A Definition of “Writing”

It’s easy to get bogged down and discouraged by the feeling that you’re not really “writing,” especially if what you’re doing doesn’t involve long hours typing on a keyboard. So, let’s talk about what we mean when we say that word.

To me, “writing” is an umbrella term covering numerous activities that all get me closer to publication. Some of these activities are more directly focused on that goal, but all are equally productive. So, from least to most tangible:

• Daydreaming, specifically staring at a blank wall or up at the clouds, lying down with your eyes closed, soaking in the bathtub, and other predominantly passive activities.
• Composing. For me, this is pacing back and forth talking to myself, acting out scenes, rehearsing dialogue, and recording voice memos on my phone for later. I think of this as a more active form of daydreaming; I’m not just watching my creativity play out on the canvas of my eyelids, I’m on stage making it up.
• Reading mentor books, watching mentor movies/TV shows. I separate this from research. This is the lighter weight, less disciplined cousin to research. Whatever media you’re consuming, it doesn’t have to be directly related to what you’re working on.
• Research, specifically researching topics that are directly related to your work. If your protagonist is a blacksmith, reading about blacksmiths, searching online images that you can use for inspiration when describing your character’s workshop, and taking classes at a local smithy are all research.
• Outlining/diagramming. Whether it’s a bulleted Word document, a timeline, a flowchart, or any other kind of diagram, you’re figuring out the order that everything happens.
• Editing notes. Doubtless, you’ve accumulated a million notes in different forms – voice memos dictated on a smartphone or DVR, handwritten notes in a notebook, and notes typed in smartphone note apps or computer documents. Getting them organized and expanding them from cryptic shorthand into something you’ll still recognize a year later is an important part of the job and often done together with outlining.
• Citations. No matter your inspirations and references, its good to have a list of where you got your ideas. This helps you refer to something for your own inspiration, avoid plagiarism, and cite your sources in the endnotes to your book.
• “Actually” writing. This is the part where you take all the foregoing and turn it into chapter drafts.
• Revisions. This is where you take what you wrote in the “actual writing” stage and polish it, cleaning up vague descriptions, stilted dialogue, logistical contradictions, cardboard characters, and a hundred other things.
• Editing. This is the final polish, where you smooth out clunky passages, fix grammatical, spelling, and punctuation errors, and apply your final formatting.
• Researching agents and publishers. This can include reviews written by other authors and reading materials that have been published by publishers you’re interested in, or authors represented by agents you’re interested in.

What did I miss? What does your writing process look like?