Hello everyone! I'm here as part of the fun blog tour that Jaye L Knight invited me to be a part of. (Check out her blog post here!) Basically, this is just a little glimpse into my writing and how I go about it. Enjoy. :)
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1) What am I working on?
At the moment, dragon novel #2 (the first, "The Dragon Within", I published in June), which I will be announcing the name of on my blog soon, if you're curious. ;) Stay tuned!
Though it is a sequel, this book is also standalone, and I have to say I am very excited about it, possibly more than for the first one. :) It is set in Amael's neighboring country, Calest, and will cross over/intertwine with "The Dragon Within"s characters while also introducing some new faces. I feel like, now that I have more of an idea of what I'm doing, I'm kicking everything up a notch--even trying some bold yet exciting new things for this sequel. I'm very, very excited. :)
2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?
One of the main things, I think, is that I wrote stories where anyone can be the hero, though few answer the call. I love writing about completely ordinary people doing extraordinary things because I think it's very inspiring to not feel like you have to have special powers or be a "chosen one" to do amazing things.
I also like "layering" my books in a sense, like where you can't truly just read it once and get everything out of it. I try to write stories that each consecutive time you have an "OHHHH" moment. Those are the best kinds of books. :)
3) Why do I write what I do?
I write about dragons because I just adore them; there's something so...majestic and mysterious about them that I just love. I write fantasy world's because I love the creativity of invention, and besides, we read books to escape reality, right? Although... I was thinking a modern day dragon story would be very interesting. (Don't go stealing my ideas though! ;)
4) How does my writing process work?
Ah...this question. Well...first let me warn you that it's very...spontaneous. I have a thing for rabbit trails, and often I get so far down them I forget the original topic before I've created another rabbit trail, haha.
But it starts off with an idea, obviously. I start writing out that idea on paper as if dictating it, and at any possibly interesting junction I ask several what-if questions to find the most interesting route. Normally, however, a little ways into my idea plotting I get incredibly intrigued by my characters, either because calling them "the boy" or "the girl" has gotten old, or because I just discovered something incredibly interesting about them.
So, then it's a lot of questioning the characters and finding out who they are, then I'll eventually get back to plotting, haha.
Once I've written down all plot points (it doesn't matter that they're not in order or anywhere near each other), I gather them all and make a brief flexible outline for a reference guide.
Then it's another round of "what-ifs" and "poking" as I call it, to ensure the plot is sound before I begin. If it isn't, rinse and repeat.
Once I feel I have a definitive direction for the plot and know the characters well enough, I begin writing. If I get stuck on a scene, I play the"what-if" game again until I've got it down.
Once the story is down, the rest you probably know. Edit, rewrite, rinse, repeat until finished. It's difficult but so worth it in the end.
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And there you have it, a bit about my writing life. This tour is supposed to continue next week with someone else, but unfortunately I wasn't able to find anyone. So, I am extending an invitation to any writer wanting to be a part of the tour. Just copy/paste these questions yourself and answer them on your own blog post next Monday, August 18th. Be sure to mention that you're continuing it from my blog post, and ask others to continue it from your post as well.
I hope you enjoyed this little post; I know I did. It's so interesting to see how other writers approach the whole writing process, and how we all have a unique way of doing it. :)
Labels: Writers
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