Happy Monday, Reader,

Sometimes as writers we get stuck on a particular section of our book. We might get stuck on world-building, or dialogue, or maybe on details. This is part of the writing process. But there are two authors who I admire that have a completely different way of writing that I think makes their books so much better.

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Let me introduce you to Krista & Becca Ritchie, identical twin sisters who write new adult contemporary and LGBTQ+ romance. I found these authors years ago during one of the hardest moments of my life and I fell in love with how they create such amazing character-driven stories that I binge read their series in a matter of days. As in it took me only five days of non-stop reading to read all ten books. And when they started their third series, I binged that one too.

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I belong to their Patreon, where they run a podcast where they talk about their books and many other things. On a few of their podcasts they talk about the way they write and how they manage to create the books that I love so much.

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Here's what I discovered about their process:

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Their approach works because they are twin sisters, and while one starts writing, the other one comes behind and starts layering details. They switch back and forth a few times until the draft is done. Krista starts the story going, and once she has around thirty pages going, Becca comes behind and starts adding the details and layers.

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But what if we didn't need a twin coming up behind us to layer on the details? What if all we needed was to start writing our books through layers?

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This is where it gets interesting. Instead of trying to nail dialogue, setting, character emotions, and plot all at once (which is overwhelming), you could approach your manuscript like this:

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The Five-Layer Writing Method

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Pass 1: Pure dialogue and character voice Start with just conversations. Don't worry about tags, descriptions, or even complete sentences. Focus entirely on how each character sounds different from the others. What words do they use? How do they speak when they're angry versus vulnerable? This pass helps you discover your characters' authentic voices without the distraction of crafting perfect prose.

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Pass 2: Action and plot beats Now layer in what's actually happening. Who's moving where? What actions drive the scene forward? What are the cause-and-effect moments that push your story along? Don't worry about making the action cinematic yet - just get the skeleton of movement and plot progression in place.

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Pass 3: Setting and atmosphere Add the world around your characters. What does the room smell like? Is it raining? How does the environment reflect or contrast with the emotional tone? This is where you ground your readers in a specific place and time, making your scenes feel real and lived-in.

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Pass 4: Internal thoughts and emotion Deepen the psychological landscape. What is your point-of-view character really thinking? What are they not saying? What fears, hopes, or memories are influencing their actions? This layer adds the emotional resonance that makes readers care about what happens next.

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Pass 5: Polish and flow Smooth everything together. Fix transitions, vary sentence structure, eliminate redundancy, and make sure each scene flows naturally into the next. This is where the magic happens - all your layers blend into a cohesive, compelling narrative.

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Why This Layered Approach Works

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The human brain can only focus on so many things at once. When we try to write dialogue while simultaneously crafting the perfect setting description and nailing the emotional beats, we often end up with scenes that feel flat or incomplete. Something always gets shortchanged.

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The Ritchie twins' method works because each sister can focus on their strength during their pass. Krista gets the story momentum going without worrying about every detail being perfect. Becca then enriches what Krista wrote without having to generate the initial creative spark. They're never fighting against conflicting mental processes.

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As solo writers, we can mimic this by separating our creative brain from our analytical brain. Pass 1 is pure creativity - let the characters talk, don't judge, don't edit. Pass 2 engages your story architect brain - what needs to happen for plot reasons? Pass 3 activates your sensory awareness - what does this world feel like? And so on.

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Breaking the "Perfect First Draft" Trap

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Most writers sabotage themselves by believing they need to write publication-ready prose on the first try. This creates what I call "creative paralysis" - you sit there agonizing over whether "She walked to the door" is better than "She moved toward the exit," when what really matters at this stage is that she's leaving the room.

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Here's how to shift your mindset:

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Give yourself permission to write badly in each pass. Your first dialogue pass should sound like a rough transcript. Your setting pass might read like stage directions. That's not just okay - it's the point. You're building a foundation, not decorating a house.

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Embrace the "placeholder mentality." Can't think of the perfect metaphor for how angry your character is? Write [INSERT ANGER METAPHOR] and keep going. You can fix it in Pass 5. Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

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Trust the process, not the product. After Pass 1, your manuscript will look terrible. After Pass 2, it might still feel clunky. This is normal. Each layer adds depth and polish. The magic happens when all five passes work together.

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How This Improves Your Stories

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When you write in layers, several things happen that make your stories stronger:

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Character voices become more distinct. By focusing entirely on dialogue first, you discover each character's unique speech patterns, quirks, and emotional tells. This makes your characters feel like real people rather than mouthpieces for plot information.

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Pacing improves naturally. Your action pass forces you to think about story rhythm. Where do you speed up? Where do you slow down for emotional moments? You can see the skeleton of your pacing before getting distracted by beautiful prose.

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Setting becomes integral, not decorative. Instead of dropping in random descriptions, your setting pass makes you think about how environment serves the story. Does the thunderstorm mirror your character's inner turmoil, or create ironic contrast with their happiness?

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Emotional depth increases. By dedicating an entire pass to internal landscape, you ensure every scene has psychological weight. Readers connect with characters' inner lives, not just their actions.

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The beauty of this approach is that it takes pressure off that first draft while actually making your final story richer and more layerd. Each pass has a specific focus, which can actually make writing less overwhelming. It's like having that collaborative twin brain, but all within your own process.

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Which pass do you think would help your current project the most? Try focusing on just one element in your next writing session - you might be surprised how much easier it becomes.

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A Quick Note on Writing Advice (Including This One)

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I recently wrote about how most writing advice only works for the person giving it, and I want to be transparent - this layered approach is no different. What works beautifully for the Ritchie twins might not click for you, and that's completely okay.

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Maybe you're someone who needs the chaos of trying to nail everything at once because that's where your creativity thrives. Maybe you write best when you're discovering the story as you go, without predetermined passes. Or maybe you'll love this method but need to modify it - perhaps three passes work better for you than five, or you need different focus areas entirely.

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The goal isn't to follow my (or anyone's) advice blindly. It's to understand the principle behind it - that separating different types of thinking can reduce overwhelm - and then adapt it to your brain, your schedule, and your creative process.

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Try it if it resonates. Ignore it if it doesn't. Modify it if you see potential but it doesn't quite fit. Your writing process should serve you, not the other way around.

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Maria Acosta Ramirez

Accountability & Mindset Coach for Writers

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P.S. If you haven't heard of the Ritchie twins before, their books are available on Kindle and part of Kindle Unlimited. Their brand new book, Burn Bright, just made the USA Today bestseller list for hot new releases. If you're new to their work, I'd recommend starting with the Addicted series, then the Calloway Sisters series, and the Like Us series before diving into Burn Bright.

P.p.S If you like my approach to writing, and want to work with me; either as an alpha reader, or an accountability & mindset coaching, or both, you can find my services here: Alpha Reading, Accountability Coaching, Accountability + Alpha Reading Coaching. My Fall cohort starts in just a few days. And as a member of my newsletter, you get 50% off for any service you book through the links above. One discount allowed, meaning that it only works once.

P.P.P.S. Time is running out for redeeming your 100% discount for those digital products I promissed. The Story Tracker and the Writers Weekly Blueprint. The codes expire at midnight tomorrow. Code for ST: MLCFREE25, code for TWWB, MLC25FREE