My writing process goes something like this:
- I get an idea that seems interesting and plausible
- I do research and/or analysis, getting more excited about the idea
- I change the idea multiple times, each time getting more excited about the new idea
- I write lots of notes
- I start composing notes into thoughts
- I go back and do additional research and/or analysis
- I start turning my composed thoughts into a manuscript of some sort
- I realize I'm brilliant
- I push through to get a complete draft**
- I reread what I've written and realize it is dribble and that I can't write
- I let it sit for a to-be-determined amount of time
- I reread and slowly start editing in the hopes that I can salvage something
- I, once again, am in awe of my own brilliance
- I ask someone else to read a draft
- I reread the draft I just sent and realize that not only am I a moron but this person will now be aware of what a moron I am
- I read feedback lovingly sent by my friendly reviewer
- I allow a to-be-determined amount of time to pass before I can reread comments and the draft
- I edit, resigned to doing something with this dribble and get it out the door
- I realize I am not only sick of the topic but I'm sick of hearing myself think about the topic
- I send it out
- I wait for reviews
- I get the reviews and read them right away
- Similar steps to friendly reviewer above, but not so friendly***
- It gets accepted
- I proof the galleys and wonder who the hell wrote this, 'cause it ain't half bad.
- It gets published
- I never read it again.
Today I worked on:
- A new idea (I was excited)
- A analysis of an idea I've been working on for a while (I was brilliant)
- A analysis of a brand new idea that I've already changed 3 times (I was very excited)
- Proof-reading galleys (I wasn't half bad)
*This part is actually a loop that occurs ad nauseam
**If I can't get a complete draft I realize I'm an idiot who doesn't know what she's talking about and proceed to the next step.
***This section has several loops until the reviewers are convinced of my brilliance
4 comments:
Wow! You're so organized! Maybe I should adopt your writing method.
I love to write too, but am no where near as organized! nclm
That's hilarious. I'm always caught in that perpetual loop between clever-socks and dimwit when I'm writing. If I could only wrestle my inner perfectionist to the ground more often, I'm sure I'd be more relaxed about it all. Great post!
And thanks for your comment on my blog. NCLM
oh my stars that's a lot of steps.
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