This is the Write Now Podcast with Sarah Werner, Episode 80: My Creative Process.

[Intro song.]

Welcome to Write Now, the podcast that helps all writers — aspiring, professional, and otherwise — to find the time, energy, and courage you need to pursue your passion and write. I’m your host, Sarah Werner, and today I’m going to be talking about something that very surprisingly I have not talked about yet. And that is my creative process.

I was talking with my husband, Tim earlier this morning, and I was like, “Hey, today I’m going to record an episode about my creative process.”

And he’s like, “Haven’t you done that before?” And it turns out I have not. I was saving it. I don’t know why I do this. Sometimes I save things that I think will be especially impactful because I want to do them correctly, or I want to do them in a right way. And that’s maybe a little bit silly because I’m essentially withholding what might be valuable information for my audience from that audience. And that’s not cool, right?

So, today we’re going to be talking about what my creative process looks like. I want to be very clear going in that a creative process is not prescriptive. So, a creative process is not something that I’m going to tell you each step and you have to do each step exactly as I tell you. That’s not what this is about. A creative process is a very personal thing. A creative process is a way that you use to express your particular brand or bent of creativity. And nobody can prescribe a “correct” way to do that. Nobody can tell you how to be creative. That’s something that has to come from you.

So, I’m sharing my process so that you can get a taste of what my process is like and so that you can see like, “Oh, Hey, yeah, that might be a good idea if I do that.” Or, “Oh hey. This is inspiring me to do this.” This is not me telling you how to be creative.

I want to make that very, very clear. I remember years ago when I first read Stephen King’s wonderful writing book called On Writing. I remember reading about his process and feeling daunted because Stephen King writes, I think, 364 days out of the year. So, he takes off one day out of the year and the rest of the year, every day he writes. And he talks in his book about how he gets up at a certain time and then he goes for a walk and then he gets back to writing and then he has dinner and then he gets back to writing and he stays up till 4:00 AM.

And I remember thinking, when I read about his particular process, “I can’t do that. I can’t follow this writer’s process.” And then I made this false connection in my mind of therefore I cannot write. I cannot create.

And that’s no good. That’s no good. Everybody is going to have a different process and that’s a good thing. Not everybody has the same brain chemistry. Not everybody has the same stamina. Not everybody even has the same reason for writing. I feel like I have talked about this in previous episodes of Write Now, but the reason I write is because I am compelled to. The reason I write, the reason I create is that if I don’t create, I get sick, I get depressed. I start to just crumble physically, mentally, spiritually.

I don’t know if Stephen King writes for the same reasons that I do, therefore it makes sense that he would have a different way of creating. So, I hope that makes sense. So, I hope that if you’re listening to this, that if you’ve ever seen somebody share their writing process or their creative process, that you don’t feel like you have to emulate that process perfectly or adopt it as your own, because you don’t have to do that.

You absolutely don’t have to do that. If your process has you writing for 30 minutes a day over your lunch break at work, perfect. If that works for you and if that brings you the success as a writer that you’re looking for, then that is a good process for you.

So, let’s talk about a creative process. Again, with the very poignant caveat that it’s going to be different for everybody. And honestly, in the show notes for this episode, which you can find out on Sarahwerner.com. In the comment section below the show notes, I would love to hear about your creative process. So let me know in the comments what your creative process is, what helps you to write, and I think that the more we share with each other what our personal creative processes look like, the more we can normalize the weird little things that we do when we create. So hitting, this is a good exercise for everybody to take part in.

All right. So, I’ve broken down my own creative process into six different steps. I’ll go through each step and what that means. And then at the end, I’ll recap those steps and sum it all up. So here we go.

I start with brainstorming, and brainstorming means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. Brainstorming can mean sitting down in an office and setting a timer for three hours and using those three hours to just birth ideas out of your head. Brainstorming can mean carrying around a little journal with you. I’ve got my journal here next to me for Girl In Space. Whenever I get an idea for the show, I will open up my book, jot it down, and continue on with whatever I’m doing. You can go for a walk. You can meditate. These are all great ways of getting ideas.

