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In the spirit of helping #freelancers: I’ll share some process stuff. I get asked a lot about structure and the actual writing bit. 1/7
While I’m reporting, I’ll make index cards for each ‘scene’ or section as they arise. I arrange these in a 3 (or 5!) act structure, if apt. Little circle stickers are ‘action,’ ‘twist,’ or major plot points. 2/7 
Only once I’m happy with structure, I’ll add a word count to each section and add to my Google doc I call a ‘timeline’. That’s my timeline for writing. I’ll try and write a section or two each day. 3/7
This helps me because I’m painting by numbers, so I never feel overwhelmed. I just know that when I wake up today, all I gotta do is write a 200 word history of say, Lotteries in the middle ages. No probs. 4/7
I tend to not go back over sections until they’re all written, however I do usually work on the lede every day, punching it up, trying out different things, because that’s the most important section. It must entice. 5/7
When all sections are written, in G-docs, I’ll print it and lay it on the floor, check each section matches up — I’m looking to see that those acts are equal-ish in length. Looking to see if characters of themes ‘go AWOL’ at any time. 6/7
Here’s a template of my G-Doc. It may not work for everyone, but here’s what it does for me: I never waste time writing a section that doesn’t go in, I never wake up not knowing where to start, and I always meet deadlines. docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d… 7/7
