I love learning about other people's processes. I love the podcast How I Built This, I love learning about new organizational design practices, I love learning how people approach their career paths. I am, at heart, a lifelong learner.

It should come as no surprise, then, that I love learning about other writers’ processes. I enjoy a good talk on plotting and idea generation and the mechanics of writing, and certainly those things are helpful. Equally helpful is simply to read, and to read critically. How do your favorite authors construct the narrative? How and when do they reveal the inciting incident, develop their characters, balance description and dialog?

But what I really love to learn is the how. Everything from how and when do writers write, to whether they are plotters or pantsers, to what their editing process is. I think it's fascinating to see behind the curtain of the work of a writer. In case you, too, love that insider view, I thought I would share a bit about my process these days.

I am nearly to the end of my second full edit of my WIP, a cozy mystery that I’m super excited about. It’s the first book I’ve plotted all the way through, which means both the writing and the editing process have been different. Normally I will have an idea, spend some time fleshing it out a bit in a notebook, and then hand draft it on legal pads, periodically stopping to transfer those pages into my laptop. This has always been my process. And, inevitably, this process was followed by endless read throughs and revisions.

But as I started this mystery I knew I had to do something different. I couldn’t just wing it and see where things went if I wanted a successful narrative. Plus, to be honest, I just wanted to try plotting something to see if I could do it. I fully plotted – first on paper, then on index cards, then on the computer – and then for the first time drafted on the computer as well. I wasn’t sure how it would go. And sure, there were times where it felt less than creative. But, I’m sorry to tell you, plotting works. Tragedy, I know.

For my last work, I did no fewer than twenty edits. It was multi-pov and dual timeline, so that was part of why it took so many rounds. I edited the draft in full. Then I went through each character’s sections. Then I did all the present day and then all the past. And so on.

This time, while I know there will be far more than two edits, I anticipate far fewer than twenty. Partially, that’s because I’m getting better. And partially, it’s because I worked out so much of the nonsense when doing the plotting. Funny how that works.

My editing process so far:

• First, I read through the entire draft, start to finish, catching as many strange phrases or disconnected plot points as I could. I kept a notebook beside me and wrote down things I needed to come back to. These were added to previous notes of things I knew would need attention.

• Second, I went through those notes and addressed every single one. Things like, “change the name of this location or that character,” “amp up this aspect of this character’s personality,” or, “you said this on page 34 but then you say something different on page 152.”

• Third, I went through my “common” words, those words I overuse to the point of absolute ridiculousness. This time there were some new ones, due to the nature of the content (apparently, my characters are spending a lot of time “wondering” and “threatening.” Also, I use the word “apparently” a lot.). But then there are the usual culprits. “Just.” “Well.” So.” That.” And yes, I did use “that” 758 times and “so” 258” times.

• Fourth is the stage I’m in now. Once again, I’m reading through the whole thing, out loud, this time, which provides a new perspective. As I’ve done this, I’ve added in a chapter (because, even when you plot, you have to stay open to needed plot changes) which requires a couple of edits in other places. But mostly I’m working to tighten up the language and see if the plot hangs together.

• Fifth, I will send it out to beta readers for feedback. I also have a professional coach I’ve used previously who I likely will employ again to provide feedback on the opening pages. I may also use the services of The Manuscript Academy critiques.

I’m sure there will be a couple more rounds after all that, and then hopefully I’ll be ready to send it out and see what happens.

And if that sounds exhausting and like a lot of work, it is. But it’s also all part of the process. I’ll be the first to admit that I hate editing. But if you’re going to be a writer, you can’t only be happy when you have written. You have to develop a critical eye and welcome in the tough feedback, too, and be willing to get back to work to make it better. If you want to create something, build something, change something, you have to be a relentless learner.