We all have our ways of writing. Some write on a computer. Some write on paper. Some write in a journal. Some write on post-it notes. We each have our own unique way of doing things.

When we do sit down to write do we allow ourselves to get into the moment to really take off like a freight train and everything flows smoothly out or are we trying to force something that may not be right for what is being written, especially writing a book. So far I’m the latter. If I’m feeling the story I’m writing it seems to flow out of me like a train moving quickly down the tracks. When my train decides to stop, or for that matter derails, I end up stopping.

The first draft of the book I’m writing took a very long time before I could get past chapter 3. But then I figured out what works best for me. And that is an outline, or better known as being a plotter. It took me a week to come up with a detailed outline for the story. When I was through with the outline the words flowed effortlessly onto the page. It was so exciting and energizing. And what was great about this first draft is that I learned so much about writing fiction which will help me to make the story that much better.

Then this past January I realized the first draft just wasn’t right. I went back to the drawing board and came up with a brand-new outline, again taking about a week. The ideas that flowed out of me were awesome. The changes in the story were even more clear than before. I couldn’t believe how much better. So far I’ve added three new scenes and have rewritten some of the scenes at the beginning. I know this story will be so good when its done because of the story itself. I’m simply taking what I feel God wants me to write about and I know He will take it from there. Just like He will with Mari’s story.