I’m about halfway through my next short story, and I was planning to write a post about the writing process today. Then I read J.M. Frey‘s latest blog post about her writing process, and I’ve changed my mind. You should go over to her blog and read that one instead.
If you want to talk some more about process, read Jay Lake’s recent posts on the subject, here and then here.
If you’re still here, here are couple random things I’ve learned about myself and my writing: I like having a beta reader peek once I’m done with the first scene, to make sure that I’m hitting the emotional note that I want the story to hit. Then, once I feel like I’m on target, I’m okay not sharing until it’s done. I’m confident about my spelling and worldbuilding and things like that, but I ask readers to spot me on emotional tone and on whether enough is at stake. I outline carefully, but my outlines are always full of questions. They’re flowcharts and forks in the road and decision points, and it isn’t until I start down the road that I know which choice is the better one to take.
