The Writing Process

Morning All, I thought I would drop by and give you an idea of what it is like to write a book. At least what it is like for me. ;)

As I have mentioned before, I get my book ideas from dreams. This is not new to me at all. For my entire life I have been called a daydreamer. This was always said as though it was negative!
HA HA!

Since I was young, like 5 or 6, I would have these amazing dreams, but rarely would they come to a conclusion before I woke up. Through out the day I would finish the dream and play with it until I had worked out a story that I liked.

There were a few times that I was plagued by nightmares. Before long, I learned how to control them while still asleep, to keep the horrible from happening. Even then the dreams were not complete until I woke up and worked in a good ending.

I still remember dreaming up my wedding dress when I was only 7! I clearly remember how it looked and also remember BEGGING my parents for that Barbie dress creator! Yeah, the one that had those plates you put together and then you did an etching on top. At the time I was sure I would be a fashion designer. HA HA! When I got married over 15 years ago my wedding dress did not look anything like my dream dress. I looked for it though and if I'd had more time maybe I could have created it. Hmmm.

I used to write a few small stories based on my dreams but that ended when I grew up and got too busy to daydream as much. Life pulls us out of our daydreams and into the real world and those dreams fizzled before I would raise my head in the morning. -I wonder if that is why I never have been a morning person? I would rather stay asleep or in the near sleep where controlling dreams is easy.- I'm sure my old Psych professor would have tons to say about that!-

So back to my process. When I have an absolutely AMAZING dream, I wake up and write down the specifics right away. Then I spend about a week working through the back story- if needed- and the ending. Wait until I tell you some of the CRAZY things I had thought up for The One . Those will only be revealed when I'm famous! HA HA!

While I write, the stories play out in my mind like the dreams. Vivid and moving. Sometimes I freak out because I can't type as fast as my characters move and talk. SO frustrating. My poor family now knows that when I'm working they have to wait until I can come up for a breath, then we can chat. -Yeah, I know it's horrible and that makes me an awful mom!- We have worked out a few ground rules for all of us since I started writing. We all agree that my writing is a family venture and they are enjoying the ride. Family support is the MOST important thing they offer me. (besides love) Without either I don't think I could get through it all.

Well if you have made it down to here you must really care about how I write my stories. I'm honored! -and a little shocked!

After the story is dumped out onto the paper, I send it to a few very talented and trusted girlfriends who help me edit. They are my best buds who are able to be honest with me- At least they better be! Without them, I can't imagine what my books would look like! I type so fast, I forget about commas and proper sentence structure! Kind of like here.

Once I have edited and edited, (did I mention the editing?) then it is polished up. When that is all done, my query letter is written and it is off to an Agent.

I will gladly update you on the rest of the process, once I have an agent and am through the next step.
I hope you have a great day! I am off to work on yet another dream. It was a good one too!
One I'm pretty sure you will like.
Andrea