Writing Blogger Extraordinaire K.M. Weiland posted on her twitter account a day or two ago her question of the day:
What if your favorite part of the process?
This was a head scratcher for me. As a reminder, my process looks like this:
- Write to the end, while cycling.
- Send to a reader. (Start next story)
- Address the reader concerns, that I agree with.
- Send to copy-editor.
- Correct that which I agree with.
- Format book.
- Covers.
- Publish.
I suspect K.M. isn’t really asking about formatting or covers as part of the process. And I can’t imagine anyone answering that addressing edits is their favorite part of the process. How could writing not be the favorite part of my process?
It occurs to me that my simplified process probably appeals to the Project Manager in me. There isn’t a lot of fat in it. (To be brutally honest, my weeding out of some of the other processes appeals to my contrarian nature as well.) But I realize, that most writers also have things like Outlining, Character development, Rewriting as part of their process. I can’t imagine any of that being more enjoyable than writing the story, though.
So again, head scratcher.
So, tell me fellow writers, are any of those other pieces of the process (and I’m sure I’ve missed some… so share those as well) actually your favorite?
*BTW, I often do not agree with K.M. Weiland, she’s big on plotting ahead and stuff I don’t do. She’s also wrong about Boyhood ;). But, I still find an awful lot of great insights on her site. And I have never seen anyone communicate Dwight Swain’s methods as well as her, including Mr. Swain himself. Considering Techniques for the Selling Writer is my favorite writing craft book, that’s saying something. Her blog is definitely worth a visit.
–TD
Tony D. Writes Pulp Fiction 
If she asked me “What is your favorite part of the process?” I would say, “Which process?” \
If she said “The publishing process,” I would respond much as you did above.
If she said “The writing process,” I would say, “Ah, that’s easy. I put my fingers on the keyboard, listen for my characters, and write the next sentence that occurs to me. Then repeat until they’ve led me to the end of the story.” (grin)
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Pretty much the same…the writing is what I like, but then how could it not be. Scratches head again. I think I’ve broken skin.
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