Boy, this is probably an episode in and of itself, about how you get ideas: For me, I have to let them stew a lot. I can’t be very active with my idea generation. I need to be actually a little bit passive. I need to let my subconscious chew on things for a little while. And so for me, it’s a very slow and drawn out process. So, this notebook for Girl In Space season two that I have here at my side, I’ve been jotting notes in that for months now. And some of the ideas work and some of the ideas don’t, but I do know that when I get an idea, I need to put it down in that book so that I can flip through it later, see what works, see what doesn’t.

I do have a “No Bad Ideas” policy when I’m writing things down in my idea books, when I’m brainstorming, everything gets written down and later on, if I need to, I will cross ideas out or just draw Xs over them or say, “No, this is not a great idea.”

But initially, when I am writing the ideas down, the reason that I take a no bad ideas process is because I like to remove the aspect of judgment out of brainstorming. Because when you start to judge your ideas as you’re having them, you will begin to develop a negative view or a negative mindset about everything that you’re coming up with. So the second you start to be judgmental, like, “Oh, that’s not a good idea. Oh no, that’s silly. No, that won’t work.” If you’re doing that while you’re brainstorming, you’ll actually cut off or strangle your ability to brainstorm.

So, let yourself be open during this period. You can cross out ideas that you don’t like later. But during that brainstorming process, I just make sure that I’m writing down every single thing I’m thinking. And for me, brainstorming never really stops. I keep this notebook with me throughout the entire project while I’m writing, no matter what, if I’m writing a novel, no matter what chapter I’m on, if I’m writing an audio drama like Girl In Space, no matter what episode I’m on, I’m always still welcoming ideas. I’m always still having ideas and recording them in my notebook.

And so this isn’t necessarily a waterfall process where you start at the top and you start with brainstorming and then you stop brainstorming and move on to the next step. It’s more, I start brainstorming and then I back off of brainstorming a little bit to move on to the next step, but I don’t necessarily ever stop brainstorming.

So, brainstorming is open idea formation. Often I will look for inspiration during this time. I will talk to other writers. I will make sure that I’m reading a lot. I have a whole episode on why writers should read that you should go listen to. It’s very important. Making sure that you’re reading and taking in good ideas as you move forward.

My second step is the initial writing dump, and maybe that’s not a very eloquent way to put that. But my second step is handwriting.

So I think best, and again, this is one of those things where it is very particular to me. I handwrite and I do that because handwriting is a little bit slower. For me, it’s a more tactile process. And so while I’m handwriting, it allows me to pull the ideas like spider silk out of my brain. And for me, this is a very important part of the process. I usually do my first drafts, my terrible first drafts, because first drafts, you can’t expect them to be good or golden or perfect.

This terrible first draft that you’re writing. I do it in a… I have it near me. It’s a three hole punch spiral bound notebook, sort of like you would use in class in high school if you took a lot of notes like I did, and I’ll just go through and I’ll start writing. So when I start drafting, it’s hard sometimes to understand where to start the story or where to start the article or where to start the poem. And for me, I just start with whatever idea is strongest or whatever mental image is most compelling. It doesn’t necessarily mean that’s where the story will begin in its final form.

It is more just a way for me to start getting out the words that I need to get out. So I handwrite… it’s a very messy process. I will write, I will scratch out sections. I will tear pages out of my spiral notebook. I will have those little carrots and asterisks and all sorts of things where ideas can flow freely.

Again, this is one of the reasons I like to handwrite my first draft is because it allows me to tell the story in a nonlinear fashion as my brain comes up with little, “Oh, I should go back a sentence and add this.” It’s a very slowly evolving process for me. I know that a lot of writers will type out their first drafts, just because for them, they have a lot of ideas in their head and they need to get them out quickly and typing is really quick and really fast. There’s so much room here for you to tailor this experience to whatever you need it to be as a creator.

