Anal-retentive is my middle name. When I have a book idea, I pile up gobs of research in various Word and .pdf docs. I swear by the Snowflake. I’ve also been a copyeditor for 25 years, so editing is second nature.

When I’m writing, I want to WRITE, not stop to research a fact. So all my research is accessible and I just open a saved doc, check the info, and keep on writing. I’m up to 44K on the current book–took me 4 months. Not nearly as fast as many, but I have a FT job, kids, house to keep–you get the idea. Also, without the Snowflake, I’d totally mess up planting clues to the murderer, and what’s a mystery without clues?

I love editing/polishing/perfecting. I’m an editing junkie. For me, it’s when the real writing begins, when the storyworld and characters come alive and take on depth.

For those of you who noticed that this comes to 140%, this probably explains why writing is so difficult for me.

Randy, thanks for your advice.

Actually this changes with each book I write. Sometimes the research is so fascinating it won’t let go of me. Other times, it’s drudgery. The first draft is the hardest for me, but I have to write at least three chapters before I can do any planning. I usually edit as I go. Once I tried to write the entire book before I did any editing and I was so overwhelmed the book still isn’t finished. I have that same problem in my crit group. When I receive 5 critiques–all making different comments, I tend to get lost and lose my focus. I guess that’s why I have so many incomplete manuscripts. I didn’t have a crit group for my one published novel until AFTER I finished it. Any advice, Randy? I believe out of frustration I turn to helping others. That makes me feel as though I’m truly accomplishing something.

I tend to do everything simultaneously. My stories are character driven, and I know them well. I place them in settings I know, even if created. I’ve created a town in the midwest, set it down in a space in Missouri where there’s room for it, named it, drawn a map of it with houses of all the characters, places of business, geography, et al. Come to think of it I suppose that’s research, or is it planning? I deal with my characters mentally, sometimes all day as I’m doing other things. I do a lot of editing on each chapter as I go. (I know, that’s not recommended.) And I, too, have wondered how much time blogging steals from writing. Can we call blogging research? It does lead to study. Are we having fun yet? Yes - a blast!

Research 15%
Planning 30%
Writing 30%
Editing 25%

Maybe…

I think I write better when I plan; however, it takes me forever to think about what will happen so I can actually write it.

I’m still a relatively inexperienced writer, so I hope this will all come as I’m learning.

This is the breakdown for my recently completed middle-grades novel – lighter on the research end because the setting is local and I already had the information in my head/life/experience. However, there is an earthquake in the story and I spent enough time researching causes, effects, types and locations that when the quakes in China hit, they jolted me out of my story world. It was a little freaky to see on the news what I’d had going on in my mind.

A second novel that I will soon pull from the shelf requires more on the research end. I’m sure you’ve also noticed that I’m not much of a planner. The truth is, I’m not much good with numbers, so these could be way off. However, most of the time when I write, the story takes over and tells me, rather than me telling the story. The characters do and say things that I sometimes don’t see coming. It’s like watching an unpredictable movie. (Is that totally nuts?) That’s where subtexting comes in for me, and then I go back and polish off the rough edges – also known as editing.

For subtexting, I think really knowing your characters will help you use subtexting naturally because you know their thoughts even though you don’t always write them down.

I don’t know if this is subtexting, but in my WIP, my antagonist (Tzmet the witch) has resurrected her father, Viss’aird (the evil Dark Lord) and she’s not happy with the outcome. Here one snippet of converstaion:

But the longer she sat there, the more she wanted to leave and take refuge in her own room. She desired a hot bath and something to eat. Her father had not dismissed her after she brought his evening meal. She sat by his side as he ate, her own stomach begging for food. Again, she wondered if it was a good thing, this change in her life.
Finally, she could stand no more. “Father,” she started.
Viss’aird’s pale eyes rested on her. A tremor of fear shivered through her, but she lifted her chin. “If you have no need for me tonight, I would retire to my room.”
He nodded, and Tzmet rose to leave. She turned at the door to curtsey in respect.
“Daughter.”
Tzmet paused with her hand on the doorknob. She turned back. “Yes?”
“I hope your loyalty to me has not changed along with everything else.”
Tzmet’s heart leaped in her throat. “It has not.”
“Good.”
When he said no more, Tzmet slipped out the door and forced herself to walk calmly to her room.

Writing and planning are actually a bit intermixed for me. I write a section, then review it and tweak. Then write another section, review it and tweak. I’ll do that over and over as I write a chapter. At the end of a chapter, I read through the whole chapter and make changes. Then I’ll make one more pass through it to catch any mistakes my changes may have caused. All of that before I even send it to my critique group. When I’m finished with the whole book, I call it my First Draft, after all of the tweaking and reviewing, it’s probably more like my Third Draft. LOL

Research 10%
Planning 10%
Writing 45%
Editing 35%

writing: 10%
planning: 20%
editing: 50%
research: 20%

Research is at the end because I think of research more as a logic cum fact checking exercise and not as a basic inspiration event.

Pam, I am not sure about the subtext but I think your strongest moment is in this line: “I hope your loyalty to me has not changed along with everything else.”

I think you can up the ante by making his words less threatening, thereby heightening the implied threat. Something like:

“It warms my heart to see your loyalty has not changed.” His knife sliced cleanly through the chicken’s breastbone. He didn’t bother to look up.
Tzmet’s heart leaped in her throat. “It has not.”

