Writing Tips from My Creative Process

In the same way that singing does not come simply from opening one’s mouth, writing a novel does not come simply by picking up a pencil (or typing on a computer screen, although I prefer the scribble of lead and paper over clicked keys). 

Singing requires practice, a lot of mediocre performances in one’s kitchen where the neighborhood overhears every missed high note, and finally, a performance where one gives her all and hopes to shine. 

Writing is a parallel; one needs practice, which for me is a basic outline, then a first draft with possible missed “high notes,” and then finally, a finished novel with heart and soul poured into every word.

Many people have asked me the details of my creative process, and until I started to truly contemplate it, I realized I’d never considered it a process at all. It’s just what I do. 

I was not formally trained to write; I’ve never even taken a creative writing class because I didn’t want rules. I’ve always just gone by what I’ve felt, but I’ve learned lessons along the way and my own methods for how I do things.  This is my attempt to list some of my tips for writing, and maybe something here will seem helpful or a new way of doing things.

1. Find inspiration. The most important element to every story is that moment of inspiration. One must have an idea and fall so in love with it that it doesn’t feel like a job to compose an entire story about it.

My main source of inspiration is music.  Whenever I need an idea or have writer’s block, music is my key. I like to fall into a piece or a song and let my mind go and spin me where it will. Pictures come with the melodies, sometimes whole scenes, sometimes basic ideas. I’ve written whole novels based on one scene because it has spoken to me so much that it reveals layers and a story beneath it. It becomes like a movie playing out just for me, and as the songs evolve, the stories follow suit.

2. Notes. I am not talking about composing an entire beginning to end outline of a story before you write it. How much pressure would that be?! I cannot imagine writing an entire synopsis, let alone sticking to it! I take notes, scribble down words or ideas from my inspiration and the pictures in my head, minor details, and then I let those words pull me to my next ideas. 

Sometimes one idea begets another. I often write a point and then a “…maybe (another idea)”; no idea is rejected in a planning stage, even if I don’t use half of them. It’s like there is a story hidden in the middle, and I must find the right route to uncover it. I know a story could take any turn and direction it wants, but to me, it feels like there is one set path, and I have to find it. 

I never write an ending before I’ve written a story.  I usually will plan out 2 to 3 scenes ahead and keep an idea what main points need to be hit, but that’s all. No endings!  I think it is too limiting to have a final destination in mind when characters grow and develop during the time they’re worked with.

Which leads me to my next point.

3. Let the characters be the guide.  My characters speak in my mind.  I know some writers will say they talk to their characters and understand them through conversation.  My characters don’t talk to me, per se; they talk to each other …a lot!  When I’m working on a book, I compare it to having clouds in my head, and I get continuously sucked beneath their blanket into daydreams where my characters are working a scene or two ahead of me.  I see it happen, and I go with it.  They pull me where they want, and they run the show. 

I occasionally play mediator if certain points need to be hit or discussed, but for the most part, they are in charge.  One makes a comment, and the other reacts to it just like real life, and I get the joy and challenge of putting it into words.  My characters become extensions of myself, even though they are their own people.  How many times have I felt like I lost myself somewhere in their drama?  I have a hard time disassociating ME from THEM, and as such, will be in a bad mood when they are fighting with each other or be overly exuberant when they’ve just admitted they love each other. 

I can’t say how often I’ve snapped at my poor husband because of some asinine way my hero acted in the last scene I wrote just before I came downstairs in the morning. It’s like being possessed until the story is finished, the clouds clear, and they are out of my head again!

4. Write something everyday!  This is a big deal and directly affects the ability to stay in the characters’ heads. Taking time away from a story makes me detach from it in the same way that working on more than one story at once ruins both.  I understand that some people can have five novels going at once and be reading a book at the same time!  I cannot. 

I put full focus on one story and one character set. If I’m short story writing, then that’s all I’m doing and novels wait. If I’m in the midst of a novel, my phantom stories sit by the way side till I’m done. I feel like the instant I break into something new, I lose my characters’ way. I can’t leap in and out of personalities or stories, or I feel like my characters won’t fully grow.

In the same way, I write everyday, even if it’s only a page or two because inspiration is being cut by stress. It’s important to keep moving forward and get out of a rut rather than set it aside and hope to go back to it. I think that makes writing a chore rather than a joy.  Writer’s block is going to come and go, and there will be days when it’s normal to not feel very creative, but I think the worst thing to do is stop writing because of it.

I make small goals, maybe just a few paragraphs, maybe just getting out of one scene, and then I return to point one and hunt for my inspiration again.  Those are the nights I go to bed early, put on my headphones, and fall back into my head.  I let the pictures take me away and remind me why I fell in love with the story idea to begin with.

5. There is ALWAYS a way to get from Point A to Point B.  This is about trusting yourself and your creativity. There are times when I’m writing a novel, and I’ll have a scene I definitely want to include or a culmination that has to come before the next part, and for some reason, it seems impossible to work. 

What I’ve learned as a writer is to trust myself, and that there is always an answer.  There is never a dead-end.  It may seem that way at the time, but I take a step back and truly feel out what my characters are after; what are their motives and why?  An answer is always there; one just has to look and find it.

6.  Don’t be afraid to play God.  I always feel like God in my little writing world, and there is nothing wrong with that.  In the end, as the writer, I get the final say on how things go. I like to torture my characters! I freely admit to it! 

I sometimes sit and think "what is the worst possible thing I can do to my characters? What would hurt them the most? How can I break them apart?" These are the moments when characters grow. It’s how they take my challenge and step up to defeat it.  This goes back to the point about letting the characters be the guide.  Playing God means I throw horrendous, life-altering situations their way.  How they take it and what they learn from it is up to them.

7. Write what you know, but don’t be afraid if you don’t know everything.  Yes, research is important, especially when writing a character way out of one’s field. Both Opera Macabre and my phantom stories deal with opera and singing, so I get to use my musical knowledge.

However, I don’t only write about musically inclined individuals, and there are plenty of details outside of my knowledge.  An example: In “Untouchable”, I was adamant about giving Erik a back story. It was a little from here, a little from there, and a whole lot of imagination.  I don’t know the mechanics of torture chambers or architecture, nor did I have the desire to learn, but I took what I knew and wrote the rest convincingly enough. 

I feel like you don’t need precise nuances to everything to be able to include it in writing. I take liberties and believe 100 percent in what I’m doing. If I can talk about it and believe in it without a doubt, then the audience should be able to as well without questioning whether I’ve seen a real torture chamber to know for certain what each little part would be capable of doing.

8. When it’s time for an ending, don’t be afraid to let the characters go.  It’s so easy to get attached to the imaginary people in one’s head, but there is a starting point and an ending point for everything.  A novel is giving a glimpse into a set timeline of the characters’ lives. Happily ever after is assumed at the end, and although it’s hard to trust the characters to keep it going on their own, as a writer, one must know when to let the little birds test their wings and fly without the ever present observation. 

It is like any good TV show. At some point, the cameras need to turn off and go away, and though we don’t get another window into the characters’ lives, we assume the best and move on. Same thing for novel writing. If one over-details the ending, you don’t give the audience the chance to make their assumptions, the chance to dream for your characters and feel their bliss for what is to come.

So I know everyone is different, and the things that work for me may mean nothing to someone else. But I hope that I’ve given you something to think about.  Comments and questions are welcome and appreciated. Happy writing, and I wish you all the creativity in the world! :)