As I finalize my book for its upcoming publication, I’ve got no gas left in the tank for one of my usual lengthy posts. Lucky you!

Instead, I’m posting a few pictures to illustrate my writing process. Remember, aspiring writers, there is no right or wrong process. It’s whatever works for you. This is what’s evolved over the years at four-plus books. You may not want to try this at home.

There’s always a lot of talk about “plotters” — people who outline their books — and “pantsers” — people who go by the seat of their pants. My guess is that most writers fall somewhere in between.

I usually start with a lot of notes and other stuff, and some definite ideas about what’s going to happen, but no firm outline. I do it that way because I’ve found writing itself reveals the book to me. A lot of it won’t be clear until I start writing. The writers who are reading this either think this is either crazy-ass bull, or total validation.

Once I’m about 100 pages in and have kind of figured out where things are going, I outline what I’ve done, then continue to outline as I write — not in advance, but get down what I’m doing. I do it on a large whiteboard, and it’s color-coded for POV and some other elements. Why a whiteboard? Because I move things around. A lot.

I’ve also learned to separate the manuscript into scenes, not chapters, since scenes get added, deleted, or moved around, so trying to set it up with chapters would just make it more of a mess as things change.

By the time I’m done with the “first draft,” it looks something like this. The blank right side was for notes on things that had to be addressed, or not to forget about, and changed daily.

The orange lines within the outline are to separate the day and date in the story, so I don’t lose track of that. (BTW, if you don’t want any spoilers and can actually read my scrawl, don’t look too close. Though, as you’ll see, things change anyway.)

I take a photo once I’m at the end in case there’s anything I need to remember. Then, as I prepare to start revising, I erase the whole thing.

My first drafts are quite large — this one was 175,000 words. I’m not kidding. But don’t worry, the final version is much smaller. I don’t focus as much on the writing the first time around, just try to get the story down. There’s a lot of unneeded exposition and backstory, as well as scenes I don’t need as I play around with plot — I know a lot of this will come out, but I don’t consider it “wasted writing.” It’s like the big block of marble that the eventual sculpture will emerge from.

In the revision, the outline becomes more detailed with the date and day at the top of the scenes that happen that day (to give me more room for the other stuff in the column). I still outline as I revise. The scenes on the board are what’s been revised. Specific clues, theme, and plotlines all are more specifically noted.

I don’t sort the scenes into chapters until it’s ready to go to the editor. I generally like to have three scenes a chapter, but it depends on what’s going on structurally. I don’t like chapters to be too long — 10-15 words is my target — so some long scenes are their own chapter.

This is how the revision looked shortly after I started it. The column on the right is now the linear plot of the book (not a synopsis, but the actual who did what and when), so I can make sure it’s flowing through the scenes well and I get the clues in the right places. My daily notes to myself are on the small greenboard on the table.

I know you’re thinking, wow, Maureen’s writing space looks pretty cool! Wish I could see more.

Yes! Ha ha. I write at my kitchen table. It’s funny, because I don’t do my non-mystery writing work there or anything else, except eat. But I’ve found it’s the best place to write my books. I’m not sure why, I just ended up there. Maybe it’s the view out the window, which is just enough to keep my from growing insane (the way staring at a wall would), without being super-distracting. There’s also plenty of room for my notes, and I can keep everything there without having to move it for any reason.

If you’re thinking, boy, writing looks complicated! Yeah, it is. At least the way I do it.

How do I recharge my brain? You guessed it. Jigsaw puzzles! Since last fall, I’ve gone through four 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzles that I do on a big foam board on my coffee table while I’m “watching” something on TV that doesn’t require my total attention.

Yes, there are many inefficiencies to that, more than I want to go into. But the brain wants what the brain wants.

Here’s my latest, The World of James Joyce. The previous one was The World of Charles Dickens, which is my favorite so far, but I didn’t take a photo of it.

Ok! I think that covers everything you need to know about how writing a book works. Go get ’em!

Oh yeah, if you want to see how all this came out, look for the fourth book in my Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery series, DYING FOR NEWS, October 29.