By far the most difficult aspect of being a writer [in any capacity] is the writing process itself. Though I don’t necessarily consider myself to be a writer, I do happen to be a person who writes things from time to time. While I’m sure we all differ to varying degrees, speaking for my own process, actual writing probably makes up a good 15% (that’s being generous) of it; the other majority of time I spend staring at thin air or spiraling into a neverending pit of “research”—not to mention my tendency to end up lost in a sea of songs, trying to set just the right tone. Needless to say, my process has got a few kinks in it.

Things always start out great: a solid idea for a character, the perfect line of dialogue, a killer title, etc. However, after that initial burst of inspiration I always end up stuck in my head going through logistics at a million miles a minute—or fifty webpages away from an initially simple Google search. I mean, how does one get from a simple search of Old Western Tropes to being innumerable paragraphs deep into a biographical article on John Wayne’s tailor?! It’s a skill if I’m being honest, but dammit if I’m not completely drained by the time I try to get back to the actual pen to paper of it all. I could no doubt benefit from a more concise approach and at the end of the day I know it all comes down to discipline and consistency, but as many wise men have said before, it’s easier said than done.

My own issues aside, I do truly believe the process to be one of, if not the most integral parts of the whole job. Whether you were born with a gift for words or have spent countless hours slaving over each character, the journey to the last sentence will always be filled with pit stops, checkpoints, restarts and the inevitable fork in the road. So, whatever the case may be, perfecting your process will only strengthen your abilities as a writer (and arguably as a person too) as well as help to shape your own unique style and voice.

So, comment down below and let me know what your process is like. Do you listen to music or TV in the background? Are you an aimless researcher with a wandering mind? Or do you have ninja focus? Regardless, every process is it’s own and it’s always cool to hear how other people produce their art. Who knows, we might teach each other a few things along the way. Til next time, keep making stuff!