Hey Airdrie! I’m Chad Stewart: author, poet, dreamer and fellow citizen. When I started getting serious about writing and publishing about eight years ago, I never dreamed of where it would take me: developing creativity and meeting amazing people. I enjoyed every book, poem, short story and tidbit I’ve penned.
I’m an eclectic writer. My genres to date are: YA (young adult) action/adventure, horror/thriller, self-improvement, inspirational, and I’m also working on a fantasy book and a dystopian post-apocalyptic romance. I write what interests me and run with it.
When I write a novel, I plan it out on recipe cards. Each card represents a chapter. I write short notes on the card which tell me what that chapter is about. I use the seven-step writing style, which is: 1) Introduction, 2) game-changing moment, 3) reactive phase, 4) game-changing moment, 5) proactive phase, 6) game-changing moment and, finally, 7) conclusion. This structure is the book’s big picture and keeps track of where it’s going. When I sit down to write, I grab the first card, read the notes, then write. As I’m writing, I get inspiration and begin to move where I feel the book is taking me.
Sometimes, I deviate from the cards, which forces me to re-evaluate and get myself back on track. Even if I feel I’m off the path I’ve structured, the book still takes shape and builds to where it’s supposed to go. Every time it’s better than the plan!
I write my first draft from start to finish without edits. I keep writing until I’m done and don’t worry about how it sounds. After this, I go back and make the book the way I wanted it to be on the second draft. Then it goes to the editor. When she’s done, I make any changes I need, then I publish proof copies and give those to my proofreaders. When they’re done, I fix anything they caught. Now it’s clean.
Anyone can write a book, and do it fairly quickly. If you write 1,000 words a day, you can write a 90,000-word novel in three months. And 1,000 words take about one-two hours a day.
I hope that’s inspiring! When I worked out the math, it changed my world. I’ve never written a novel in three months because life gets in the way, but I’ve been publishing now for eight years and I have written five novels, one instructional book and three inspirational books, and I’m halfway through my post-apocalyptic romance book and have my fantasy novel half-written. I’ve also written numerous pieces for Airdrie’s Voice and Vision and a number of poems for my own personal therapy.
I’m not brilliant, nor better than anyone else. My writing was terrible at first, but has gotten better through applying my craft — learning and doing. If there’s a skill you would like to develop, then go and do it. Put in the time and never stop.
