Planning Ahead: A Peek into My Writing Process

NOTE: Sorry this is posted so late—my morning was a bit crazy and then the WiFi was down for a few hours. But here is the post now! 😀 Hope you enjoy it.

Being in the Author Conservatory has helped me learn a few things about myself. Among those things is something I want to touch on today—my prepping process.

This doesn’t only apply to writing (barely anything applies to just one thing, I’ve learned). I’ll give it to you quick and short:

I think things over ahead of time.

A lot.

I’ll show you this by giving you a quick glance at my writing process on a regular day.

I wake up in the morning and get ready for work. While driving to work, I usually listen to a classical tape on hand or worship music on the radio. 

During work (which usually isn’t super busy), I plan ahead, then, when I get home, I am able to just sit down and write what I preplanned at work.

I first started doing this before I started drafting my novel, Camp Victory. At that point, I’d graduated to drafting a few days before but hadn’t started yet. I was stressing about my first sentence. I wasn’t sure how I wanted events to move through Chapter 1.

Obviously, I had an outline to follow (which is a HUGE timesaver!), but how the scenes would play out, that was what I was worrying about.

By the time I’d thought it over for a few hours at work, however, I had a plan. I hashed everything out in my brian, and by the time I got home and ready to write, I knew exactly which words to put on the page. I was able to open my computer, start some music, and churn out 2,000 words in under an hour!

This is something I’ve done a lot since then, taking advantage of a mindless activity or a slow day at work to mull over my next chapter or two and figure out how I want to write them. This is a huge timesaver, like I said before. Not only because I can write it all down quickly, but because I don’t spend hours staring at an empty page trying to think of what to write.

Another part of my process is the music, which I mentioned briefly above. I usually play instrumental music quietly while I write, just to get me in the mood. My favorite choices are guitar, chillhop, and worship music. All of these fit into the general feel of my novel as well, so that always helps! 

Other than planning ahead and some music, there’s not much else to my writing time. I know of people who light a candle and have a cup of tea at their fingertips, and sometimes I do that as well. But it’s not something I do regularly, since I tend to get so invested in my writing that I forget I even have tea until it’s too cold to enjoy properly.

And there you have it—something I’ve learned about myself (and how I function better while writing) and some other tidbits! Keep in mind, planning ahead doesn’t only apply to writing. It applies to those boring chores as well—having a plan of attack helps!

Until next time, have a blessed day!

~Janet