Writing Pattern

Hi Fellow Bloggers,
It’s been two weeks since I posted on here. I thought I would talk to you about my writing pattern and writer’s block. I want to start this post off by explaining why I haven’t posted in the last two weeks. I have some exciting news. Well exciting for me, hopefully one day this will mean more, because the books will be published. Anyway I was working on a book. I think I’ve talked about Faith’s Awakening on here. I have two blogs and occasionally I get post mixed around. However I am almost certain I’ve mentioned it on here. Faith’s Awakening is a duology I started January 2014. It’s based in the future, and mankind has been almost put to extinction because of plague, diseases, famine, any and everything has struck. In the first books Faith’s gifts are awakened and she is able to realize that she is a big part of the continuation of mankind’s existence. The second is called Rise of the Rebellion and as the tittle suggest things get pretty intense. So I was working hard to complete the first draft of the second book.
For Christmas I received a lot of journals this year. Which is great because I have a few books ideas on log that I wanted to get out. So I gave myself a deadline to get this one out of my brain so that I could start focusing on another one.
Which sort of leads me into the post for this week. When I have a book idea floating around in my brain I typically always write it down. Whatever tidbit I did get is the first glimpse into the world I have to create. So I have a journal and the first two to three pages are my table of contents. This is where I write a synopsis of each chapter. I don’t use up more than three to four lines for this. I want to just glance at it and know what the main points in the chapter are. It helps me if I need to find something quickly to reference for a later chapter. Then next page is where I put my story plot/analysis. This is where I write the plot. It’s where I get out all my thoughts about what the book should be about. Any and everything that I need to know about this new book goes on these two pages.
My next four to five pages are filled with research for the book. Right after I get an idea and write out the plot I ALWAYS make a list of things I need to know for the book. If I am writing a book about Native Americans I research customs, ceremonies, jobs, culture, appearances, homes, and clothing. I fill these pages with anything I will need to write my book. I begin to look up locations and climates for those places. All of this helps me later on when I actually begin writing the book.
The next two to three pages are list of names I might use. I am really big on names. Going back to the Native American example… I would research traditional names for their heritage. I also research names that hold meaning to the story I am telling. I love finding out what names mean. So If I am writing a book about a warrior I try to find a Native American name that means that. My names are very symbolic to me. Or I just like the way they sound.
The next two to three pages are character profiles. I write everything I need to know about my characters. I write down what they look like in my mind. I write down their personality traits. Outside of really minor characters everyone is listed in my character profile.
The next two pages are something I just recently started in Rise of the Rebellion. It’s called my prewriting thoughts. I just free write in this space to get out all my actual writing jitters. Sometimes I am so excited to start on a book that I overthink the opening instead of just diving in. I can always write it if it’s bad, but if there’s nothing then I don’t have anything to rewrite. So this place is where I get out my thoughts about why I’m so excited. Why I decided to write that particular book. It’s just a free space that I can look back and see why I started the book in the first place. It’s probably my favorite part outside of writing the actual book. After all this is done I just start writing.