The Writing Journey

This is a crude (and obviously tongue-in-cheek, for the sense-of-humor-impaired) look at the process of getting a story out of my head and onto an unsuspecting Word document.

It all starts with the idea. Sometimes these ideas come out of nowhere, usually at an inopportune moment. Such as, say, while I'm driving.
Other drivers are not generally appreciative of my sudden fits of genius...
After exchanging insurance information with everyone else on the road, I get home and begin the first step: Outlining.
With that step out of the way, now begins the writing.
And the writing continues.
...and sometimes it stalls.
But eventually it picks up again in spite of waning morale and increasing distraction...
...and eventually, the first draft is DONE:
But of course, the WORK isn't done. Oh, no. The writing is over, but the revising has yet to begin. And this pretty much sums up revising in a nutshell:
Once that delightful task is complete, the book is sent off to beta readers to be scrutinized, mutilated, torn to shreds, and beaten with sticks.

And I wait.
At long last, when my nails are chewed down to the stumps and I've sharpened every pencil within a 100-mile radius, the comments come back from betas. Some of them are funny, some are glowing compliments. Some beta readers provide a delightful mix of encouragement and constructive criticism.

Like, for example, Libbie:
Others, well...
With beta comments in hand, I do another round of revisions.
And at long last, I have my finished product, ready to be sent off to parts unknown in hopes of contracts, legions of fans, and a film version starring Jared Leto:
Next installment: The Publication Journey.