on May 19, 2014 Thanks to Dianne Ashcroft who started this blog-hop tour and to Evie Hunter who kindly invited me to join it. Make sure you check out Evie’s blog post.
The Writing Process blog hop is an opportunity for writers to answer questions about how they write and what works for them, so here are the questions and my answers.
What are you working on now?
After recently winning a book deal with Harlequin for my debut romance novel, Hustle, I’ve been fortunate enough to sign with them for two more books. The tentative titles are Hacker and Hitman, which I’m going to be working on for most of the summer and probably a bit of autumn too. I’m really excited to be working with Harlequin on these books.
I also write paranormal fiction and fantasy for an indie publisher, so I’m hoping to write the final book in The Demon Diaries later this year.
How does your work differ from others of its genre?
My books often fall outside of specific genres. In fact, my new adult romance, Hustle, was a different breed of new adult because it included action and adventure. I think of Hustle as my Indiana Jones for girls. All of my books are a little bit unique, often because they usually contain humor in them on some level, which makes them a bit different from the other books in that genre.
Why do you write what you do?
The adventure! Life is an adventure, and I want to explore every aspect of it. Maybe I can’t travel the world or hunt for hidden treasure on exotic shores. Maybe I can’t summon a demon and take a trip to a stately castle in Hell, but my characters can. When I write their stories, I get to go on that adventure with them. That’s why I love to write, and that’s why I write a lot of crazy adventures.
How does your writing process work?
I’m very strict with myself, and I have rules that I’m not allowed to break. I begin with a blurb. I jot out my story idea in 300 words or less. It doesn’t have a middle or an ending, just the beginning. Once I have that, I use my crazy invention, which I named ‘the chapter planner’. It’s basically a paragraph about each chapter, a very simple one like: ‘The main character tries to get away, but she gets shot.’ Once I’ve plotted out each chapter in a very rough way, I can look at the story arc. Does my main conflict grow in each chapter? Does it make sense. Do I resolve the conflict? I use this method to stop myself wandering off into another world. The planner becomes my guide, like a map of the story.
Next is the writing. Since I have my plan for chapter one, which I can read in a split second to refresh my memory of where I am in the story, I can now get imaginative with that idea and start writing the chapters. It’s just a case of sitting down and writing it. I make sure I get up every morning, and I write. How much I write depends on my day, but if I get lost in my story, I can just peek at my plan and get back on track.
Once the first draft is finished, then it’s time for editing. I’ll open the story in a different view. Typos are little ninjas that hide inside Word documents, just waiting to jump out and bite you on the ass. So when I’m editing, I’ll make the background a different colour and size, so those typos have nowhere to hide. Then I’ll hunt them down before submitting it to my editor.
Next stop on the blog hop tour is Jo Watson.
Jo Watson is a South African writer who has worked as a TV scriptwriter and storyliner, play write, copywriter and features writer for the past ten years. Burning Moon is her first novel, and has been published with Harlequin after winning the So You Think You Can Write competition. When she is not writing she watches copious amounts of TV series and listens to Depeche Mode. You can find Jo online at www.jowatsonwrites.com.