Writing Process Secrets

By Leah Erickson, Cat Connor, and Lisa Towles

Hello from 9mm Press! To help you get to know all of us better, we’ve joined forces to share the quirky, convoluted intricacies of our individual writing processes – how we write, when we write, where, tools, editing, output, and other stuff. If you have topics you want to hear about, post your comments below. 

Leah Erickson, Cat Connor, and Lisa Towles

Do you get up early in the morning and write, or are you a night owl?

Leah: I tend to write at any time, except late night. Then my brain starts logging off. 

Cat: Neither! I used to be a night owl, now I’m too tired for that shit. I write during the day and in the early evening.

Lisa: Late at night, definitely a night owl.

Are you more energized writing in a crowded coffeehouse, or in the quiet, dark silence? 

Leah: Silence!

Cat: Never in silence! I have music playing when I write - but I don’t like wearing earbuds or headphones when I’m writing or for the music to come from my MacBook - it has to be played on a stereo.

Lisa: Both are good, though lately I prefer dark silence late at night. 

Do you outline your books, go freeform, or some combination of the two? 

Leah: I outline to a point, where I know basically the beginning and the end. But it usually works out that I myself am surprised by what my own characters do. If I am not surprised, then the writing tends not to have enough life in it.

Cat: I outline each chapter once I’ve finished writing the chapter. And by outline I mean I bullet point anything important. The most I know about a book when I start writing is the opening scene and question. Most often the question is, “What’s the worst case scenario?”

Lisa: I outline 3-4 chapters ahead at a time. 

Do you do most of your writing by typing on a keyboard, hand-writing in a notebook/journal, or on a phone app? 

Leah: I used to hand write a lot. But now I can work through the process more efficiently in my head and skip that part. I don't understand apps! 

Cat: Predominately I use my MacBook Air for writing but notes and single scenes are often written longhand in a notebook. I start with one dedicated notebook per book and most often I end up with two or three that pertain to each particular piece of work. They have research notes, random drawings, and scenes I needed to write longhand to see clearly. I do use Siri to take notes for me when I’m walking to and from the bookshop - that can be fairly entertaining.

Lisa: 95% is typing on a laptop. I sometimes take notes in a notebook if I have a few spare minutes, and sometimes on my iPhone if I’m in bed and get an idea I need to remember.

Are you actively writing right now? If so, what? 

Leah: I am writing a new novel about an order of renegade nuns on a storm-ravaged island.

Cat: I’m always actively writing. If it’s not a novel then it’s a short story. Just finished the 11th book in the Byte Series. It will be released by the end of the year in time to be eligible for next year’s Ngaio Marsh Awards.

Lisa: I’m working on the second book of my first series.

How much do you write in an average day?

Leah: Nooo idea! Usually a page worth of single-spaced words.

Cat: Between 0 and 10k words per day. Seriously, I have no set word count per day because I never know how much time I’ll have. Some days are fantastic writing days, other days not so much. But even those days there will be something writing related maybe not anything that immediately increases my word count though.

Lisa: During the week I average about 750-1000 words per day and on a weekend it might be 3000-4000.

Do you edit as you go, or do you write everything first and then edit when you're finished? 

Leah: Edit later. And fix where I changed people's names five times.

Cat: I don’t really edit as I go. I read what I last wrote, maybe tweak a paragraph or two and then write. Editing is the last step for me. It’s pointless messing around with any editing until there is a beginning, middle and end.

Lisa: Minor editing as I go, and then several rounds of major editing after I’ve completed the first draft.

Do you set deadlines for completion of a novel?

Leah: I used to try to get out one a year. But it is hard to promote too many titles that close together, so now I don't bother to rush.

Cat: Yes. They’re loose though. I aim for one release a year so that helps me set a deadline. It also helps me freak out as the year marches on and the book isn’t ready yet! Good motivation. I need to be writing more over the next few months to make my next deadline for the release of Crashbyte (soon to be renamed) late next year.

Lisa: When I’m getting close to completing a book, sometimes I set a 30 Day Challenge to sort of cheerlead myself to the finish line. I have a minimum word count required per day, a completion date in mind, and some kind of incentive if I complete the challenge on time.

Do you have any secret rituals for when you start writing a new book, or how about when you finish writing one? 

Leah: We keep a statue of the Norse goddess Freya on the desk. She is our house goddess! I ask for her blessing when my works are finished.

Cat: I have to have a new notebook ready to go before I start writing a new book. When I finish writing one I go quietly mad for a few days while I digest what I just did and work out what I’m going to fill the void with. There is also tequila. Always. That’s actually true.

Lisa: I like to set a completed book aside for about a month to get some distance from it before I start editing.

Where do you write? At a desk sitting up properly in an actual office? Hunched over your laptop on the floor, in bed propped up with pillows, out in nature?  

Leah: At a desk. Keeps me regimented.

Cat: Currently, I write sitting on my bed. I used to have a dedicated writing space but now I use my bedroom. It’s the sunniest room in the house and I have a stereo up there. Perfect really. I can shut the door (and the world out). I don’t answer the phone (or the door) when I’m writing but I usually reply to texts. Sometimes I write in the bookshop. Only sometimes though despite the sign outside saying “Writer in Residence” … traffic noise on the street outside drives me nuts so I don’t get a lot of writing done there. Also, I can’t play the music I need in the bookshop due to copyright restrictions. So, it’s just easier to use the bookshop for research and notebook scenes and write when I get home in the afternoon.

Lisa: Hunched over my laptop, sometimes desk sometimes floor, with headphones in.

What are the (writing) tools of your trade? Do you use a laptop? Windows or Mac? What software do you use? What's your favorite internet browser for research?

Leah: It is a desktop. I think it is a Mac.  Electronics are magical and very vague in my mind. 

Cat: My favorite pen is a tactical pen. I’m super picky about the type of pen I use. It has to be a certain size and weigh right, and the nib must be smooth. Can’t abide scratchy pens!  I always have a notebook. Always. I’m using a Captain America notebook. Again I’m kinda picky, it has to feel right. The bulk of my writing is done in Pages on my MacBook Air. I quit using Microsoft products four years ago when I changed from HP to Apple. You know what they say, once you go Apple you never go back. I use Safari for normal research (i.e. the sort of every day stuff that won’t get someone in suit knocking at the door) and Tor for anything that requires some stealth, if I’m really being careful then I run a VPN as well (I’m partial to TunnelBear).

Lisa: MacBook Air, Google Chrome, Waterman ballpoint pens.

How do you think up characters for your books? Do they come to you, or do you have to go out and find them? 

Leah: Often they are amalgams of different real life people. But sometimes they seem channeled, and I don't know who they are, and that is always fun!

Cat: I’m pretty sure the bulk of them just come wandering in when I’m writing. Occasionally I will see someone and base a character on them. Also, occasionally, someone pisses me off enough that I gut them with a pen and let their blood pour across the pages of my notebook. It depends.

Lisa: I base all my characters on actors I’ve watched in movies, because I already know how they interact, speak, behave, and I’ve watched them deal with challenges. Alex Careski, the protagonist in my latest book, is based on the actor Gabriel Byrne. 

Is your writing process more doing, searching, waiting, or listening?

Leah: Meditating. Waiting. If I push it too hard it resists. 

Cat: My writing process is pretty heavily geared toward writing. I write - while I’m writing I listen and I also research whatever I need as it emerges. I’ve always worked that way.

Lisa: All four, but mostly listening.

Thanks for visiting!