Okay. So once I have a handwritten draft, so we’ll say a rough draft of Girl In Space, season two, episode one. So I’ve got 20 to 30 handwritten pages. It’s a huge mess there, scribbles everywhere. I’ve maybe even taped in little note cards that have additional sentences or additional scenes that I want. Then my next step is to transcribe it.

For me this is step three. I take my handwritten terrible first draft and I transcribe it. So what I do is I take this notebook and I start typing out the things into either a word document or a Google Doc or a Celtx document, depending on what sort of medium it is. So I’ll transcribe it into some kind of digital format by typing and that will be my second draft. This is when I start to excise things that aren’t really working or I tighten up things, make sure I’m not getting too rambly because I do tend to ramble. So, that’s the second draft. I make corrections as I go. And it’s really, really … I’ve been trying to break myself of a bad habit and this bad habit is editing while I’m writing.

It’s hard to admit that to you editing while I’m writing is a bad habit. It’s like judging yourself during the brainstorming session. You can’t judge yourself while you’re creating you. Can’t judge too harshly. You can judge a little bit and be like, “Yeah, I don’t want to have a talking frog appear because that just doesn’t work with my story.”

So, a little bit of judgment is maybe good. But you don’t want to necessarily edit while you’re writing because you will stifle your creativity if you do that. That is the transcription phase, which I try to edit too heavily during, but I do try to clean up things, make it sound nice, make sure that the story is going in a way that I want it to go. So yes, transcription to a computer or a digital medium is my third step in my creative process.

My fourth step is editing and during the editing process, and again, this is going to differ for every single creator. For me, I learned how to edit really well when I was in college and I would edit or revise or look at other people’s academic papers and I would go through and just make sure they sounded good. Editing, basic editing. And so when I did that, what I would do is print out the digital version and I used to use a red pen because it felt symbolic, but I just use a regular pen or pencil now. But I will print out my transcribed version of my second draft and I will begin to edit and I will, again, cross stuff out. I will be a lot more discerning this time around, a little bit more judgmental. I’ll go through and I’ll say this doesn’t work. This doesn’t work. This doesn’t work. And then I’ll make those edits. I’ll type them in.

And then I am off to the fifth step of my creative process, which is running what I’ve written past beta readers. A beta reader for me is basically someone who I trust. Someone who I trust to give me good feedback. Someone who knows why I’m creating the story that I’m creating. Somebody who understands what this story is about and needs to accomplish. For me, this is usually just one to four people. I don’t send it out to a lot of people. I know that some folks have a lot of beta readers and there’s pros and cons to having more beta readers or fewer beta readers.

But that’s usually a friend or two. It’s usually my husband Tim. And I basically say, Hey, you know, make sure the story has a good flow, make sure the dialogue sounds natural. I’m not certain about this plot point, so maybe pay extra attention to how it’s resolved because I’m not sure I love it. And overall, just give me your true thoughts. Knowing me, knowing my story, knowing my creative process. That feedback can be very valuable.

If you’re not great at editing, if you’d like to hone and sharpen your editing skills, one of the best things you can do is just read. Read a lot and digest as you do so what works and what doesn’t and not everybody has to be their own editor. This is why we have beta readers. And for some people, the next step in this process, after the beta readers, depending on how you’re planning on sharing, presenting, or publishing your work, your next step would be to send your work off to an editor. And there’s different types of editors depending on what you need.

So, there are structural editors who will sort of look at the way your story is structured. They’ll look at character arcs and developments. They’ll look at your plot structure. They’ll look at how you resolve things and how you build tension, all of that good stuff. Whereas a copy editor will more take a look at, “Oh, you should use a comma here or let’s replace this semi-colon with a dash or I think that in 1920, they would have used this kind of lamp instead of candles.” So, that copy editor will really take a look at the details to make sure that your manuscript reads cleanly. So, you can do your own pass at editing and usually when you do your own editing, you are finding things about the characters and the story that you need to find. You’re not necessarily going to see your own spelling mistakes, your own grammatical mistakes.

