Process Series

For years, I’ve wanted to document my writing process more.

Obviously, I’ve shared quite a bit, here, but never a true Beginning-to-End effort.

That’s about to change.

The Process Series

I finally started creating short videos about all that goes into creating an episode of Not About Lumberjacks.

My goal is, when it’s done, to be able to sit down and watch a playlist for 30-45 minutes showing what I do.

A handful of years ago, I did a talk about how to podcast fiction at a podcast meetup. I’ve only tinkered with YouTube (even though I always wanted to do more with the platform), and was surprised that almost 6,000 people have listened to my almost 50-minute talk.

Sadly, because I didn’t really pay much attention to YouTube, I only recently realized people were leaving comments on the talk…for years!

So another reason for the current series is to ensure I don’t make that mistake again.

Video One

I kicked off the current series with Where Do Writers Get Their Ideas.

The title is self explanatory, mostly meant to show people that if they want good ideas, they just have to be open to them (and always asking themselves: “What if?”)

Obviously, being new to making videos, there are things I would love to already change about this effort, but…if I’ve learned nothing else by writing and podcasting fiction, it’s to keep moving forward (not obsessing about changing things you’ve already done).

In time, with effort, things improve. (I’ve put together six videos so far, and the latest — about narrating stories — is the best yet.)

Video Two

The second video is about roughing out stories.

If you’ve followed this blog for any length of time, you know I lean toward not planning much at all.

I typically sit down with a vague idea, begin writing, and discover the story in the process.

But sometimes, I have to do a bit more to see what’s in front of me.

This video is about that.

Video Three

The third video is only available for my Patreon patrons right now…and fittingly, it’s about how I use Patreon as a writer.

I was originally reluctant to start a Patreon account for my writing, but — because people asked for it (and I realized that’s a very fortunate position to be in…especially for a little show like mine), I did.

I’ve been having a blast with it.

I don’t do the usual, “Pay for more stuff,” Patreon tiers. Someone donating a dollar a month gets access to the same things as someone donating $20/month.

Schedule

So, the schedule for these videos…

New videos are released weekly.

Patrons get the “true” latest video a week before they go public. So…the video about Patreon was released to patrons yesterday, while the video about how to rough out a story was released publically on the same day. (Always make sure you say publically and not pubically…)

All this means the series will be finished for Patreon patrons on 04/25/2023 and to everyone else the following week.

I have my work cut out: releasing videos and continuing to release stories on Not About Lumberjacks.