Creative Case Study: Tori Ashley
Today we have a new creative case study for you, featuring author Tori Ashley! (I promise I didn't select people for this series based on sharing a name with them.)
No two creative processes are alike, so I hope that showing you how different creatives find success will be helpful in your creative journey.
About the Creative
Tori Ashley is an author who pens fantasy literature for both YA and adult audiences. She graduated from Miami University with a B.A. in Creative Writing. When she isn’t writing or reading, she’s probably playing D&D or cooking. Tori lives in Ohio and has two cats: Winnie, a diva who wants love on her own terms, and Cosmo, an 18lb love bug who ALWAYS wants pets.
How long have you been doing creative work?
I’ve been writing stories since second grade, but I started taking it seriously in high school, and even more seriously in college. All in all, I’ve been doing this seriously for the past ten years or so.
What is your background?
I have my Bachelor’s in Creative Writing as well as a Bachelor’s in Mass Communications—Media Production from Miami University (Ohio), and I graduated in 2015. After graduating, I kept my job as a part-time bookseller while I looked for full-time work. I was then an office admin for a software company from January 2017 to February 2020. I was lucky that the position allowed me to write in my down time. I now work as an office coordinator for a mental health practice. This job, while busier than my previous, engages my brain in a way that I don’t feel drained after staring at a computer screen all day. I can write in my down time, and on Fridays, which are typically catch up days at my office, I can write even more. I went back to school in December of 2018 to get my Bachelor’s in HR Management, too. I’ve had to force myself to carve out chunks of time to write, and I take advantage of those times. I’m lucky that I actually enjoy my 9-5 because it pays the bills while I can work on my writing without stressing (as much).
What are your favorite tools for creativity and productivity?
Oh, Boise. I could go on for multiple pages about this question. I’ll keep it to a relatively short list:
• Scrivener: I live and breathe Scrivener. When I first got it, it was somewhat confusing, but after watching some of their tutorial videos, and using it over time, it’s become my favorite.
• “Bucket Book”: Delilah Dawson described how every one of her projects has a metaphorical bucket where she’ll put everything from playlist, to inspirations, to ideas that come to her. I’ve been doing that for years and didn’t know what to call it. I currently use a Leuchtturm 1917 A5 hardback notebook because they’re sturdy, they have an elastic band to close them, and I like the paper. For my current project, I’ve got quotes, worldbuilding notes, scene ideas, character descriptions, and books I’m going to need for research later on.
• Apple Music/Spotify: I’m HUGE on making playlists that evoke the atmosphere I’m trying to capture. I’ll have them on in the background, playing just loudly enough for me to hear it, but not loud enough to dominate my brain.
• My “Book Bible”: I got this from a Cassandra Clare episode of First Draft, and it has CHANGED THE GAME for me. I take a big binder and that is where I put physical copies of all my worldbuilding info, character notes, ideas, and everything book related. Sometimes I’m in the groove and I don’t want to get away from my writing screen to look something up in the digital copy of my notes, so I’ll just pull out my binder.
• Storyist: Storyist is similar to Scrivener, and I typically turn to Storyist when I’ve hit a speedbump or a bit of a roadblock in Scrivener. Sometimes switching software will help me work it out.
• Freedom: I heard about Freedom from a writing podcast and after using a couple sessions of the free trial, I paid for a forever subscription. It blocks websites/apps (that you can specify) when you’re in a session. I generally set my timer for either 30 minutes or a full hour, but you can customize how long your sessions are.
• First Draft with Sarah Enni: This is the podcast where I heard about Freedom. Sarah interviews storytellers about a wide range of topics. She is such a good interviewer. I have my favorite episodes saved to my phone so I can listen to them when I’m in my car or getting ready to start a writing session and need to get in the right headspace. She’s currently doing a mini-series called Track Changes that takes a deeper life into parts of the publishing world that don’t always get covered in the main podcast’s episodes.
• 88 Cups of Tea: This is my other go-to writing podcast. Yin Chang interviews writers and agents about their life and literary journeys. It is such an inspirational podcast.
• Facebook Groups: I’m in the Facebook groups for both First Draft and 88 Cups of tea, and they are both so positive and inspiring. 88 Cups of Tea does a separate group during November for NaNoWriMo, and First Draft’s group is great about engaging the community and everyone supporting each other.
Tori's Creative Toolkit
"Book Bible" binder
Facebook Groups
What does your creative process look like?
When starting a project, I get a new notebook (again, usually a Leuchtturm as above) and I start jotting my ideas down as they come to me. I highlight the edge of the page or put a flag on it so I can color code and organize it in some way. I start thinking about the mood of the book, and what I want it to be about at its heart. This could take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to complete, and I don’t actually type a word of the story until I know I have enough swimming around in my head/in my notebook that I won’t get stuck a couple thousand words in and give up (which is exactly what I used to do).
When I’m working on a project, I keep my Bucket Book and a pen with me at all times. I’m pretty much constantly thinking about my project. When I sit down to write, I’ll make sure I have my tea or water ready before I fire up my computer. I’ll then pull up my playlist and give it a song or two before I read the writing from my last session to get me back in the right frame of mind. I also try to never leave off at the end of a scene or a moment, because getting momentum started again is HARD. I also make sure I’m wearing actual clothes, and not just pyjamas. For some reason, even putting on leggings and a t-shirt makes me feel like I’m actually working, and I’m less tempted to browse the internet. I’ll turn Freedom on, set the timer, and start working. When I hit the INEVITABLE roadblock, I may switch to Storyist for a bit, or I’ll get out a regular spiral notebook and write that way for a while. Sometimes losing the screen does wonders for my brain. I can always tell when my creative well is running dry, and I need to refill it before going further (a phrase I got from a V.E. Schwab episode of either First Draft or 88 Cups of Tea). The worst thing I could do for my project is trying to force myself to write when my well is empty, because then I’ll definitely lose steam and be more likely to give up on the project all together.
When I’m finishing a project… sometimes I forget what finishing a project feels like. My current WIP is the first one on my current process, and honestly, it’s going so much better than the rest of my projects have ever gone. But when I’m finishing a project, I try to take my time and not rush to the end just to be ‘done.’ I then take some time, usually a week or two, away from the project and all things related to it, which is when I send it to my two beta readers. Once that time is up, I return to my project with both the notes from my beta readers, and the notes I made on the notes panel in Scrivener, and I take it scene by scene.
What is a specific project you've completed that uses the process you've outlined above?
My current project, like I said above, is the first project I’ve worked on with this specific process. I have, however, completed the first draft of a novel with a simpler version of this process. I say simpler, but it was really just more disorganized because I didn’t want to put in the work to organize everything to make it more accessible to my future self.
What advice do you have for fellow creatives developing a creative process?
Veronica Roth said something in one of her First Draft interviews that really resonated with me. She said she doesn’t really have a process, other that her writing process changes with every project. I’m very much the same way. There have been projects I’ve pantsed my way through. There have been projects that have had super detailed outlines and, like with my current project, a looser outline that is more story beat based than a scene by scene dissection. I think it’s important, for me at least, to not force myself to not write until I have the perfect time, place, drinks, etc. because then it boils down to me making excuses not to write. That was also something V.E. Schwab said in one of her episodes for 88 Cups of Tea or First Draft and I felt 100% CALLED OUT because that was, at the time, what I was doing. I made note of it and forced myself to stop waiting for the “perfect” time because the “perfect” time was never going to happen.
Thank you so much for sharing, Tori! Follow Tori on Twitter and her two Instagram accounts: @toristory_x and @storibookpages.
Next week, we'll delve into an important topic when it comes to creativity: overcoming creative obstacles!