Sometimes if you spend a lot of time in a creative project, you become blind to some of its everyday flaws. This is why it is essential, essential, that you as a writer or a creator run your work past at least one person who is not you. This can be your beta reader. This can be an editor. This can be your dad. It can be anyone. But it’s a really good idea to have someone other than you put their eyeballs on your work. And I am a huge advocate for that. Every writer needs an editor or a reader. Okay? Good. Okay. Yes.

Finally, step six in my creative process is the nebulous publish step. You’ve written it. You’ve edited it. You’ve run it past somebody or somebodies, multiple people. This is when you decide what you want to do with your work, where will your work live. Are you going to submit it for publication? Are you going to self publish it? Are you going to print it out and hide it in a drawer forever?

These are all legitimate options, but that is the final step in this creative process. Is deciding the fate of this thing you’ve created. It’s okay if you’re not ready to send it out for publication yet. That’s totally okay. I am sitting at my desk recording this episode Write Now, and next to me I have a drawer full of unpublished novels and unpublished short stories. You’re not alone.

This is a quick overview of my creative process. So it starts with brainstorming. Again, this brainstorming lasts throughout the entire creative process. It goes on to the handwriting phase and then I go on to number three, transcribing it into a digital format. So typing it out. Next I edit and I pass it to other people to edit. Number five, I run it past readers. So beta readers, other editors, people that I’ve hired, people that I’m paying, people that I’m not paying, depending on what that looks like for you.

And then finally, step six … Is I almost said filing it away so that nobody ever reads it. But don’t do that. Don’t do that. Step six is the fate of this work that you’ve created. So sending it out for publication, filing it away in a drawer forever, self-publishing, adding it to your memoirs, adding it to a list of poems that you’re creating, publishing it as a podcast episode, whatever it is. Just doing something with this beautiful piece of work that you’ve created. So that is a quick overview of my creative process.

I hope this was helpful. And again, I hope that you remember that none of this is prescriptive. This is not a you must follow my creative process step by step. I don’t even know if I should be following my creative process step by step. But having your own creative process or having a rough outline of what a creative process could look like is a great way to help yourself move step by step through creating a really big project.

I would love to hear your creative process. Go out to SarahWerner.com. That’s S-A-R-A-H W-E-R-N-E-R dot com. And navigate to this episode, number 80, “My Creative Process”. And let me know in the comments what your creative process looks like. I would love to see how we are similar, how we are different, that’s just really fascinating to me. And again, I think the more that we share these things, the more we all grow as a community.

As you know, I do not make the Write Now podcast alone. I have so many wonderful and amazing people supporting me and encouraging me so that I can in turn support and encourage you. Several of these people are patrons on Patreon, which is a secure third party donation platform that allows you to give a dollar per episode, $2 per episode, $600,000 per episode, whatever you feel comfortable giving. Special thanks go out to patrons Laurie, Susan Geiger, Amanda King, Tiffany Joyner, Regina Calabris, the Ostium Network, Sean Locke, Leslie Madsen, Amanda Dixon, Julian Vincent Thornburgh, Michael Beckwith, Sarah Lauzon, Maria Alejandro, Leslie Duncan, Rebecca Werner, and Gary Medina. Thank you all so, so, so much for your continued support of the work that I’m doing here at the Write Now podcast. Your generosity really makes a difference in the lives of so many writers and I am so grateful for you. Thank you.

This has been a very interesting podcast episode. If you haven’t been able to tell I’ve been live streaming this episode while I record it. So I’m trying something new here. So not sure how that worked or if it worked well, or if I will never ever do this again. But for those of you watching the live stream, thank you for joining me for this episode. For those of you listening, thank you for joining me for this episode. I hope that my little tour through my creative process has helped you to better understand your own creative process. Maybe it’s given you some ideas for things you can do in the future. But yeah, I’m really happy you’re here.

This has been episode 80 of the Write Now podcast: the podcast that helps all writers, amateur, professional, or otherwise, to find the time, energy and courage you need to pursue your passion and write. I’m Sarah Werner, and I know you can do this.

[Closing song.]