The Process Shake-Up: Why I Ditched Hand-Drafting for My Phone
It's been a hot minute since I posted a blog. I knew everyone would miss me 😋 As the mid-year passed us by, I can tell you that this gal has been making some serious changes in her writing process lately. But before we get to that, I want to share this gorgeous mood board I've made for Project Hollow, my work in progress. It really captures the different elements of the story nicely—the sci-fi aspects, the witchiness, murder, mystery and love.
Let me know what you think of the vibe. I do not own any of these lovely images.
Writing Process Update ~
I have been a devout hand drafter for yonks, but lately I've taken to writing on my phone. Basically the exact opposite of pen to paper. It all happened while my hubby was driving us on one of those long drives to who knows where; I forget, but I had been working on scene 16 for ages, and it was coming on up on a month of chipping away on it when I decided to try something different. Scene 16 is complex! There is a break in/heist situation involving both leads, so I was trying to thread the needle on a high-action sequence, banter, relationship building, high stakes, and who knows what else, so it was a really difficult section to get through and find flow with everything I was trying to juggle.
Somewhere, somehow I had heard that Abby Jimenez writes all her first drafts on her phone and I had always thought that was strange, but the idea kept playing on my mind. I gave it a go with scene 16, and I was able to make some good progress and got to closing it out at a whopping 7464 words.
Since then I've been chipping away at the next two scenes on my phone and then on my laptop at other times. So what's that about? Where did the real M.M. Irada go, and who am I? How can my process, which I've been using for so long, switch up like that?
I think it has to do with being more flexible and taking the pressure off the act of writing. Typing on my phone doesn't seem as serious as sitting down, opening my book, and putting pen to paper, plus I can skip the transcribing part that I need to do afterwards as well. I'm not saying I'm not going to go back to physical drafting, but I can change things up as I want to. You're not the boss of me; I'm the boss of me.
I don't have to hold down an old routine like some old guard that will never let go. It doesn't mean I'm taking my writing less seriously if I try different methods out. To be honest, I did have that thought at the start. I felt a lot of resistance to keep drafting on the phone or on my laptop, despite the flow, as it didn't feel as serious or "not real writing" in a way. But as long as the story is coming out, that's all that matters. The rest is semantics, and if something isn't working, it's ok to change it up. It doesn't make me any less professional to embrace a little shake-up.
Current Status ~
I'm in scene 18 now, which is a childhood flashback for my character Cin [see here for a blurb about Project Hollow]. I'm hoping that I can get to the core of Cin's hurt/misbeleif about herself in this one itty bitty scene, preferably in one swoop and with no edits needed. So yah.
Some of the difficulty with scene 18 is introducing two new characters, Cin's parents, and making them feel like lived-in characters. These people need to have known each other all their lives; well, Cin does, and so how does one create that feeling in such a short scene? When these characters speak, there needs to be history, references, and little habits that come out that let the reader know, oh yep, these guys are parent and child.
Another element I'm struggling with is how to write characters that love their child, however, though their actions are greatly neglectful of them. Child abuse and neglect are not a strange concept for me. As someone who works in social work, this is something I deal with daily. It's not an exaggeration to say I have heard thousands of cases of child abuse. But I only come across these families in their moment of true crisis. I'm not with them in the lead-up, in the countless moments and decisions that eventually lead up to a breaking point.
I want to be able to pull more out of Cin and show the reader that it has taken many, many moments, years for her to have reached this crisis point with her own parents. I want it to be real, and that is a tall ask, especially after the very intricate scenes that have come before this one. Let' s see if I can do it.
In other news, finishing scene 17 took me to over 88 thousand words total in the manuscript. Let me remind the class that an average standalone fantasy book should be max 120k, and I have an estimated 42 scenes planned out. So yeah. I'm just going to not think about that until I get to draft 2.
Thinking about word count, I find myself asking how I can possibly have so much to say and not even be at the midpoint? I'm definitely an overwriter. But I think where all these words are coming from is more so my discovery of the world and the characters. I have written pages on description of a place or intricate backstory between characters. I do anticipate all these bits can be easily scaled back and cut in a later draft. Hah! Easy!
Recommendations ~
Let's talk about media and other books. I recently binge-watched Unveil Jadewind on Netflix; it's a Chinese mystery revenge detective show set in an ancient royal court. It was great, highly recommend. There are several seperate mysteries the main leads have to tackle over a couple of episodes at a time plus and overarching mystery about the main female leads childhood where her parents were murdered. The show really focuses in on womens struggles in the court and their forced sacrifices. I really love ancient Chinese settings and worldbuilding, and if there is fantasy, that's even more of a plus. Other Chinese Netflix recs are: Love between Fairy and Devil (omg I love this one and have rewatched) and Who Rules the World (a cute wuxia romance).
On the book side, I recently read Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher. This book changed my brain chemistry. It was beautiful and haunting and creepy and funny all at the same time. After returning the book to my library, I immediately bought a copy. I want to reread and analyse how the author made such a masterpiece. My local bookstore sadly said that the hardcover was out of print! I have now picked up A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking, also by T. Kingfisher; it's a YA, and it's lovely and has magical baking!
There is so much more I want to say, but I'll save it for the next blog post. Don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter if you enjoy these updates and my rants 🙂
Project Hollow Progress Stats
Draft one: 43.9%
Current Scene: 18
Word count: 88,548
