My creative process seems random. Either I’m awaken in the middle of the night with an idea, a dream sparks a story, or I’m driving along and a concept hits me in the face. Whatever the means, I write down the first things that flood my mind. Then I go into planning mode to outline the story.
Once the outline is complete, I research the characters, locations, and any other relevant details. For instance, I’ve Googled houses so that I could best describe the home of one of my characters. Or if the character lives in a city or state I’m not familiar, I’ll look into the culture and atmosphere so that the story is authentic.
With the outline and research, the magic can begin. I take a chapter at a time which is about 2000-3000 words (give or take). I let my mind flow according to the summation listed in the outline. Then I comb over it for adverbs and to be verbs, sentence rhythm, and sensory detail to add depth. So I guess in a way I’m doing a first and second draft in one setting. 😉
Photos: Takeshi Obata, Carla Oliverira, Ida Auclond
Bakuman illustration by Takeshi Obata
Learning about people’s creative process or “watching them create” is one of my favourite things. I’ve spent hours watching YouTube videos of Takeshi Obata just drawing (he’s the mangaka who drew Hikaru no Go, Death Note and Bakuman, among other things). So I thought today I’d talk about my own creative process, because it’s fun to share and because maybe next year or in two or three years I’ll look back to this post and be amazed at how much my process has changed. Or not.
The idea
It all starts with an idea. It can come from vastly different things: a passer-by can sprout a character, a feeling can become a theme, etc. You have ideas, you know what I mean.
The daydream
There is a kind of natural selections in my ideas. I almost don’t consciously “choose” which one I’ll pursue, I…
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Melanie V. Logan 