Writing Process

Emily Foxx
Jan 19
2 min read

Hello Romance readers. A new start to the week.

I promised to share my writing process on the last blog. Grab a coffee or another beverage you prefer and discover how I process my writing.

First, a little about my background. I have a learning disability and learn better through visuals. So, reading played a big part in my life. It transformed how I perceive and learn things. I'm proud of how far I have come since I was little. I mean, I wrote nine books. I never thought I would accomplish something like that.

My writing process!

When I first started writing, I knew nothing about the writing process. I just went with the flow, but as I formed my style of writing. I found what works for me.

In my last newsletter, I shared my archive. These are ideas of stories, I had stored away for when I was ready to write them. Some date back to 2017, and as far back as 2015. If you haven't seen the newsletter. See the attached link: https://preview.mailerlite.io/preview/566778/emails/174559016913995184

Once I'm ready to write a story. For example, Hudson's story. I'd written 10k words back in 2017 when writing Deadly Pursuits, where Hudson was a side character. I knew where I wanted to take the story. Since then, the story arc has strengthened. I'm excited to release his story; it's been a long time coming --- as quoted by Taylor Swift on the ERAs Tour (love her, btw).

My steps:

Character profiles — they help show in my writing each character's individuality.
Always learn and read!
Map out a story arc --- see attached: screenshot

Currently, I'm at the stage where I learn and read at the moment. I'm reading: Saved the Cat!
I'll use my last book, Affectionately Yours, as a guide to my writing process.
My next step was to shut off social media and write.
Go back over the story arc. Check my beats!
Next, I write, edit, and rewrite.
Afterwards, I turn this over to my developmental editor. Side note: I'm including Beta readers from now on. So, I can get more eyes on the first draft.
Developmental edit now complete. I have a video chat with my editor. We go over the manuscript, what stands out, etc.
I had to rewrite the entire first chapter of Affectionately Yours. So I went back over my story arc. I was stressed out, how I was going to manage working this out, because it affected the following chapters. I did find a solution, by delving into what makes Evelyn and Bradley tick, and this little change in my thought process, did help transition chapter one and the following chapters.
Once it's sent back to the developmental edit, it goes through several types of edits and rewrites, until the proofread, and then you have your book ready for release 💜📚☕️