The Breakdown: Process-first

Why process is so important

Hey, Runners!

When I described the Running of the WIPs, I called it a “process-first, writer-focused, communitycore, guided writing challenge.”

Let’s address all of those things as we start our warm up discussions, starting with “process-first.”

What is process-first?

As writers, we think about the final product—our amazing story—and then we start writing, and most of our attention goes to making the work as good as it can be.

What we don’t think about much is how we do the work itself. We just demand that we sit down and write the Next Great Whatever, and we don’t think enough about the ways in which how we choose to do that may be damaging to us.

Yeah, that side-eye is aimed at you, BICHOK¹.

So in my workshops and in this challenge, I put a great emphasis on each writer building a bespoke² process that works for, and is kind to, them.

Question: What are your favorite, most go-to, writing processes?

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I like to help writers build processes that work for them in a way that encourages their happiness and creativity, so this guided writing challenge will focus on building a process that works well for you.

Up next, we’ll chat about what I mean by “writer-focused.” In the meantime, please answer today’s question in the comments. When I explain “community core” you’ll see why that’s so important.

More soon!

1. Butt In Chair, Hands On Keyboard. If you like this process, no shade. But I think that there may be better ways to think about this that don’t presume a writer whose butt is not in the chair and whose hands are not on the keyboard somehow lacks discipline. We’ll be unpacking this later.

2. Meaning “individual to you,” but I love that word, thanks to hearing Kevin McCloud say it a thousand times on Grand Designs.