Thursday Thirteen…The Writing Process

Thirteen Phases of Debbie Mumford’s Writing Process…

1. The Thrill of a new idea…characters who pop into my head and demand that I tell their story.

2. The “Getting to Know You” phase…getting to know my characters and discovering why their story is worth telling.

3. The Unexpected Twists and Turns…discovering their secrets that keep the middle from turning into a muddle *grin*

4. The Revelation that leads to The End…I always know how my story will end before I start, but discovering how my characters get there is a rush!

5. Writing those magical words: The End…the satisfaction…the pride…the utter contentment of having completed the story.

6. The first polishing draft…fixing all the little problems I was too involved with the story to notice on the first draft.

7. Sending it out to my beta-readers for comments and critiques … nail-biting time. Is it good enough to hold their interest? Does the writing show promise?

8. Reading the crits and comments…which ones do I accept and which do I choose to ignore? Decisions, decisions…

9. Writing the Final Draft…lots of writers do MANY drafts. I don’t…at least, not before submittal.

10. Printing a copy for my DH to copy-edit…you should all be so lucky as to have a detail-oriented man who isn’t a fan of your genre read your final manuscript.

11. Fixing the Errors DH discovers…and often adding a much-needed male perspective.

12. Choosing My Target Market…if the story wasn’t written with a specific market in mind.

13. Submitting That Puppy!!!!…my job is finished for now. I have no control over the outcome of this step, but I’ve done everything required of a professional writer. What comes next? Why, begin the process again, of course! *LOL*

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