I'm always a bit amazed when I finished an article or a story...especially when it turns out to be what I consider a "good one." I know I've done my work but since the work takes place over a period of time and I enjoy it so much...it surprises me that such a tiny seed/idea developed into a well-rounded story/plant. I started thinking about how my developing a story is a lot like a farmer growing a plant. The process for me is very similar.

I think that for me the first step of "growing" a story can be the hardest one at times. An idea can be fleeting...here one moment and gone the next, like a thief in the night. Sometimes it appears out of nowhere in the wee hours of the morning or it can show up while I am on a crowded city bus. It can be so simple the rough draft writes itself and I wonder where it came from or it might have kept growing from a thought or a word until it became profound. As a writer, I found I have to be ready to get it down on paper.

From that tiny seed/ idea to the finished project can be a long process...or at least for some of us writers it is. A strong story just like a strong plant takes time and work to develop.

Preparing the Ground

An idea like a seed has to be planted in fertile ground. The farmer plows and disks the ground preparing the soil for optimal growth while I ponder my idea. I sit thinking about what age group I want to write for, my plot, what my main characters will be like, or what characteristics they will have. My fertile ground is limited only by the scope and size of my imagination. I go to the library and read what children's books are there. I do everything I can to use this time wisely.

Nurturing Growth

As the tiny seed pops through the ground and reaches for the sun...the farmer begins tilling his soil, cultivating his plants so that they reach their maximum potential. For me as a writer, this stage in the process is where I begin to flesh out my basic story. I tweak my plot. I pull the unnecessary "weeds/words" As my grandpa who could grow anything would say, "Child, it's a time for getting your ducks all in a row."

Like the farmer who goes down his rows and makes sure that his plants are upright and supported by pulling dirt up around them, I use this stage of the process to do a first read and add things like transitional sentences or makes changes to a sentence structure. I ask myself questions like:

• Does my story make sense?
• Is the order of my sentences/paragraphs a logical one?
• Does it need something more to make it clearer?
• Is a certain sentence necessary at all?
• Does it advance the plot?
• Have I used the same verb over and over?
• Are there places where I can use a more active verb?

Like a farmer fertilizing his crops to make them grow...a writer must be willing to let their story grow. I must provide details to my story to make sure that the outcome I have planned for my story happens. Those details are what brings the story I have in my head to life for my reader.

Tending and Weeding

Revisions for the writer can be likened to a farmer checking on his crop after a few weeks of growth. The farmer corrects what is wrong with the crop....maybe he replants seeds in the bare spots. He checks to see if his plant needs water or more fertilizer or more hoeing, etc. As a writer, I might put down my work and let it sit. Then after a period, I look over my story a second time with fresh eyes or I might ask my critique group to take a look at it. For those who don't have a critique there as website they can check out. Whatever the changes I make, I use this revision time as a time to perfect my work.

The actual ripening time of a plant may seen to a casual observer to be a quiet time but it is not. This period is when the farmer begins to prepare for the harvest. For me as a writer, this stage in the process is a time where I can decide where I want their work to go. I might write a cover or query letter, etc. or I might do research on the publisher I want to send my work to for consideration.

This can also be a time to look ahead to the next season of planting/writing. Farmers often take out their seed catalogs and mull over what seeds they want to use in what fields. I might pull out the next project I am thinking about.

Harvest

Harvest for the farmer comes when all plants are gathered and processed... for food, for their stock or for other humans consumption. In a writer's case, my harvest is the fact that my story is done. Now is the time when I sent out my work and wait for the replies. During the waiting process, the new cycle begins again. A new idea is conceived and I am off "growing" my next story.

Return to Work Habits

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