Doing Things Your Way - The Creative Process

DOING THINGS YOUR WAY

I have been writing seriously since I was 19. I didn't grow up wanting to be a writer or author. My dreams were set on medicine and being a doctor. That, obviously, did not work out, and while I've always enjoyed writing and telling stories, I felt the pull back to it when faced with that fact that I would never be able to work a conventional job again. I don't say this to get pity or sympathy. I've always been pretty open about my chronic illnesses and disabilities, but I give you this opening because I find, way too often, that people assume disabled/chronically ill equalling that we have nothing to offer anyone, and that is so far from the truth it's almost funny.

One big thing about disabled people is that we adapt, usually quicker than a non-disabled person. I have been writing for 25 years, and publishing for 21 years. I may not have done either of those in the more conventional routes, but it's okay to do things your way. It's okay to take your time, it's okay to query, it's okay not to. There is no one set way to be an author, and it is completely fine, and valid, to do it differently than someone else.

Before I got myself adapted to the new keyboards and such after the sepsis, I thought about other ways of both writing and publishing. I've tried doing dictation before, and I know for a lot of people it's amazing, but for me, it did not work. I found it hard to speak the story aloud, and even more so found that having to go through and edit and add punctuation just drove me up the wall. I did, have a few people commenting about using AI. My answer there and it's the same now is no, never, not happening, and ew! I know plenty of disabled people, writers or otherwise, who feel the same way.

I knew, and know, that at my core I am and always will be a writer and author. I was terrified what would happen to my mental health if I couldn't do this any more, but I found a way. It might not be the way things were before, it might get back to that (though I seriously doubt it!), but if it doesn't, that's okay too. You have to find your way of doing things, and no one, absolutely no one, should tell you that you have to do this a certain way.

At the end of the day it feels like there are millions of ways to plot, to draft, to revise, to edit, to publish. Some will work for some writers, others will not, and that is okay. We all create differently. Our brains work differently. Doing things your particular way, that's not you doing it wrong, it's you finding what works for you, and your process. The only time I'd suggest a change would be if it was making it harder, or making you ill, or even just not working any more. 

We've all gotta find ways that work for us specifically. If it takes you a whole lot of trial and error, that's fine. If it ends up being a way that is held together with glue because you've taken this snippet from one way and this one from another, still fine. You gotta do this your way. Good luck, because the world needs your stories.  

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My Current WIP: August 2026 [CC]

Giving you the details of what I'm working on right now! #Authortube

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How I Edit Revisited - The After Process

HOW I EDIT REVISITED

When I first put this piece on my list, it was something I'd come to when I was in the midst of edits. I could have put it off until such time, but I feel like even with me maybe having to adapt and change the way I do edits alongside other projects, I doubt that my editing approach itself will massively change. I might end up needing longer to complete things, but I have spent a lot of time honing down what I want to do when approaching edits, and I'd like to, if possible, continue to do that!

For those who know, skip this paragraph. My issue right now is that follow sepsis in Oct 2025, where I literally almost died, I lost feeling and the majority of use of my right hand and arm (which had, up until then, been my dominant side). I ended up taking eight months off to recover, and also had to buy whole new keyboards and such for work because my old ones would not work with the way my hand is now. That's why editing and such might still change after this, because I obviously did not have any editing to do and won't until December at the earliest. Now back to the rest!

Editing has always been something that stresses me out! My anxiety goes through the roof, my stomach is all flopping over every time I get an email, more so if I know it's from my editor. I do wanna make it clear NONE of the editors I've used ever have caused this reaction, anxiety gonna anxiety basically. In the last three or four years (I forget to be honest) my way of editing has changed because the editor I use has changed, and his approach to editing, to be specific, developmental editing, is quite different to what I've had before. Namely he does both edit letters, and when necessary, chapter notes within them, for each quarter of the book.

The first time I worked with him, I had no clue whatsoever how I was going to make the changes and also not freak out that I was doing it wrong. He'd always been clear that if I had questions or needed clarification, or for him to check over a corrected portion and offer advice, then I was very much free, and encouraged to reach out to him. I did use this a few times, but I think it was on the second book we worked on.

My approach, I decided, was to basically take it like revisions, and sensitivity reader corrections. Go through it several times, and make sure that I've got a line on what I need to be doing. I know, and make sure I keep telling myself this, that the next stage, line edits, my editor there will happily point out plot issues if she comes across them, so there is a second line of defence if I do a seriously terrible job!

