Writing, Drafting, Revising.
It’s not like I hadn’t written anything before. I’d spent the bulk of my business career crafting all sorts of non-fiction pieces, including features and cover stories for LoneStarMusic magazine. My method was straightforward: do the research, conduct interviews, assemble my notes, and dive in. By the time I typed the last word, the piece was mostly done. A quick tweak after a day or two, and it was ready to publish.
But with fiction writing… things didn’t go that way at all. When I sat down to write “Woods and Wings,” I expected a minor variation of my usual method. Spoiler alert: I was wrong.
Here’s how my non-fiction writing process stacked up against my fiction writing journey:
| MWD NON-FICTION | MWD FICTION |
| Prep: Research, take notes, conduct interviews | Prep: Wander around in a daze, and maybe outline |
| Assemble the pieces: Organize notes and plan the structure | Definitely outline: Realize an outline is essential for a work this big (for me) |
| Write the thing: Draft the article | Drafting: Write the first draft |
| Review and tweak: Make minor edits | Revisions: Tweak the draft |
| Publish: Send it out to the world | Alpha Editor: My wife is my ideal reader, and her feedback is critical |
| Revising some more: Tweak from Alpha Editor feedback | |
| Developmental Edit: Get professional feedback on the big picture | |
| More Revisions: Implement changes | |
| Beta Readers feedback: Gather insight from early readers | |
| Even More Revisions: Implement the beta reader feedback that struck a chord | |
| More Beta Reader feedback: See how the latest revisions landed with new Beta readers | |
| Still More Revisions: Implement this round of valuable Beta Reader feedback | |
| Copy Editing: Professional pass to polish grammar, style, and consistency | |
| Revisions Again: Make final adjustments | |
| Line Edit/Alpha Editor, Round II: Ideal reader’s take | |
| Revisions, Revisions: Applying feedback | |
| Proofreading: Catch any lingering errors | |
| Final Revisions: Make sure everything is just right | |
| Review the printed proof: See it in physical form | |
| Publish: At long last, release it to readers |
Looking at that extensive process might make you cringe. If someone had shown me this list before I started, I would have closed my laptop, said “no thanks,” and fired up another game of Civilization instead.
Surprisingly, I found that I loved the revisions. Around my eighth round, I stumbled upon a little trick. I’d print out the chapter I wanted to work on, grab my red pen, and start marking up anything I wanted to change—crossing out words, sentences, even entire paragraphs. Once I reached the end, I’d flip back to the first page and do it again. By the third pass, I discovered that the real quality revisions happened. The first two times, I was focused on the details—the trees. On the third pass, I saw the whole forest.
It may sound excruciating, but it was my favorite part of the entire writing process. And I am confident the book is better for it.
Comparing the initial draft to the version hitting bookstores soon is like looking at the raw ingredients of a Beef Wellington versus the work of art you pull out of the oven. The transformation is astounding.
As I gear up for the release of “Woods and Wings,” I’m already hard at work on Book Two of the series—smack dab in the middle of that early drafting stage and actually looking forward to the endless revisions to come.
