My Writing Routine
1. Maps Before I start writing a novel, I sketch out the rough outline onto my laptop. This is usually no more than a few (grammatically incorrect) paragraphs with haphazard punctuation. Just enough to give me the brief story, together with a few (hazy) character outlines. This is my map to show me where I start and where I will end up. This is maybe nothing more distinct than 'they escape on a spaceship as a thousand volcanoes explode'. I will figure out the rest later during the writing and editing phases. 2. The First Draft This is where I turn the dream into reality. I type the words as quickly as possible and write for about an hour a day. In a single sitting I spit out 300-1000 words. After 3-4 months I have finished a novel that is somewhere between 40,000 and 60,000 words in length. Now it’s time to kick back and relax, right? Wrong. I f you want to check out my novel - Jack Strong and the Red Giant - about a 12 ...
