Dear Reader,

First: want a taste of the holidays in July? Click here for some great book bargains!​

So what now?

I've done this book launching thing twenty times now. Without fail, there's a letdown afterwards.

My remedy? Start writing what's next.

Every writer's process is different.

As those who attended my Zoom launch the other week know, I already started thinking about the next series before the Double-Dilemma Romance series was out. Maybe it's just me, but I can't turn off the "what story comes next?" bug in my brain, even when I'm still in the throes of polishing up a manuscript.

Normally I just do what I do and start my drafting process. But I thought this time I'd think about what that is exactly so I can give a little insight into how I work—with the caveat that what works for me doesn't necessarily work for everyone.

I'm not an outliner. I plan, but not in detail. So much of what becomes my stories evolves on the page, as if the characters take over and start demanding different answers than the ones I started with.

So how is this a process? Pantsers and plantsers might recognize some of what I describe below.

1. Do some brainstorming on my ReMarkable

Those who know me know that I hate being surrounded by bits of paper, yet the thinking at the beginning of the novel writing process is necessarily inchoate and haphazard. When I have these unformed ideas, I use my ReMarkable tablet to hand write them down and make character sketches and maybe a few thoughts on an opening scene.

Somehow this physical act makes something open up in my imagination. It's the way I sometimes discover exactly what research I need to do as well.

2. Create a Scrivener document

Usually that initial brainstorming period lasts no more than a day or two, because already words and ideas are fighting for my attention, and I feel the need to start drafting. Scrivener is my go-to drafting program, and as soon as I've created that document, I feel as if I've really started.

I delete all the planning tools they give you and pare it down to just the fiction manuscript essentials. The only bucket I leave intact is the research bucket. I always do my first draft in Scrivener, because in that early stage, it's not often clear in what order scenes should occur. Scrivener lets me drag them around and organize them into chapters without having to copy and paste great chunks of text:

3. Start asking why.

I think this is the most important question writers can ask themselves in the writing process. Every decision you make must have a reason. Why does this character want this thing? Why should the story start like this? Why don't the protagonists see what's really happening?

Questions like these continue throughout the writing process. Always asking yourself why helps glue your plot together and avoid holes, plus it helps you move your story and characters along satisfying arcs—even when you're sitting down and just writing without a clear plan.

4. Think about the reader experience.

This may seem like putting the cart before the horse, but it is my belief that a writer who wants to be read must have a clear idea of the reader's experience in reading it. You're building a relationship, not just telling a story.

Without readers, your stories don't exist. (OK, of course, if there's a file on your computer it exists, but that's not the point.) The analogy is sort of similar to a tree falling in a deserted wood.

The reader experience necessarily relates to the genre you're writing in. For instance, in romance, you want a reader to be glued to the page, not knowing how the two lovers will eventually come together, but knowing that it will happen. Keeping that in mind is vital.

5. Get to the page as often as I can.

Notice I don't say "write every day." But by the time I'm at this juncture in the process, that story is knocking on my brain in a way I can't ignore. That doesn't mean I have hours just to sit and write. Sometimes it means simply reading over what I wrote the day before (news flash: I'm not a huge believer in the messy first draft concept).

And nearly every morning, while I'm still close enough to that liminal sleep/wake state, I return to my ReMarkable to wrestle with the whys that have arisen as I write and discover some new scenes.

This process has helped me write and publish six books in a series in about a year and a half.

That's fast for me. And I'm hoping to keep up that momentum for the next series.

In another email I'll talk about my editing process.

For readers! I wasn't kidding about Christmas in July.

A group of authors have banded together to create a special discounted selection of holiday novels and novellas. Dive in!

I'm offering my Christmas novella, Miss Pauline's Perfect Present, for just $.99 while the promotion runs.

Take a look at all the heartwarming goodies!

That's it for this week. Next week I'm off to the Romance Writers of America conference in Albuquerque. I'm looking forward to seeing old friends and making new. ❤️ Plus, I've never been to Albuquerque and I understand it's a lovely town.

I promise pictures. See you when I get back!

Susanne