How to Write Your Story the Wrong Way and Get It Right—Flow Over Process

First and foremost, I want you to understand that there is no right or wrong way to write your story. Despite what experts say, it's hard to make what works for one writer work for every writer. So, in my case, when I say the wrong way, what I mean is not how I had planned to do it. Now that I cleared the air, let's see what I did and why that helped me when I was stuck.

For this to make sense, here's what my writing process looks like, step by step:

1. I have an idea for a scene, a theme or a character and based on that, I write an outline for a story.

2. I develop the original outline by adding more details: characters, side stories, and plot twists. This is where I create an expanded outline chapter by chapter. When I’m done with this, I end up with roughly forty chapters (where each chapter is a scene)

3. Based on this detailed outline, I write the first draft of my work in progress.

It sounds like an easy, clean process when I say it like that. Remember that if you do it differently and you’re happy with your process, that’s the right way for you and don’t let anyone else convince you that you’re doing it wrong.

Anyway, it may sound straightforward, but it’s not, because creative processes hate following the rules. At the moment, I’m writing a paranormal thriller called Ghost in the Attic and I got stuck at the end of step 1. I mean, I know roughly how the story ends, because all my stories have happy endings, therefore, the good will eventually defeat the evil.

The devil is in the details — and at this moment, I feel like I don’t have all the details. Because I tried sticking to my rules, and do it the right way, nothing works like I wanted it to.

So today I tried a new approach. Sometimes bending the rules it’s what it takes to fix a problem. I jumped straight to phase two — the expanded outline. This is where I write a one or two paragraphs summary for each chapter/scene. That’s because I usually write one scene per chapter, but you do you.

As I’m developing the story one scene at a time, I feel like I’m making progress. I’m feeling the drama and I understand my main character’s fears. The more I connect to the story by raising the stakes and throwing obstacles in her path, the easier it is to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

So far, I outline the first seven chapters of my story. It’s not much, but if this is enough to give me clarity, imagine how much easier it will be to write the resolution by the time I pinpointed everything else that needs to happen in my story.

And let’s not forget about progress. Today, after a long time, I’ve made progress. Maybe not in the way I originally intended, but it’s still progressing. So if you’re stuck at a random step of your WIP, regardless of your creative process, skip that step. Try new things. Writing is not one size fits all endeavour. I’m not saying that starting today, I’ll change my process. I have written seven books, so this process has served me well. But right now, I needed to improvise.

I guess I needed to know my characters better to give them a satisfactory resolution. So if you take one thing from my story, let it be that: don’t let your own rules restrict your creativity. Be flexible and let your process evolve to serve your needs.

No matter your process, do what you need to escape a block. If you’re stuck on a scene, write out of order. Jump into the next scene, or write something you already know how it’s going to go down. Sometimes, writing what you know puts your characters in situations where they reveal more about themselves. Once you get to know them better, it becomes easier to write their stories. Just go with the flow!

This blog post was originally posted on Medium, where I publish articles frequently. Check out my profile to read more writing tips.