The thing about writing and how I do it: It changes, depending on what I happen to be doing, and where I am in my life at the time. I’ve written about my writing process before and I should preface this with how it’s probably going to change, again, once I have more or less time. In writing my new book Better At Weddings Than You, here’s what I did:
- I outlined. I’m a fan of this method, because it keeps me focused! Sitting down to plan out a story’s major events doesn’t just give me a guide to help me write, but it solves many of the problems I’d encounter before I start.
- I researched. Often I approach a story with a perspective I’m familiar with, but I also challenge myself to write about things that are interesting but not necessarily in my life. So this requires research, meeting real people who do whatever it is, visiting certain places.
- I set a schedule and target word count. As I was writing this book, I was also involved in more reader community events that had to be scheduled on a weekend—which meant I couldn’t write on weekends anymore. So I adjusted my schedule and tried to set aside an hour every weekday, and when I did write, I sprinted. 1,000 words if I could. I wasn’t always successful, but the days when I did made up for it!
- I wrote everything, even when it looked meh, and edited later. When stuck, I trained myself to just write whatever was coming to me, even if I didn’t like how it looked on the page. I know by now that I can’t expect consistently good stuff on a strict schedule—writing for me is warming up, and sometimes writing a bunch of crap first. Editing will and has fixed it later.
- I promised myself I’d celebrate. Reaching “The End” is tough, so I motivate myself with treats. It also helps me determine an actual end, otherwise I’ll be putting it off and revising for too long.
Book description
Daphne Cardenas is the best wedding planner around, and everyone knows it. That’s why her friend Greg hired her as an emergency replacement one month before his wedding—because he fears his fiancée Helen is falling for the guy they first hired for the job.
Aaron Trinidad is new to the wedding industry but years of conference planning and loads of charm make him good at it. Really good at it. Planning the wedding of his friend Helen should be easy, and it is. To be unceremoniously fired isn’t good for his new career, but the chance to learn from the best might be the silver lining.
Aaron and Daphne have chemistry, but there’s history with Helen that at least one other person considers a threat. Who’s the planner who can fix this impending disaster?
(Part of the Chic Manila series, but can be read as a standalone.)
AUTHOR BIO
Mina V. Esguerra writes contemporary romance and young adult novellas. She has a bachelor’s degree in Communication and a master’s degree in Development Communication, put to good use in her work as trainer and content management consultant. Mina lives in Metro Manila, Philippines, with her husband and daughter.
She finds inspiration in the lives and experiences of other people, so the answer to “Is this story based on you?” is always, always “No.”
AUTHOR LINKS
minavesguerra.com
twitter.com/minavesguerra
facebook.com/minavesguerra
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3014313.Mina_V_Esguerra
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