The Stages of Writing a Short Story

(A Totally Serious, Extremely Scientific Breakdown)

I’ve been working on several short stories that are in various stages of revision. Perhaps it’s my love of short-story writing, regardless of the narrow market to publish them, or it’s my procrastination from work on my next novel. Whatever the reason, I’ve discovered that there are several stages (ten to be exact!) that I must go through to reach the stage when I feel the story is finally finished.

1. The Spark of Genius

A tiny idea pops into your head, possibly in the shower or while avoiding cleaning the oven, and you’re instantly convinced it’s the greatest concept ever conceived by humankind.

2. The “This Will Be So Easy” Phase

It’s a short story. How hard could it be? You imagine yourself finishing it in an hour, maybe two, and then spending the rest of the day basking in your own brilliance.

3. The Blank Page Standoff

You sit down to write. The cursor blinks. You blink back. A tense silence fills the room. One of you will break first, and it’s usually you.

4. The Overwriting Spiral

You write a paragraph. It’s beautiful. It’s poetic. It’s 300 words describing a tree. You remind yourself this is supposed to be short, but your muse is on a roll and refuses to be concise.

5. The Sudden Plot Crisis

Halfway through, you realize you have no idea what happens next. Your characters are glaring at you like, “Well? You brought us here. Figure it out.”

6. The “Cut 90% of This” Revelation

You reread your draft and discover that your “short” story is now 4,000 words too long and contains three unnecessary subplots, two monologues, and a metaphor you don’t even understand anymore.

7. The Editing Frenzy

You slash sentences, rearrange paragraphs, and delete entire scenes with the cold efficiency of a medieval executioner. You briefly consider cutting the whole story and starting a new life on another planet.

8. The “It’s Done… I Think?” Moment

You reach a point where you can’t tell if the story is brilliant or absolute nonsense. You decide it’s finished because you simply can’t look at it anymore.

9. The Sharing Panic

You send it to a friend, critique partner, or writing group. Then you immediately regret it. What have I done? becomes your new mantra.

10. The Inevitable New Idea

You swear you’re taking a break from writing for a year or two. A week later, a new idea taps you on the shoulder like, “Hey. What if this happened?” And the cycle begins again.

Deb Cushman's Chronicles of Nadavir
Frigg's Journey to Anasgar
Ping's Mystery in Pixiandria
https://debcushman.com

 

 

The Stages of Writing a Poem

(A Totally Serious, Extremely Scientific Breakdown)

1. The Sudden Surge of Emotion

Something creates an emotion. A sunset. A breakup. A sandwich that was just okay. You are now a poet. The world is waiting to hear about your feelings.

2. The Overly Grand Opening Line

You write a first line so intense it feels like it should be carved into marble. You reread it and think, “Yes. This is how legends begin.”

3. The Rhyme Trap

You accidentally rhyme two lines and now you’re stuck. Every sentence becomes a desperate search for words that rhyme with “orange,” “month,” or “wolf.” You briefly consider inventing new words.

4. The Metaphor Explosion

You start comparing everything to everything else. The moon is a coin. Your thoughts are tangled vines. Your coffee is the ghost of ambition. Nothing is safe.

5. The “Is This Deep or Nonsense?” Crisis

You reread your poem and genuinely cannot tell if it’s profound or if you’ve just strung together a series of dramatic adjectives. You decide to trust the vibe.

6. The Line Break Olympics

You rearrange your line breaks seventeen times, convinced that moving one word to the next line will unlock poetic enlightenment. It does not, but you keep trying.

7. The Title Meltdown

You finish the poem and realize you still need a title. You consider everything from a single mysterious word to a full sentence that explains the entire poem. Nothing feels right.

8. The Dramatic Read‑Through

You read it aloud in your most soulful voice. You feel like a misunderstood artist. Your dog looks concerned. Your cat yawns. Your parakeet has nothing to say.

9. The “It’s Done” Acceptance

You decide the poem is finished, not because it’s perfect, but because you’ve run out of emotional energy and synonyms for “longing.”

10. The Impulse to Write Another One

You close your notebook and immediately get hit with another idea. The cycle continues. You are powerless to stop it.

 

Deb Cushman's Chronicles of Nadavir
Frigg's Journey to Anasgar
Ping's Mystery in Pixiandria

https://debcushman.com

Stages of Writing a Newsletter

 

One of the unexpected joys of being an author is getting to pop into your readers’ inboxes each month like a friendly little book fairy. It’s delightful…right up until you sit down to write the thing and realize you now have to conjure up something your readers will actually want to read. Suddenly the “fun” part starts sweating.

The Stages of Writing a Newsletter

(A Totally Serious, Extremely Scientific Breakdown)

1. The “I Have Nothing to Say” Denial

You open a blank document and immediately forget every interesting thought you’ve ever had. You briefly consider writing about your breakfast, then decide your subscribers deserve better. Probably.

2. The Sudden Flood of Ideas

Out of nowhere, your brain delivers seventeen topics at once. You jot them all down, feeling like a creative powerhouse, then realize none of them actually connect to each other in any logical way.

3. The Overly Ambitious Draft

You start writing one section, then another, then another. Before you know it, you’ve accidentally written a manifesto, three mini‑essays, and a rant about something that nobody cares about.

