- Mine
- Smelt
- Forge
- Polish
Mining; All about writing down all of your ideas. Its a brainstorming session where you should let words flow through you without any judgement. Just write it all down. Everything. Say the same thing in two different ways if you have to. Don’t stop the flow, don’t worry about grammatical errors, and don’t think about the structure. Just write all of it.
Smelting; All about identifying the good ideas and discarding the bad ideas. Keep a micro view by reviewing sentences independently. Build and improve the ideas that enhance your story and move it forward. Let go of the ideas that are unnecessary or too confusing/complex (this can sometimes be difficult). Still, don’t worry about grammar or structure of paragraphs too much.
Forging; All about structure. Rearrange sentences and even paragraphs with the greater picture (macro) in mind. Make sure its structured so that it flows and the reader can easily understand. This is where you develop patterns and write call backs. Continue to build on the good ideas and discard the bad. Still don’t worry about grammar.
Polishing; All about the final product. This is where you care about grammar. This is where you proofread your work. Tweak your piece until its flawless. This step is tedious but absolutely necessary to make your work shine.
