Thread by @veschwab

THERE IS NO RIGHT WAY TO WRITE.

That being said, here’s what I’m doing with this book.

STEP 1: BRAIN DUMP.

For each scene, I open up a blank doc/tab and spill thoughts into it. I block out the action, muse on emotional threads, drop in any lines of dialogue.

Basically the dump-these-puzzle-pieces-on-the-table part.

STEP 2: MAKE A MAP

I arrange the various scenes two ways:

1. Chronologically (the order I’ll be working in).

2. Story line (the order they will really be in).

STEP 3: PEN AND PAPER

I print out each of the brain dump scene files and then do my next round of brainstorming using a pen, because it activates a different part of my brain and helps me spot weaknesses.

STEP 4: WRITE THE DRAFT

I return to the computer with my fleshed our notes for each scene, and begin to look for the actual words.

I repeat: THERE IS NO RIGHT WAY TO WRITE A BOOK. The needs change for every writer, and for every project.

This is just what I’m doing FOR THIS BOOK.

Do not come into my mentions and tell me why I’m wrong, or why you do it differently.

But people ask me many times a day, so there you go. Some writers like discovery, I like execution. Also there’s still plenty room to discover in this method, and it reduces my draft-anxiety. Plus, my books tend to have complex structures/timelines and this helps me.