08/05/2026
Notes From a Girl Who Makes Things #003
People often ask what my writing process looks like.
The truth?
It’s a little old-fashioned…and a little quirky.
I still write everything with pen and paper first.
Actually…I have several notebooks going at once. One is full of story ideas. Another is for poems. Another holds random thoughts, funny phrases, titles, and the little sparks that might someday become a book.
And yes…
I’m ridiculously picky about my pens.
Even pickier about my notebooks.
A good notebook just feels different. (If you’re a notebook person, you understand. 😉)
Most of my writing happens outside whenever I can. Give me a quiet porch, a shady tree, birds singing, and a notebook, and I’m perfectly happy.
Eventually those handwritten pages make their way to my computer, where I begin editing, rearranging, polishing, and reading everything aloud about fifty-seven times.
I also have a slight obsession with thesauruses.
I still treasure the big, well-loved thesaurus my grandmother gave me years ago, and I use a thesaurus app almost daily, too. Sometimes there’s just one word hiding out there that’s waiting to be found.
From there, I use a few different programs to build each book—from illustrations to page layouts to covers—before uploading everything to KDP.
People see the finished book.
But this…
This is where every story really begins.
A favorite pen.
A favorite notebook.
A spot outdoors. (Even when it’s colder)
And a little bit of wonder.
-🩷Misti