This is how I break it all down:

NOVEMBER: Send off manuscript, and as each edit letter comes through, read it carefully, even more than once, to get those ideas brewing, and also allow you to think about what might or might not work. DO NOT make changes. For me starting to make those changes when I get that first edit letter will make it harder for me in the second quarter if the issues needing solving have been made massively worse by the changes I made. I just want to have the whole picture so I can accurately doing things.

DECEMBER: Start making changes. Do it in 2 chapter chunks, it taking however long it takes, and making sure I reference the appropriate letter while doing so. I also make sure to read over both chapters again after I've made those changes just to make sure I'm happy with it. This is what I call my first pass.

JANUARY: Usually done with first pass, so now it's time to do the second and third. I will go through in five chapter chunks, again referencing the relevant edit letter, make changes where needed and just make doubly sure this is what I want. I do this twice, and then at the end, I call myself done for dev edits!

I know that everyone has their own way of doing editing, but this is what works for me, and I've found that it allows me time to sit, to turn over ideas, and to get things done my way. However you approach editing, I hope it goes well for you! 

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Life Of Joey - August 2026 [CC]

Letting you know what I got up to during my second month back to work! #Authortube

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Leaning Into The Good

LEANING INTO THE GOOD

Last week, I talked about not accepting the bad when it comes to being shut out or excluded from the writing community as a whole (piece found here). My experience was not the best, and it was, I feel, based very much on being a disabled and chronically ill author, as well as someone who wasn't getting their start in being an author right in the times of social media. Yes, I am an old, and today is actually my 21st Authorversary, which is wild to me to be honest. I feel like the 20th was only a few months ago, but given what happened shortly after that milestone, I can somewhat understand why my brain is stuck thinking we're either at the end of 2025 still, or only just at the start of 2026!

With that behind me, I wanted to focus on the fact that with social media, and with the ability to connect with both disabled and chronically ill indie and trad authors a whole lot easier, that it's okay to lean into that fact. I don't mean that you should only talk to and/or make community with other authors who are disabled and/or chronically ill, and should exclude all others. I just want to be clear there. You have to find the space and community that is best for you, and that's okay.

We all know that writing can be isolated. In the lockdowns, things like livestreams, at least on Authortube, skyrocketed, and with it came this idea that we don't have to stay locked in our offices and not see or talk with other writers. We could, easily in some cases, create and foster that community, and I love that. I love it for writers from all walks of life because having that community around you is such an important and validating thing. It's the people who will join your inner circle and make sure you know you can ask and talk about all things writer and author, whether that be those in the query trenches or those who are planning to go indie. I love that, it's just freaking amazing!

Like I said in last week's post, I didn't have that when I was debuting in 2005. I was one disabled and chronically ill writer, who just wanted to have at least one book to my name if nothing else. Had things like KDP and ebooks and the like not opened up the indie path even more, I doubt I would have been in the position to publish a second book, never mind the rest! I had support from friends sure, but they were not looking to publish, and that, for me at the time, made the whole thing both scary and exhilarating all at the same time.

So if you are now thinking about wanting to find that community, then yes, go for it! There is no shame in needing to find your people, and you don't have to click with everyone, but I urge you to keep trying, to keep putting yourself out there. Sometimes you are the one finding the people, and other times, they find you, and it's always a beautiful and amazing thing!

I found a lot of my community during the lockdowns, and even some before that. I feel like the connection we all have has opened us all up to bringing others in as well. Writing doesn't have to be an isolated thing, you're allowed to embrace the people in the writing and author space that you click with, even if you write wildly different genres and ages. That's the beauty of both writing and the community as a whole, we vibe with who we vibe and ain't nothing wrong with that!

Put yourself out there, and keep going, you got this! 

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Why I Write [CC]

Talking about why I write and what keeps me going! #Authortube

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Not Accepting The Bad

NOT ACCEPTING THE BAD

I, as an author, as a writer, have known a lot of bad. Whether that's recently in my career, or not. Whether that's tied to writing and publishing, or not. Whether that's because of disability and chronic illness, or not. I also know I am not the only one. I am also have privilege as a white woman. I can kinda imagine the faces some people will make reading this, like what does this have to do with writing, with advice, with being the author you are? It's a part of the author life. It's something most people, at some point, experience. The big factor that helps isn't necessarily people on the outside calling it out or the like, it's the community you have found, and keep close.  

