iscovering your writing process is probably one of the most important things you will do as a writer. This is a huge part of your development and growth, and isn’t necessarily something that will materialise in a flash. For me, this has been a work of years, hearing and seeing how other people work, trying out new things, and slowly forming a collection of habits and cycles that work for me. It is also one of the most fascinating things I find about speaking with other writers because we are all just so incredibly different.
Further to this, although I have been writing for more of my life than I haven’t, I’m not especially old and I suspect there may be some changes that occur simply with age as your life changes, you grow as a person, and different things are required of you and your routine. On my journey as a writer, there are definitely techniques that I’ve been sceptical of, but which now are a huge part of my process, and being open-minded as helped me grow.
But before I really delve into the benefits of such a thing, what even is your process?
To me, your writing process is essentially what it takes for you to be able to work and how you work. What factors need to come together for you to be in “the zone” or for “inspiration to strike”. How you handle the difficulties that writers face. This can be analogous to laying out your desk in a way that is conducive to work. You might need a drink, a favourite pen, or perhaps a completely clear desk in a sunny location, or even need to be in a coffee shop with the background chatter. Not everyone will need the same things, but looking at what other people do is a good starting place for figuring out your own preferences. What makes up your process will be a combination of self-knowledge and awareness, plus trying and testing out different techniques and routines.
So what does this look like? If you Google something along the lines of “daily routines of famous writers” you’ll get a fairly good selection of quotes from various well-known literary giants outlining their daily routine. For many this is what they do every single day, because for them their job is writing. It’s not something you do when you feel like it. It’s something you just have to sit down and do to the best of your ability for that day, just like any other desk worker does when they get into the office and sit down at their desk. Now your process doesn’t necessarily be as regimented as this. It could be something a lot more loose and amorphous, and that’s perfectly OK. It doesn’t make you any less of a writer or a professional, it just means that you don’t work best in a strict schedule. Even with a less defined process, you will still be able to get down to writing in a professional way.
One thing you will very quickly learn in your Google search and reading, is just how wide a variety of approaches there are. Some follow a very strict routine, with set hours that they work, eat, exercise, et cetera. Others have a page limit or a word count that they need to make every day, which again are extremely variable. Others find outlines a vital part of their planning and preparation, whilst on the flip side of that are those who prefer to let their characters lead them through whatever events materialise. These are things to mine for different ideas to try in the discovery of your own process. It can be easy to dismiss certain methods, but sometimes an unexpected technique will surprise you with how well it fits with your mind, so it’s always worth giving something a try.
Understanding and figuring out your process is part of what will aid you as a writer. This can include things like knowing how to stop for the day, how you best get back into the groove when you’re starting the day, and when to stop or just push through a difficult block. You will discover you hang ups, what you absolutely can’t compromise on which could be very specific aspects of story creation, or more general like what your workspace needs to be like in terms of light, location, and sound.
The more you piece together these bits of the puzzle, the closer you get to understanding what is the happy space that your writing brain likes, how to create it, and how best to both maximise your time writing, and give yourself the necessary breaks and space to do so. Your process isn’t all about just sitting down and working, it’s also about being aware of your own boundaries, and making sure that when you push yourself, it’s in a helpful fashion, rather than trying to chase an idea of productivity, or someone else’s version of what a writer should be doing or should look like. We all work to different paces, we all have different preferences, and through trial and error and paying attention to when you are most able to comfortably write, you’ll figure out your process.