Since I’m editing one novella and need to tackle two novels as well, editing seems to be all I’m doing.

I do a heck of a lot of planning. First i get a general idea of my novel, slowing thinking things out while others are dozing off in french class. I’ll give planning 35%.

Writing tends to take me a while, but i don’t exactly labor over every word. I’ll give writing 40%.

I love to edit! I don’t enjoy the first draft too much, so i guess that may be why. It doesn’t take me to long, though. I’ll give editing 22%.

So, execpt for research, i’d say i’m pretty balanced. then again, i’ve never finished many novels all the way through for me to know my needs as well as i should.

My current attempt is about the political, economical and social situation in South Africa. It is kind of an answer to the famous novel, “Cry the Beloved Country” by Alan Payton, published in the late 1950’s, and which was about the atrocities of apartheid.

In these days, one only needs to live in the Beloved Country for 6 weeks to obtain sufficient, excellent content to write a novel with this theme.

As I have lived here for 54 years, I did very little research and I will apportion my efforts for my Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius as such:

Planning : 30% (strictly according to the Snowflake Method)
Writing : 40%
Editing : 30%

I still have trouble finishing things, though I’ve recently gotten over my fear of sharing bits with my friends. I’d probably estimate:

Research: 20%
Planning: 40%
Writing: 10%
Editing: 20%

Now if I can use the other 10% that is generally abandoned at the end when I don’t like it anymore and spend less time editing as I go, I should make some genuine progress.

Research 5%
Planning 15@
First draft/writing 50%
Editing 30%

Full manuscript ready to send out: one year

If anyone is thinking about writing to publish with Christian royalty houses, we probably should be talking about writing Xtremely, Xceptionally WELL or not at all.

I’d heard about Thomas Nelson’s recent decision and chose to stick my head in the sand and keep writing my novel. But I pulled it out and listened when Mike hit on things in this blog, like: But as with any quality product, there’s a downside — perfection takes time. (Yesss!!)

And this: With the big boys seeking, primarily, brand name authors with shelf cred and the cream of the “breakout novel” crop, it makes sense that aspiring authors should look toward new, creative ways to get their story into print.

Ack! Shelf credibility doesn’t exist for the emerging author. And out of ALL those “breakout novels” each year, what percentile makes up the cream of that crop?

I guess we have to write a darn good novel that beats every other darn good novel by light years if we want to see it published.

Didn’t mean to rant, I just sort of panicked. Back to my sandbox.

Research: 5%
World-building: 10%
Planning: 10%
Writing: 25%
Editing: 50%

Research: 40%
Editing: >30%

Writing is psychologically harder than editing, but also more passionate, both because its goals are mostly undefined. Editing is easy and often fun, but quite a grind, with precise goals laid out and a foreseeable end in sight.

Research: less than 1%
Planning: approx 15% (using the Snowflake, steps 1-4, 6, and
Writing: more than 40%
Editing: more than 30%

I didn’t want or expect to write fiction! But this story first blasted its way into my life on a train a few years ago and just wouldn’t let me go. So it started in a ‘Seat of Pants’ fashion as a ‘nice little short story’ (ha ha!) and I got into a real mess as my characters demanded more and more scenes and POWER. It’s now being constructed a la Snowflake Method (THANK YOU AGAIN RANDY FOR SNOWFLAKE!) I live in France and now write in a place 10 minutes walk away called a ‘Mediatheque’, which is a library with a study space with sockets on the desks for computers. It’s a brand new building and just opened and brilliant, though I’m too short at 62 (and three quarters) inches for the chairs and take my own cushion! I think I’m a bit of a shock - I usually share the room with two or three teenagers - who seem to find it necessary to get up at intervals and check out the book on the shelf right behind my head - and thus, my computer screen! I suspect that eventually I’ll be approached with questions on the English language!

Anyway, it works for me to be away from all home distractions: washing, ironing, cooking, cat, housework, phone, hysterical neighbours. SNOWFLAKE is just brilliant. I’m so happy with my blue ring-binder folder sectioned off according to the 10 steps, and to see it getting fatter and fatter almost daily!

Ann Isik

Research- 15%
Planning- 30%
Writing- 30%
Editing- 25%

Research: My book didn’t need much and most of the research came from my head
Planning:
Writing: This in a way sort of merges into my editing. At the end of the day I copy down the last paragraph I’ve wrote, turn the computer off, crawl into bed and then write furiously in my notebook before passing out, waking up two hours later and scribbling some more down. Then in the morning I type it up and change some stuff about it.
Editing: Well I’ve only done the editing I said above

My editing phase depends on how fast I write the first draft. Some books I pump out in 30-45 days and some 6 months or more. The editing phase seems to be inversely proportional to how much time I put in to the writing, and more importantly how often I have to break the writing periods for any significant amount of time. If I write the first draft fast, the editing will seem to be more involved as you might think as I’m pumped and concentrating on story and characters, so details of structure, descriptions and such sometimes get left behind or shorted.
If I have many significant breaks, the editing will be more involved as it becomes harder to keep continuity, structure and focus on the story when continually interrupted. It does seem with the manuscripts I’ve written that have taken more than 6 months that the editing is shorter but the story and energy seem to suffer, and the pace drags.
These days I prefer to write fast and edit for content. It seems to keep me more interested in the characters and easier to edit.
Of course none of this counts the hours sat staring at the screen or sipping pina coladas and watching sunsets.
Troy Michael