My process changes continually. Sometimes organically, sometimes because I keep throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks.
I tried Post-it notes with plot points (on already) written scenes. These were color coded for different story lines and for my hero and heroine. This did not stick. In fact, once I put them up, I never even glanced at them. I thought it was a good idea, even blogged about it, but it didn't fit how I work.
One tried and true trick was to keep track of story time by printing out calendar sheets and marking which chapter/scene happens on which day. This was 100% perfect for me. On Wicked Intention, I tried to do it with a PDF on my iPad. This did not work and I lost track of the timeline on one of the plot lines. It took a read through with a paper calendar to get it straightened out and there were adjustments I had to make because of it. Lesson learned: Stick to paper no matter how much I want to go digital.
In the past, a process that worked for me was to sit down at the end of each chapter or scene and figure out what needed to happen next. This was how I plotted, although I prefer not to use that word. That was how I wrote my Light Warriors series for Tor. Now, it doesn't work for me. This is an organic process change, and while I'd like to be able to do it that way again, it's a waste of time.
I've tried different software, most of which has fallen away from me. I've downloaded a new one that I'll be trying for Wicked Salvation, Griff's story. We'll see how that goes.
When I wrote my demon and vampire books, I had to work at night. The characters weren't talking to me during the day. That was rough! But for Wicked Intention, the characters only talked to me during the day. Come evening, they checked out.
As writers, we need to go with whatever works to get the book written. If that means trying new things and discarding the old, that's what we need to do. If it means not fighting to do things as we've done it in the past, then we need to just do what's working for that book.
