So recently I've begun work on an original fiction novel, completely unrelated to Two Worlds. I am mostly doing this to take a break from fanfiction for a bit and also to give me experience in writing original stuff.

I am approaching this story much like how I approach my fanfiction; that is, I plan out little-to-nothing and work with what little I have. Thus far it has worked out well for me. I find it much easier to write with little information at first than with tons, like all of my (rather unnecessary) worldbuilding notes for TW.

That seems to be how I write original stuff. I need as little information as possible about the world and characters I am writing about. Then I use the first draft to explore these characters and this world, which of course creates tons of errors at first but hey, no one ever said the first draft was supposed to be perfect. It gives me a rough idea of the characters and what this story is going to be like.

Then, afterward, I take whatever ideas from the first draft that I thought were good and focus on them and expand them in the second draft. Usually by this time I have a good idea of the direction of the story, though I still experiment and will sometimes make drastic changes to the plot and characters if necessary.

And finally, by the third draft I have my ideas firmly down. I am familiar with my characters, world, plot, mysteries and themes in the story. This knowledge allows me to write with confidence, now that I know my story. Of course I still allow room for any changes, but in general the third draft is the final rewrite. All other drafts after this are edited versions of this one.

After I finish the third draft, I put it aside for a while and work on some other things, usually short stories, for a few days or weeks and then return to it for editing. It'll probably go through at least three phases of editing before I consider it publishable (i.e. ready for posting on BZP), but I don't usually make a ton of changes to the story itself during this time unless necessary.

So yeah. That is essentially how my writing process works. It has thus far proved effective for me, however "slow" it may seem.

-TNTOS-