My Writing Process

Albert Anker's painting courtesy of Wikimedia

My writer friend, Antonia van Zandt has tagged me to participate in this writer's blog. "Just answer a few questions about writing," she said. "How hard can it be?" I think I'm about to find out. Anyhow, here goes

1. What am I working on? 

As usual, I have about ten partially finished manuscripts on my computer. I've just completed the fourth part of my Anton and Lenora historical series, a novella tentatively called Willow and it's sitting fallow at the moment until I pick it up again for a good going over. Next up is a romantic comedy about a soap star of a certain age whose character has been killed off. Georgette, the main character, is very dramatic and she's been after me to finish her story. Beyond that, I have two more novellas to write for Anton and Lenora before I bring their adventures to a finish, a more serious novel about a red cross worker who goes to Afghanistan, and a book about ski racing that features Creech, a secondary character in Dancing in the White Room. I'm also playing with a kind of magical realism story called "The Orchard". There's more, but those ought to keep me busy for the next decade or so. :)

2. How does my work differ from others in its genre?

I write across several genres, including historical, women's fiction, and romance. All of them are character driven, I believe that strong and interesting characters are at the heart of any good story. I also pay a lot of attention to things like tone and metaphor, description and emotional resonance. I think this is because my love of words began with poetry--and you'll find some of those 'poetic' elements in my work. 

3. Why do I write what I do?

I write romance because I love love. I'm a romantic at heart. Women's fiction comes out of a love of the genre, I like stories about strong women who overcome, and more often than not, these are the characters I write about.

4. How does my writing process work? 

The most unusual thing about how I write, I guess, is that I write all my first drafts out long hand. It's not the most efficient way to work, but there are a couple of key advantages. First off, there's something to the physical act of writing that connects me to the page and helps me get the tone and feel of my characters and their stories. And secondly, it forces me to rewrite every word into the computer, so that, when I have a 'computer draft' finished, it's in better shape than it would be if I wrote directly to my lap top. 

As Part of this hop, I've tagged three more writers. The fab three I've tagged are 'housemates' of sorts, they, like me, are authors who have been published by Champagne Books. I hope you'll check them out, as well as the other great books over at Champagne.

Elizabeth Fountain left a demanding job as a university administrator in Seattle to move to the small town of Ellensburg, Washington, and pursue her dream of writing novels.  She started writing in grade school; fortunately, most of her tortured high school poetry and song lyrics are lost to posterity. Her first book, An Alien’s Guide to World Domination, is a tale of people, aliens, and dogs who face the impossible, and do it anyway.  Now Liz has three more novels in progress, including You, Jane, which will be published by Champagne Book Group in June, 2014. She takes breaks from writing to teach university courses, spend time with family and friends, and take long walks while leaning into the diabolical Kittitas Valley wind. Liz strives to live according to a line from British singer-songwriter Chris Rea: “Every day, good luck comes in the strangest of ways.” Read more of her work atlizfountain.wordpress.com

Buy links:

Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00B0I5RM2

BURST! - http://burstbooks.ca/manufacturer.php?id_manufacturer=28

Kenneth D. Schultz is the author of the science fiction novel Truth-Teller Rebellion and its sequel, Truth-Teller Revenge, which has a November release date. Since childhood Ken’s loved writing and science. After a successful career in finance, he started to write again. Now he brings characters and worlds to life on a daily basis. Ken lives in the quaint fishing village of Poulsbo, on Washington State’s Olympic Peninsula with his wife Teresa, Vizsla Ruby, and Pomeranian emergency back-up dog Otto.

He  blogs at www.kennethdschultz.wordpress.com

Stephanie Joyce Cole lived for decades in Alaska.  She and her husband recently relocated to Seattle, where they reside with a predatory but lovable tailless Manx cat named Bruno. Stephanie has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Alaska, Anchorage. When she's not writing, she's hiking, creating ceramics, practicing yoga, traveling, volunteering and discovering new ways to have fun--and oh yes, reading, reading, reading. 

Find her at her website--www.stephaniejoycecole.com
And her blog-http://www.stephaniejoycecole.com/blog

Her book, Compass North can be purchased at Amazon  


On a side note, The All Things Returned blog tour starts today with a spotlight at Melissa Keir's blog

Visiting with Linda Rettstatt #TMPress

I'm over at Linda Rettstatt's blog, talking about the story behind The Lilac Hour. Come on by, pull up a chair and enjoy the scenery with us.

http://onewomanswrite.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-lilac-hour-story-behind-stories.html

#Snippet Afterglow--Mitch and India

Update! Reader voting for best contemporary, the category in which Afterglow was nominated, begins March 17  and runs through March 23.

You can vote HERE

Because Afterglow was nominated for a RONE award this week, I've gone back and dug out one of my favorite snips from the story. Mitch and India have become friends--and maybe, just maybe, Mitch is looking for more


Here's the snippet--

“How’s Allie?” Mitch asked the next day when I went to pick up more shoes.

“Hurt. Angry.”

“I told her it was hard. I was pretty upset when my parents

split.”

“That was a long time ago.”

“And you get over it. I was totally annihilated when my

marriage split, but I got past it. It’s been two years now.”

“You were married? And divorced?”

Mitch nodded as he opened the door to his storage room. “Yup. You’re in good company. I know what it’s like to be the walking wounded.”

“What other secrets are you keeping from us, Dr. Tinker?”

Mitch turned on the light and stood holding the pull string. “Not that many,” he said softly. “No more than your average guy. If you stick around, I’ll share a few with you.” He smiled, but there was a hint of something else in his eyes, concern maybe, or longing. It matched my feelings and that made me a little uncomfortable.

