A couple of days ago, Brian asked me to talk more in depth about my writing process. Specifically, he wanted to know:

Do you use a dip pen like Shelby Foote, a typewriter like David Sedaris, or are you using a computer? Computer all the way. I haven’t handwritten anything since Mr. Rasnake’s senior English class in high school. I don’t even know if I could anymore. Besides, my handwriting is pretty bad. I can’t even tell what I’m writing half the time — even if it’s just my grocery list. So, it’s better for all parties concerned if I use a computer. 🙂

Do you have a favorite time of the day to write? I don’t really have a favorite time. I have a day job, so I have to write around that. But my favorite day to write is definitely Sundays. I get up, do some stuff around the house, then sit down at the computer for a few hours. I take a nap to whatever sporting event is currently in season, then get up and write a few more hours. On a good Sunday, I can crank out about 10,000 words.

Where do you write? At home in front of my computer and everywhere I go. When I’m in the zone (or grips of madness), I’ll think about scenes in my head on my lunch break or while I’m driving around town. I’ll plot out chapters or think about how I can make something better. I’m not actually writing stuff down on paper, but it’s rattling around in my head, which has to count for something.

But this question is a little misleading because there’s a lot more to writing than actually … writing. You have to look at your work, really look at it, then go back and revise it. Tighten sentences. Cut out repititious phrases. Gut certain characters or scenes or even whole subplots if they’re just not working. And sometimes, horror of horrors, throw the whole thing out.

So, how do I write a book? To me, it’s a four-draft process.

Draft One: This is the craptastic draft. Once I have an idea for a new book, I just sit down and write whatever comes into my head, just to get the words down. I just sort of feel this pressure building up inside me to get something down on paper. I use to do pretty long drafts, about 70,000 words, but they’ve been getting progressively shorter, and now clock in at about 40,000 to 50,000 words. That’s really enough for me to tell if something is worth exploring further or not.

Draft Two: I let the craptastic draft sit for a while — sometimes a couple of months. Then, I print it out, read it, and make notes about stuff that I need to fix, characters that need changing, etc. I go back and read through the whole thing, fixing and adding and revising as I go along. At the end of this, if I’ve done my job right, I’ve got about a 80,000 to 90,000 word draft.

Draft Three: I let Draft Two sit for a while — sometimes a couple of months. Then, I print it out, read it, and make more notes. I go back through again, fixing and adding and revising. At the end of this, I’ve got about a 95,000 word draft and can see the finish line. I let my significant other read this draft, and he gives me lots of good feedback.

Draft Four: This is usually the final draft. I let Draft Three sit for a while … you get the picture. I go back through one final time, usually tweaking small stuff. And then … I swallow my fear and send it to my agent.

Start to finish, this takes anywhere from several months to a year. For example, it took me a year to write Karma Girl and about the same time to write Hot Mama. I worked on Jinx, the third Bigtime book for about nine months and I’ve just sent it to my agent.

Now, it’s time to think about Bigtime Four …

50,000.

That’s the number of words I’ve written since Jan. 3. Yep, I have cranked out 50,000 words in less than a week. Heck, I wrote about 20,000 of them last weekend alone.

Why, you ask? Because I have foolishly decided that I need to write two, 50,000-ish rough drafts this month. This way, I can revise the spy book I hope to sell and then focus on promoting Karma Girl this winter/spring without trying to write something new in the middle of all the craziness. 

I finished one draft (clocking in at 40,000 words), and I’ve just started the second one (10,000 words and counting).

It sounds really impressive — until you go back and actually read what I wrote. Because believe me, these are some craptastic drafts we’re talking about. They’re not even really drafts, just more of detailed outlines. I try to get the basic story down with the scenes, characters, etc., and go back and fill in the details later. Usually, I have to do about four drafts, adding more detail every time, before I’m satisfied enough to send it to my agent.

My significant other jokingly calls me a word hurter. Well, I’m certainly hurting them now, with lines in my rough drafts like And then they have sex or my personal favorite at the moment, And then stuff happens. Seriously. And then stuff happens is as brilliant as I am right now.

And my wrist is absolutely killing me. But that’s another story …

What about you? What’s your writing process? Inquiring minds want to know …