A Reader Asks About My Writing Process

Hey, more fan mail. I could get used to this. Steve writes:

I just read “Save Me Plz.” Fantastic. I’m writing a book right now. Pertains to video games. If you don’t mind my asking, what is your process for writing? Do you start with an outline and go from there? Anyway, just wanted to give you kudos. You’re amazing and inspirational.

Thanks, Steve! Good luck with the book.

I’m pretty picky when it comes to story ideas, and I don’t often get ideas that I think are terrific, so when I do get one that I really like I spend a lot of time trying to turn it into the best story that I possibly can. I typically spend weeks or months (or even years) thinking over an idea before I sit down to write it. I don’t start drafting something until I have a pretty good idea of what’s going to happen. I usually jot down a few pages of notes with things like lists of key scenes and some of the most telling bits of dialogue. Sometimes I’ll write a one paragraph/one page synopsis, and sometimes I do sketches of the characters to help me visualize them. Once I actually start drafting a story, I try to work on it every day until it’s finished. I usually write new material in the morning, when I’m freshest, and go for an hour of two, though I have been known to work around the clock on something that’s going really well. I have to be physically active in order to think, so I set up my work environment so that I can pace around. I often listen to music to get into the right emotional frame of mind. I also always have to be doing something with my hands, so I usually carry around a baseball bat or lacrosse stick or toy sword or toy gun or something. 99% of the work of writing for me is done in my head while I’m on my feet. Once I’ve figured out how the next scene or partial scene should go, I sit down and type it out fairly quickly the way I’ve already composed it in my head, then I get back to pacing. I have my computer read out loud what I’ve written so far, which keeps me focused on the story and also allows me to be constantly revising and polishing and catching typos as I go. By the time I finish a story, I’ll have been over the first scene hundreds of times. I usually go out for a walk in the evening during which I think about what new material I’ll be adding the next morning. I also sometimes use this time to listen to what I’ve written so far (by exporting onto my iPod an audio file of my draft as read by the computer). Since just as many people these days listen to my stories as read them in print, I try to make sure that the story works as well in audio as it does on the page.