Micki Miller: My Writing Process

When I was asked to write an article on my writing process, I was a little stumped. My process, as I saw it, was to sit and write. No magic spells (I wish) no talismans, no rituals that make the words skip onto the page and arrange themselves in award-winning order. At times, my process is to stare at the screen, mocked by the mess I’d written, and wonder what made me think I could be a writer.

 So, the next time I sat down at my computer, I paid attention. Apparently, I do have a process.

My work area is neat and clean. I find clutter distracting. The notes come out of my desk drawer and go into three spots, in the same order every time. The first two are details for the main characters: Names, full and nick, hair color, eye color, and all the other details I add as I go along. The third spot is for supporting characters and all their information, settings, maps, and other various thoughts, and research. When I’m looking for something, I know which place to grab from without wasting time searching. It also helps keep me from losing my train of thought. Easy to do with a wandering mind. 

Even though I’m more of a pantser than a plotter, I make plenty of notes. I’ve had them on receipts, on napkins, occasionally my wrist. Most of them get written on sticky notes. I use lots of sticky notes. I should own stock in the company. 

When the sticky notes start to outweigh me, I sort through them, write what I still think I’ll use on a separate piece of notebook paper to keep them organized, and throw away the rest. I’ve learned to be clear with my notes. Though, sometimes I still look at one and wonder what prankster left this mystery for me to solve.     

I keep a page next to me with circled numbers on it from the day before. They are pages I finished, but not really. They need the distance of a day and the benefit of fresh eyes. When they pass the ‘next day’ test, the numbers get a scribble-over. Some of them stay circled for days, until I feel the page is done, at least until the next of several drafts. Once I’ve finished the circled page numbers, I begin where I left off the day before.

Word count doesn’t plague me like it once did. Some days I delete more than I write. I’ve learned to be satisfied if the manuscript is better than it was the day before. 

Next, it’s best to stay off social media while working, though I have to admit, sometimes I get sucked into a conversation, a news story, a current event. My iPad stays close. It’s great for double checking and cross checking. Also, I’ve gotten more comfortable asking people with particular knowledge for information. 

The library is an excellent place for research. The librarians I’ve encountered have all been happy to help me find information. It’s also far less distracting than the internet and the books near the ones I use often have information I hadn’t considered. Bonus, it’s a nice, quiet place to work where nobody bothers me.

Though my workspace is orderly, I do keep a few items that inspire me. There are some stones my husband made during his lapidary stage. I don’t know why I keep them close. I just like having them there. A couple of photos I took myself, Ernest Hemmingway’s writing room, and Stephen King’s house. I have a lovely note from a reader, and in the drawer next to me, a note and gift from Dean Koontz. We exchanged letters after the release of my second book, The Darkest Sum. I treasure the contents of that package and take them out every now and then to hold and gain inspiration.

I like to write very early in the morning when the rest of the world (or so it feels) is asleep. I especially like it in the winter when it’s dark. There’s a certain sort of quiet that fosters my creativity. The night before, I pack a little basket with some nuts and fruit and leave it near my desk. That way I have something healthy to eat without having to leave my work and wander into the kitchen where distractions, and cookies, await.

Find your best time to write and stick to it. We all have to work around schedules and obligations, other people, other activities. What’s important is to make it a habit. I have my mornings, and I can often get in some more writing time later in the day. Sometimes I’m working out scenes, dialogue, and characters while folding laundry or doing other mindless tasks. But morning is a date with my work I rarely break.

Once everything is in place, I write. I delete, I rewrite, rewrite, and rewrite some more. I struggle. Sometimes I cringe. At some point, I slip into a groove. The characters step up, the story dances. It’s like a muse has floated into my body and made me better than I am. These moments, these wondrous, joyful moments, make my struggles fade and are a salve to every piranha bite of self-doubt and past rejections.

I can’t map your process. You have to find what works for you. Try different habits, times. I hope something I’ve said here helps. I wish you luck, and few if any piranha bites.   

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I lived most of my life in the wondrous city of Las Vegas, Nevada. For ten years my husband and I traveled several months of the year in an R.V. and I was fortunate enough to see every state in this amazing country. Now I live in beautiful Michigan, where I’ve learned about layering clothes and that boats don’t have brakes. I wish that was a joke.

I read like I write, in varying genres. Historical romance will always have a special place in my heart. The style of The Darkest Sum was influenced by Dean Koontz, a writer I adore. I enjoy books that are popular and books that are not.

Follow me on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Mickimillerwriter/

Twitter https://twitter.com/millermwriter

The Darkest Sum

The embodiment of the world’s evil has but a single fear, one homeless girl.

Twenty-two year old Liz Linden and her nineteen year old brother, Jacob, have lived in the storm drains that run under Las Vegas for almost one year. There are many others living in the makeshift camps. She does her best to make their concrete camp into a home until she can save enough money to get them out of the tunnels and into an apartment.

Of late, her wish to get out has become desperate, as she’s come to realize something else is down there-the offspring of malice and hypocrisy. It lives, it grows, and if not stopped, it will fully exist. It is the total of mankind’s evils-The Darkest Sum.

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