If you are new to the writing world, you might have heard the term “Writing Process” tossed around. The writing process is a personal choice for every writer. It can vary from book to book or genre to genre. It depends on the writer. Developing your writing process takes time and will come naturally the more you write. Or maybe you already have it.

I interviewed several authors in different genres about their writing process. Here’s what they had to say.

The interviews below have been slightly edited for a more comprehensive read.

Michael Bronte – Homicide, Party of Twelve – Genre: Suspense/Thriller

For me, it starts with a story idea, which I get from many places: from friends, my kids, the news, [and] daydreaming in church—the story ideas literally come to me out of the blue sometimes. The idea also has to reflect the ending. If I don’t have the ending in mind, I don’t start writing until I do. Otherwise, the writing will [be] directionless, and you have to have direction in order to devise the scene-and-sequel chain of events that make the story coherent.

Once I have the ending in mind, I conceive the geographic setting, the characters’ names (I find that conceiving the names helps me to build the personalities and qualities of the characters), and then finally the plot which is aimed at the end I already have in mind.

From there I proceed to write the first scene and continue with the scene-and-sequel process (if you don’t know what that is, don’t start writing; do your research).

Every scene, every sequel, every line of dialogue, every turn of the plot has to come together at the end of the book. It’s like a big funnel where all the action, incidents, and dialogue all come together at the bottom of the funnel at the end with all questions resolved. Read more>>

Jessica Anne Renwick – Harvest Wishes – Genre: Sweet Romance

I write with ambient noise in my headphones. Sometimes it’s nature sounds, sometimes it’s other settings. For the Starlight Inn books, I like to use one that has cozy kitchen noises.

I only draft one book at a time, but I may be working on edits of another book at the same time. Read more>>

K.J. Gillenwater – Illegal – Genre: Romantic Suspense

I started out as a full-on pantster. I plotted nothing. I started with an idea for a book, an opening scene and knowing where I wanted to end things. The rest was up to me to figure out along the way. This resulted in a long, painful writing process, and I’d get stalled out…sometimes for months. I think it took me two years to write The Ninth Curse from beginning to end, including the edits.

Then, I went on a writers’ cruise several years ago, just as I was getting back into writing again. The speaker said this: if you are a pantster, you will eventually become a plotter. Read more>>

Holly Tierney-Bedord – The Woman America Loves a Latte – Genre: Women’s Fiction

Starting with an outline doesn’t work very well for me because it feels like one degree away from writing a research paper. For me, writing a book or story is like starting a journey with no itinerary. If I’m going to keep on that journey, it needs to be fun and surprising. Since I often have very little idea where a story is going, I look forward to getting back to a work in progress the same way I look forward to catching up on some TV show I’ve DVR’d.

My books start with a character and a setting. It’s often some intriguing woman who’s in the midst of a personal crisis. Sometimes she’s likable, other times she isn’t, but she’s always up to something that makes me want to know more about her. I’m interested in people and relationships. While I usually have little or no idea about the plot when I start writing, the mood or “voice” of the story or novel is already there. Read more>>

Gillian Felix – The Family Portrait Series – Genre: Drama/New Adult

I schedule a writing session with myself, that way my mind gets prepared to write at a specific time. My writing sessions can be intense at times so I need downtime to recharge and engage with real life. Since I write about characters with real issues and attitudes I quietly observe people in the real world.

Sometimes I plan and plot using notebooks and cue cards then let the story unfold. Read more>>