’m sure it’ll change completely sometime in the not-so-distant future.

Your writing process isn’t set in stone – it’s dynamic and can be changed at any time. If you can’t seem to find your rhythm, keep trying different things until something clicks. If you can’t seem to get up early and write like you want to, try writing at night. If you think that you’d get more writing done at a coffee shop, try writing at one.

Don’t be afraid to try different things. It’s the only way you’ll ever figure out your process. The key is consistency. The most important thing is that you write often. Some will say you should write every single day, but I think most days is fine.

Well, there you have it. That’s my writing process – right now anyway! So, tell me: How do you write?