I don’t write the way writing courses recommend. I have my own process. Or, to be honest, I don’t really have one.
In theory, I start with the basics: a story idea and a few characters. Sometimes I even have a possible ending. But once I start writing, I let the story and the characters lead me. And almost every time, I end up somewhere I didn’t originally plan.
You know that feeling when you begin with a character and a simple storyline, slowly build the idea, and then the story breaks free and takes you somewhere you never meant to go? Suddenly you’re stuck in a one-way alley. You can’t move forward because the story isn’t working. You can’t go back because the old version no longer makes sense.
Meanwhile, real life keeps hitting you. Something is always happening. Responsibilities. People. Messages. Small things that aren’t really small. I keep planning to get back to writing, to turn off all distractions, to slip back into my imaginary world.
But when I finally return, I find nothing but dead ends. Characters who broke away and dragged the story somewhere I’m not even sure I want to follow.
In all of this, the most unpredictable part is how, and when, I’ll finish the story.
There’s beauty in that. The freedom. The surprise. That strange feeling that stories sometimes write themselves. But there’s also a need to shape the process a little.
I’m still learning how to balance the two.