When I first started planning this piece, I think my focus was very much on community, but at the same time, I can't be completely sure because my memories of that time are hazy and such because of how unwell I was. I have always known though that writing can be very isolating, as a profession, it's rarely something that comes with an office where you, and writers like you, clock in every morning and out every evening. There is very much a community online, but even then it takes time to find the one you fit into most.

I was 19 when I was retired from the working world for medical issues. I was told I would never be able to work a conventional job again. I turned to writing, but back then (it was 2001, yes I am an old) there weren't really writing communities. There wasn't any kind of social media, and so I never really had that sense of community, and even later, when social media became a thing, I was pretty much shut out of a lot of the, because I didn't meet their standards, or being disabled and therefore not able to attend everything every single time because I was sick and/or in hospital, got me kicked out. It happened enough that I basically accepted that community like that was for 'other people'.

Even with me being on things like Facebook, or Twitter, or even Instagram, and early YouTube days, I didn't have the connection others did. It really didn't happen for me, the finding that community until the COVID days, maybe a couple of years before. It felt like during those early days with lockdowns and such, my world opened up. I found people both in the UK, and further afield. People who were disabled and/or chronically ill, and it was just eye opening to see what had been blocked from me for so long. 

Writing does not have to be an isolated experience. I don't mean that you have to like start a YouTube channel, or anything else like that, but you can find people in all the places all the other people exist in. Threads, now that I've left Twitter and will never go back, has been great for me finding other authors and writers who are also looking for writers to connect with, and you can find the same across most social media platforms.

Back when those groups and such made it clear that I was not welcome and not one of them, I should, maybe, had advocated for myself, should have pointed out the ableism, but I just didn't have the confidence to do so. I didn't have the courage to do so. If it happened now, especially to someone I care about? Oh you bet I would be spitting nails and making sure they knew what they were doing was not okay. Sometimes you have the tools to fight your corner, sometimes you don't, but even if you don't, you don't have to give up. You don't have to accept the bad. You breathe, you give yourself a moment, and then you keep going.

You got this! 

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Tips & Tricks: Work/Life Balance [CC]

Giving some tips and tricks for finding your work/life balance! #Authortube

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The Trials Of A Crime Writer: Percolating Ideas

THE TRIALS OF A CRIME WRITER: PERCOLATING IDEAS

I've had a lot of time to think during the eight months I was off work following sepsis that almost killed me, and even then left me with some not so nice affect effects. While in hospital, though to be clear, I only have very vague memories of the last three days of my stay, and nothing of the ten days before that. But anyway, what I was able to spend my time, when I wasn't sleeping or the like, was percolating a whole bunch of ideas.

For those who don't know I took time away from drafting in the middle of 2024 to try and revisit other first drafts that I knew would need more work before we got to the editing cycle. It really helped me get those books into shape, but also allowed some of those ideas I'd had at other times to sprout up and go where they needed to. 

I didn't, at that time, have the ability to type, and because of everything that happened during the hospital stay, I wasn't yet at a point where I could be understood with voice notes. So all I was left with was hoping I remembered them when I got to a point where I could type them out. However, I will say that because they both completely gripped my thoughts, I did remember them fully, I had also, because I'd just let them ruminate around in the back of my mind, developed them to a point where I could probably have started drafting even without doing the minimal plan I usually do with drafting!

Being a writer, being an author, it's such a core part of myself. I know I've written a variety of genres, but I got my start in thriller/crime/mystery, and I adore that both of these new ideas fall into that genre. Crime writing has always interested me, but at the same time, I have always gone where the ideas take me. It feels fitting though that for my 49th and 50th books, I will, once again, be dipping back into where I started. I'd say it feels like coming full circle, but that, to me at least, sounds like I'm saying these will be the last new books I plan to write, and I don't think that's true.

I don't yet know when I will be able to get into drafting again. I'm hoping that next year, I will be in a place where I can, somewhat, juggling drafting with revision, but I just don't know at this point. Sometimes we have to put things off, and pick them up when we're able, and that's okay, that's both part of being a writer, an author, and also part of being chronically ill and disabled. 

I know I want to tell these stories, and so I will continue to feed them, to allow them to grow, to percolate them at the back of my mind, and wait for the time when they can be brought into the light and are able to fully exist, but until then, it helps me to know they are just there ready for me when I need them. 

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44 Facts About Disabilty & Writing [CC]

Giving you 44 facts about writing and disability! #Authortube

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