4. The Ruthless Cutting Phase

You delete a paragraph. Then another paragraph. Then you wonder if you should delete the whole thing and start over. You resist. Barely.

5. The Formatting Meltdown

You spend an unreasonable amount of time adjusting headers, spacing, bullet points, and that one paragraph that refuses to align like the others.

6. The “Is This Funny or Just Unhinged?” Read‑Through

You reread your draft and can’t tell if it’s charmingly quirky or the written equivalent of a raccoon on espresso. You decide to trust the chaos.

7. The Proofreading Spiral

You fix a typo. Then another. Then you find a sentence that makes no sense. Then you rewrite the entire intro. Then you find another typo. Time becomes a spiraling circle.

8. The Terrifying Send Button

You hover over “Send” like it’s a self‑destruct switch. You finally click it, then immediately consider hiding under the bed.

9. The Refresh Frenzy

You check your open rate. Then your click rate. Then your unsubscribe count. Then you check again. And again. And again. You pretend you’re not emotionally invested, but you absolutely are.

10. The “Next Time Will Be Easier” Lie

You promise yourself you’ll start the next issue early, plan ahead, and be organized. You won’t. But it’s cute that you think that.

 

Deb Cushman's Chronicles of Nadavir
Frigg's Journey to Anasgar
Ping's Mystery in Pixiandria
https://debcushman.com

 

 

The 10 Stages of Marketing Your Book

(A Totally Serious, Extremely Scientific Breakdown) 

1. The “I’ll Just Post Once” Delusion

You tell yourself you’ll make one simple announcement and the world will magically discover your book. You believe this for all of six minutes.

2. The Social Media Spiral

You’ve established your brand. You start posting. Then you post more. And more. You’re making reels, carousels, behind‑the‑scenes videos, and debating whether your cat counts as “brand‑relevant content.”

3. The “I Need a Newsletter” Panic

You decide you need a newsletter because “all real authors have one.” You spend three hours choosing a font and five minutes writing the actual email.

4. The Hashtag Identity Crisis

You try to pick hashtags that make you look professional but not desperate. You wonder if #amwriting is still cool or if it’s the literary equivalent of wearing skinny jeans.

5. The “Maybe I Should Run Ads” Temptation

You consider running ads. You watch three tutorials. You still have no idea what you’re doing. You close your laptop and eat a snack.

6. The Review Refresh Marathon

You check for new reviews. Then again. And again. You pretend you’re not emotionally dependent on strangers’ opinions, but your browser history says otherwise.

7. The “I Should Do an Event” Ambition

You decide to host a launch party, livestream, Q&A, or bookstore signing. When you realize this requires talking to humans, you reconsider everything in your life.

8. The Merch Madness

You think about bookmarks, stickers, mugs, tote bags, enamel pins, and possibly a life‑size cardboard cutout of your protagonist. You do not have the budget for this.

9. The Existential Sales Check

You check your sales dashboard. You celebrate one sale like you won a national award. You refresh again. Still one sale. Then, miraculously, two sales. You’re on your way to stardom!

10. The “I’m Doing My Best” Acceptance

You realize marketing is basically shouting lovingly into the void and hoping the void buys your book. You keep going anyway because you believe in your story, and because you’re already too far in to stop now.

 

The 8 Stages of Writing & Publishing a Book

(A Totally Serious, Extremely Scientific Breakdown) 

1. The Lightning Bolt of Inspiration
   That magical moment when an idea hits you so hard you’re convinced you’re a literary genius. You immediately tell three friends, two pets, and one unsuspecting barista that you’re “working on a book.”
2. The Overconfident Outline Phase
   You create a color‑coded outline so detailed it could guide a NASA launch. You feel unstoppable. You are unstoppable. Until you actually start writing.
3. The “Why Did I Think I Could Do This” Draft
   You write 10,000 words in a burst of passion, reread them, and briefly consider faking your own disappearance. You keep going anyway because quitting would require effort.
4. The Editing Spiral of Doom
   You fix one sentence. Then another. You rewrite the entire chapter. You delete the chapter. You undelete it because actually it wasn’t that bad. You delete it again. The concept of time becomes a myth.
5. Beta Reader Panic
   You send your manuscript to trusted readers and immediately regret every life choice that led to this moment. You spend the next week refreshing your messages like you’re waiting for medical test results. Their feedback is helpful, but also shocking, because how dare they be right.
6. The Querying/Publishing Gauntlet
   You craft a perfect query letter, send it out, and instantly lose the ability to breathe. Rejections arrive. You develop a thick skin and emotional calluses. Or at least a leathery emotional callus. Eventually, someone says yes, or you decide to self‑publish and become your own marketing department, graphic designer, publicist, and emotional support animal.
7. Launch Day Euphoria (and Terror)
   Your book is out in the world. People are reading it. People are reviewing it. People are misunderstanding metaphors you thought were obvious. You celebrate anyway because you did the impossible. You wrote and published a book!
8. The “I’m Never Doing This Again” Lie
   You swear you’ll never write another book. Not ever. Absolutely not. Until the next idea taps you on the shoulder like, “Hey. So. What if…?”