My Writing Process

Outside of our Writers' Workshop, there are only two short stories that I share with friends. About the only question I receive from them is how do I come up with stories. The answer given is if I knew I'd write a book about it. But the truth is it comes from various sources. Events in my life help mold certain situations, but not the story. I'm constantly thinking of concepts. They usually come from conversations or newspaper articles. Then I build on that idea. Most days I walk, perhaps up to two miles. That clears my head and gives me time to create a basic plot. The next step is to put those thoughts into writing. This is done is cursive on cheap notebook paper. The computer is not employed until the title is decided upon.

A new paragraph is warranted here to emphasize that the ending is not known at this time. Usually.

Character development comes next. Sometimes dialog is used to express this. Other times it is narrative. Some writers place great importance on the characters' looks. For some reason I don't really care whether or not the characters have blond hair or black, blue eyes or brown. I'd rather leave that up to the readers' imaginations. It's fun however to make a least one character quirky. I like quirky.

I feel very strongly about location. All in our group live in Dallas or the surrounding cities. But there is really no reason to use Dallas as the location unless the story involves the Cowboys or the Kennedy assassination. I need a reason to name a city, or else it's just "the city." It can take place in Hollywood if it's about a movie star or D.C. if it involves the federal government. Small towns however are different. I like to make up their names. One of my stories ended in Pie Corner, Oklahoma. Now Mesquite, Texas, is a different animal. It has a great name and you don't feel guilty making fun of the place.

Endings can be tough. I don't enjoy knowing the ending of a story when I begin writing it. But that's just me. It's sort of like being a kid and knowing on December 20th what Santa will bring you for Christmas. Again, my daily walks help. Readers expect answers. On one occasion (Time, Cotton) I didn't provide the answer.

I enjoy being critiqued. It makes me a better writer. I don't need to be told if a story is good or not. I know.

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Addendum: Some writers set aside 2-4 hours daily in which to write. I tend to get on a roll. Once some thoughts are assembled I may start early on a Sunday afternoon and write into the night. And if the ideas keep rolling in I'll continue Monday night. And Tuesday night. And