stack of books and open notebook. Label: Quotation

Quotation: On the Writing Process


Head shot: Catherine Ryan Howard

“writing a book is still bloody hard work. I usually start by letting an idea percolate and take shape in my brain, which looks a lot like re-watching things on Netflix and shopping for stationery. Then I superfluously color-code an Excel spreadsheet and use it to plot out the major twists, turns and reveals. Then I start writing, starting slow but speeding up as I go. I almost always write three drafts, and each draft is like a brand-new book—I say I have to write three books for every one. For the first and second drafts I’ll start with a blank document and start typing from scratch but when it comes to the third I’ll go into the existing document and make changes. Then there’s usually a polish after that, draft 3.5. The whole thing takes approximately 12 months from beginning to end, but I do a lot of my percolating while I’m putting the finishing touches like copyedits or checking page proofs, to the previous book.”

Catherine Ryan Howard

3 thoughts on “Quotation: On the Writing Process”

    1. Mary Daniels Brown

      Me too, Liz. Even though I don’t write fiction, I have had the experience of writing in flow happen to me, and it’s truly amazing!

Comments are closed.

Discover more from Notes in the Margin

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading

Scroll to Top