I've been writing since I was in junior high, and I've been seriously pursuing my career as a writer since the last century...1992 to be exact. Of the nineteen years I have been working at this profession, I have been published for thirteen of them. And in those thirteen years, I have written thirteen books. Now you'd think after all those years and all those books, I'd be familiar with my process by now. But no. During the writing of every book, I get turned around and flipped inside out trying to give birth to the story. Every book, I wonder how I possibly did this so many times before. And if I can do it again.

Welcome to the Writer's Process.

Every writer has a Process, and each Process is as individual as that writer.  The funny thing about the Process is that while you're in the middle of it, you don't recognize it as the Process.  You are caught up in the emotions of the story trying to come out, while at the same time bombarded by the usual self doubts every writer experiences. Is this book any good? Will my editor like it? Will the publisher cancel my contract because of this book? Will my agent drop me? Add in the usual life things like health concerns and family drama, and you have a recipe for neurosis!

Thank goodness for writing friends. Every time I go through this, I talk to my writing friends, despairing that this is the end of my career. And they tell me: This is your process. You always do this.

There's something comfortable about knowing this is my Process. If this emotional maelstrom is my Process, then I must be doing something right, because my Process results in a finished book. Comforting thought.

In the interest of saving my sanity (and keeping some friends LOL), I decided to document the Process. This way the next time I go through it I can look back on these blog posts and realize on my own that this is indeed my Process.

I'm what you call an organic writer and also an incubator. This means that I work on the story in my subconscious, like having a stew simmering on the stove, where the characters and details of the story work themselves out. It would be helpful to me if all this happened in my conscious mind--much less angst that way--but alas, this is not the way. I write from the gut, and I write from character. The characters come to me first, along with the emotional conflict and the journey that must occur for the characters to move to the resolution of that conflict. Then I have to think up things for them to do (plot), so they are not just sitting around in limbo working out their emotional stuff. It really is like giving birth.

My first step to writing a new book is to write a synopsis. My synopses are usually lengthy summaries of the whole book, very detailed. I use the synopsis to work out the emotional journey in my mind and get to know the characters, as well as figure out the basic plot. From this I create a proposal to send to my agent to sell the book.

A few days ago I sent in a proposal for a new historical romance, the third book in a series I have been writing. This particular proposal took longer than usual to get going due to a serious heath issue in the family, which will be resolved in the next few weeks. These kinds of things naturally hijack your emotions and make it harder to focus, but I eventually got it done. I'm also in the middle of writing a book for another publisher, this one a contemporary paranormal romance. Again, it's been hard to focus on the problems of the fictional characters in my WIP (Work In Progress) when very valid concerns are making themselves felt in real life. But both of my publishers have been very understanding during this time, and now it looks like I'll be starting 2011 with a fresh outlook, the health concerns behind us.

So the proposal has been sent to the publisher, and now we wait. December is a tough month in publishing due to the holiday season. A lot of people are out on vacation, so things tend to get done more slowly. In the meantime, I have a book due with my other publisher, which is currently my primary focus.

Check back for more updates on the Writing Process. The next step: Chapter One.