“Like what, for instance?” I said, wanting to melt the discomfort away. It worked. The smile rose into his eyes .

 “I’ll tell one if you will,” he said.

“I like gravy on my French fries,” I said.

“Yummy. I sing along with my iPod when I’m alone.”

 “What kind of music?”

“Springsteen, mostly. No fair, that’s two. You owe me one.”

“The River is one of my favorite albums.”

“And?” he raised his eyebrows, waiting.

“Okay. I really like to finger paint. And sometimes after school I paint at a kid’s art easel.”

“Landscapes or portraits?”

“Portraits mostly. Your turn.”

“I still watch Scooby Doo.”

“Hallmark commercials make me cry.”

“I had a huge crush on you when I was ten.” The room went very still and we stood there staring at each other. “I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s fine. You’re not ten anymore. Heck, I’m not thirty anymore.”

“I have changed considerably. You haven’t. Not really. Not that much.” He turned towards the shoes. “So, how many boxes do you think your trunk can hold?”

Find out more about Afterglow HERE

#Write-a-thin check in

My goal--get a good start on the first draft of Willow, book 4 of Anton and Lenora

January is whooshing by, or here in the great white north, skating by. I haven't increased my word count at all this week. In fact, I've taken a giant step backward because I had taken a wrong turn. I was stuck, as sometimes happens in a manuscript. When it happens, I need to sit back and ask myself why. The answer, this time, was clear--I needed to do more research.  I saw the wrong turn, went back, took a deep breath and pulled off the last 2,000 or so words. Sigh. The new words will be better, I think.

I'm also proof reading galleys for Dancing in the White Room. The full length novel comes out March 9 and proofs are the last step before we go to publication. There's some exciting new cover art, too. Stay tuned.

Here's a short snip from Dancing--

Emily goes outside with Chance when we get home. I fry up a couple of burgers and watch her from the kitchen window. She and the dog chase each other through the yard, then  Emily climbs up on her swing set. It’s only a short reach to the lower branch of a huge maple that stands in our yard. She grabs the branch and swings on that, Chance yapping at her heels. I hold my breath a second. A few times she’s climbed up into the tree. Both Bell and I have told her not to, but she’s fearless like her father. Each time I try to stay very calm and tell her to come on down. She can’t understand what the fuss is about.

#Write-a-thin check in

It's week two of the month long write a thin at the Women's Fiction Writers association. The concept is to chose one goal for the month. Mine was to finish a first draft of novella #4 of the Anton and Lenora series, or at least a good portion of the novella.
It was slow going this week. I'm taking Anton and Novella to China this time around and I had to do a bit more research on Shanghai in 1854.
Word wise--I'm up around 6k and we're just about ready for the Willow to weigh anchor.

Here's a bit (unedited) of what I've written--

“Aye, you should. Yet as you have just now admitted, he is not up to the task. You have put yourself and our child in some danger.”

            She turned serious then, her anger and mine both melted with the merriment, and she put her hands to my face and ran her fingers over my brow. “I have faith, Anton. In you and in myself. We have been through a good deal. We have prevailed. And I love you all the more for our trials.”

            I took her into my arms. “It does not due to tempt fate, mon amie.”

            She put her lips to mine. “Faith,” she said before kissing me softly.

             “To lose you would be to lose my life. I could not bear it, Lenora. I could not.”

            “I know, love.” She kissed my brow and ran her lips over my cheek, until my mouth caught hers again.

            Faith, hers and mine, would have to sustain us.

#Write-A-Thin First Week Update

Last week, I blogged about joining in the Women Fiction Writer's Association Write-A-Thin, a month long write-and-edit- a- thon where each writer sets a single goal. My goal is to finish a draft of Willow, the fourth novella of the Anton and Lenora series. A lofty goal, and if I get a good chunk of it done I'll be content.
In the interest of keeping myself on track, I plan on posting weekly updates of my Write-A-Thin progress.
I've had a pretty good week. It's been cold and I'm still eating Christmas Cookies--which is great for a sugar high! I've got lots else to do, playing catch-up after the holidays, so I'm pleased to have 4,000 words  on Willow. At novella length, I'm aiming for 20-30 K when it's finished. The content will determine the length.
In Willow, Anton and Lenora sail to Shanghai. Here's a snippet of what I've written this week--Still new and uncut, from the opening scene of Willow:

One look at Lenora’s countenance on that bright lit morn let me know I had made the right decision. We stood in the garden of our little cottage and though we were far from the goings on at the square, Lenora’s skin was pale as milk and I wondered if the ordeal—both the memory of what had happened and what was about to transpire-- made her ill.

“You should not trouble yourself so.” I took her by the hand and hoped she could feel the sincerity of my words.

“I wish there were some other way to bring him to justice.” She looked out over the bay. The view had always brought solace to my heart and I hoped it would do the same for her. She was a daughter of the sea, the daughter of a ship builder. We held a love of the sea in common, Lenora and I.

“We will sail away soon.” I kissed her fingers and she put an arm around my waist. “We will put this misfortune behind us.”

Write a Thin #Women'sFictionWriters

Who doesn't love New Year's resolutions? This year, I'm starting with one I can keep. I'm participating in the month long write-a-thin sponsored by the Women's Fiction Writer's Association. My goal--to write the fourth novella of the Anton and Lenora series. I'll keep you posted on how I do--it might take me a little more than a month and I'll be happy if I get twenty thousand words of the draft. It's good to aim high,right? Right? Where's my chocolate?