My Writing Process

I don't particularly think my writing process is unique or rare, but this prompt did really get me thinking about how I go about putting my thoughts out there.  One thing I know for sure is that much editing is involved.

Typically, I have an initial idea (or prompt) to get me started.  Being the night owl that I am, most of my ideas occur at night.  I try to jot them down or make mental notes regarding the potential piece.  I tend to do quite a bit of thinking before I ever start typing.

Once I have fully committed to an idea, I lock in down on paper.  I have a paper calendar that I fill in to make sure posts are consistent.  This is easier some months than others.  After I have it scheduled on paper, I also create a draft post with a generic title.  Depending on how much thought has gone into the idea already, I may also put down a handful of thoughts bullet style.  I usually go away from it at that point to allow everything to marinate inside my head for a tad longer.

In a day (or two), I come back to the idea and begin typing.  I nearly always edit as I type.  I also like to use a number of photos (because I love taking pictures!) so I also often create portions of the narrative around my photos.  Since I always have more photos than needed for a post, I tend to make collages often.  I do my best to edit photos down to the best of the best before I begin writing though.  My photos also help me to shape the flow of the post.

After I have written (while editing) and inserted all photos, I go back and read through everything about 2-3 times checking for grammar and sentence structure more than content in these final edits.  I usually determine a title at this point.  For some reason, titles are an aspect where I really struggle...so I save it to the end.  When I believe everything looks good, I preview the post and read through it once more as it will appear.  Occasionally, I will make a few cosmetic edits.  For example, if there is one solitary word at the end of a paragraph I may try to adjust the text for better symmetry.  I don't always pay attention to those type of things, but if they catch my eye then I will try to fix them.

Finally, I am ready to hit publish.  I love the feeling I get each time I push that button.  Even if the post is short or simple, I enjoy knowing that my hard work in putting it together is now available for others to view.

What is your writing process??  

Any tips or tricks you use??

Andrea :)