Entry 18 | My Writing Process: Learning from the Greats, but Writing Like Me

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Every writer has a process, but not every writer learns to trust their process. Over the years, I’ve learned that studying great authors is essential — their methods, their discipline, their rhythms — but ultimately, the real magic happens when you tailor those lessons to your own creative instincts. My novellas, within Twisted Tea-Time Tales, come alive because I honor both traditions: the wisdom of literary giants and the uniqueness of my own writing process.

My process always begins with the outline, using the structure worksheet I created specifically for Twisted Tea-Time Tales. This gives my story a skeleton — a clear, intentional framework. Then comes the Vomit Draft, affectionately known as the rough draft. This is where I purge the story from my mind and onto the page without obsessing over diction or grammar. It’s messy, emotional, and freeing — the story in its rawest form. But I must admit, it is the hardest part of my process as it requires me to lower my inhibitions and enter a flow state of unblocked thought. The Refine Draft follows. This is where I return with clearer eyes and start adding flesh to those bones: enriching dialogue, refining pacing, and constantly asking myself, “Are you showing instead of telling?”

Once the structure feels alive, I move into the Tone Draft, my favorite phase. This is where I ensure that the emotional resonance — the atmosphere, the pacing, the sensory cues— matches the intention of the story. This is the draft where a story stops sounding like an android and starts taking on a personality of its own. Finally, I complete Draft Four, the technical cleanse: grammar, spelling, proper names, and clarity. After this, the manuscript meets my beta readers, then my editor, and then — only then — does it head off to publication.

Writing is a journey of layers, of listening to yourself as much as you listen to the craft. And the process you build becomes just as important as the stories you tell.

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Discussion: What part of your creative process do you struggle with the most — and what about it do you really love?