How To Bake A Story

I always get a bit stressed by the writing tip, 'Write every single day of your life.'  Because I tend to push myself for a day or two and than lapse.  For me, when I don't have a single defined project I'm working on, it's 2,000 words a day or nothing at all for a week.  And that's just how I work as a writer.  Sometimes I think advice like 'write every day' can be slightly discouraging, possibly even damaging, because I think it overlooks a very important aspect of the creative process.  Something I like to call 'baking the story.'
Because you can have all the ingredients for a great story - the idea, the characters, a plot outline - but without the right amount of baking time, it will still be a mushy mess of undercooked goop.  Trying to write that story is like trying to eat bread dough.  It doesn't really taste or feel like bread, yet all the ingredients that make bread are there.
I have prepared my little 'recipe' for how I go about writing a story and how I incorporate 'baking.'  But I should first point out that I only use this method when I'm in limbo between stories, or working on developing new pieces.  If you are already well descended into a novel, or screenplay, or some other project that you are focusing all your creative energy on, then yes, you must write every single day.  You must force yourself to sit at your keyboard and type, even when you don't want to, even when your mental capabilities are exhausted.  This not only drills into you a good writing work ethic, it is also the only effective way I have found to finishing a full-length work.  However, even then it is good to take a break and spend a few days 'baking.'

A Creative Recipe 
Ingredients:

• The Basic Idea
• Notebook&Pens/Laptop (whichever you prefer)
• A Few Uninterrupted Hours
• Storyboards&Character Development Sheets (optional) 

 First, of course, I start with the basic idea.  A concept or theme I want to explore, or maybe I want to try and give a story to an interesting character I've created, or maybe I'll just have one of those moments where you go, "Hey, I think I want to write a dystopian about genetically engineered butterflies who sing and become friends with Fluffnarks and together they fight off an evil flying octopus."  Be it short story, screenplay, novel, or whatever.  Then I'll sit down and brainstorm in a notebook - or laptop, depends -, writing down a basic synopsis and what I know about the characters.  I'll sketch a rough plot arc or make a storyboard.  Occasionally I'll fill out character development sheets and get a bearing on who populates my story.  How much pre-planning I do depends.  I really don't like to plan much, otherwise I feel restricted, so I keep it minimal, only writing down what is absolutely necessary to the story.  If I feel up to it, I might even write a few scenes - usually only the beginning, since I find it hard to write out of chronological order, but if I have a really good idea for a scene and I don't want to forget it I'll scribble it down.
Note: I say 'a few uninterrupted hours' since that's what I usually spend when toying with a new basic idea.  However, if you're pretty sure you have an idea you want to invest a lot of time in, then the process could span weeks if not months.

Baking Your Story:
This is where I find the very act of not writing to be so valuable.  I set my little bowl of raw story ingredients inside the inner part of mind and just leave it there.  That still doesn't mean I am not 'writing.'  I'm letting the story emerge in to all it's potential.
Though I think it varies from person to person, and you'll have to find what works for you on your own, the things I like to do when I'm taking a period off from the creative process are:

• Depending on the size of the project, taking a day or even a full week off even thinking about writing can be invaluable.  You know when you're doing a puzzle and you just can't seem to figure out that one part of it?  And then you step away for awhile and you come back and it all makes sense and you wonder how you couldn't see it before? Well, the same applies to writing.  Don't be afraid to push all thoughts of writing from your mind for awhile, and give your head a little breathing room.  Who knows, when you come back that plot hole you've been stressing over for months might just suddenly make sense.
• Listen to music.  Music, for me, is one of the biggest tools I use as a writer.  I'll sit for hours with my headphones in and just soak up songs.  Sometimes, a song will just hit your soul in the right way, or give you the right emotion, and your mind opens up to exactly the right thing that needs to happen in your story.  Music, for me, is the vanguard ship of inspiration.  Create a playlist of all the songs that remind you of your story so you can listen to it when you start writing.
• Read, read, read!  Or anything that tells a great stories, like movies and TV shows.  I like to pick apart stories, seeing what makes them work and what elements I would change.  But sometimes I just like to sit back and absorb the story for what it is, without even analyzing it.  Let words, let characters, let emotions, let plot arcs and plots twists, let lessons and failures saturate who you are, and stir inside you so that when the time comes you can burst with story.
• Do something else artistic.  Paint.  Draw a picture.  Photoshop.  Write a song.  Play an instrument.  Using another part of your creative muscle can set in motion a whole bunch of things.    
• Talk it out.  This usually happens at the end of my 'baking' process.  Talk through your ideas with someone.  Ask the opinions of your friends, your family, your peers, your neighbors, your teachers.  Sometimes just saying things out loud will make you realize that they could be improved upon this way, or don't work in that way, or need something more, or less, or are simply too complex.       

   
How Do You Know When Your Story is Ready?
I've found this varies from person to person.  For me, I'll admit it's very much an 'Aha!' moment when everything illuminates.  Usually I know a story is ready if it holds my attention for a few days.  If I've been baking it for awhile and haven't lost interest, forgotten about it, and I still feel passionately about it, I know it's ready to be written.  When I feel compelled to the keyboard, when I know I have to write this, I have no other choice, that's what I consider my 'oven timer.'  The bread is done.  I don't know if it's like this for everyone, but once you feel that sense of rightness inside you, that deep urge to start pounding out words, then chances are your story is ready.
There's just one thing you have to watch out for.  Don't bake for too long.  It's easy to stop writing and get caught in apathy and laziness.  As soon as you start feeling this, kick yourself awake.  Chances are you've slipped into a lull and have overcooked your story, and it's time to go write and write lots.  It can be good to set a limit for the amount time you won't write, if you tend to slip into the dulldrums easily.  Say, 'I'll only let myself off for a week.'  Though I hate the advice, "You'll just have to figure it out for yourself," it does apply here.  Test your boundaries, find your strengths and weaknesses.  And remember, just because something works for someone else, that does not mean it will work for you.  My whole little baking process might be of no use to you, and you may have your own equally effective and equally valid methods.   

Don't Be Discouraged
Some recipes are failures.  Some stories just don't work out.  You will have flubs, you will have successes, and you will have things beyond your wildest dreams.  That's just what writing is.  The story you've been planning and working on for months might not hold water, but it will help you in so many ways, the least of which will be to help you perfect the next thing you write.
Just remember, not writing is an essential part of writing.  Never be afraid to let a story sit and stew.
We all have stories to tell.  Just make it a good one.        

^(OvO)^