My Writing Process: Blog Tour Fun

Posted by rachelha in Book Fun, Writing Life, Writing Tips / 3 Comments

An author’s process is a fun thing to discover. I’m a big believer in the idea that there is no right way to write,  and that every author should find out what works for them. There are as many ways to do this thing as there are authors, and I think it’s immensely interesting to hear different takes. That’s what this blog tour is all about 🙂

First, a shout out to my girl Brighton Walsh for tagging me. If you haven’t yet met this cool chick, here’s a bit about her:

Brighton Walsh: _MG_3108magic

Brighton Walsh spent nearly a decade as a professional photographer before deciding to take her storytelling in a different direction and reconnect with her first love: writing. When she’s not pounding away at the keyboard, she’s probably either reading or shopping–maybe even both at once. She lives in the Midwest with her husband and two children, and, yes, she considers forty degrees to be hoodie weather. Her home is the setting for frequent dance parties, Lego battles, and more laughter than she thought possible.

Her New Adult debut, Caged in Winter, will be published November 4, 2014 from Berkley/Penguin. She is represented by Mandy Hubbard of D4EO Agency.

Find Brighton here:

Website  Twitter   Facebook   Goodreads   Pinterest

And now…a fascinating look into my process.

What am I working on?

About two weeks ago, I turned in the manuscript for book three in my adult Love & Games series (woot!), and finished proofing pages for the release of My Not So Super Sweet Life on the 21st, and ARC pages for The Fine Art of Pretending going to print as we speak. I gave myself a week off to enjoy Disney World with my family, and am now in heavy pre-plotting mode for book two in the Fine Art series.

Pre-plotting for me means digging deep into my characters. When I sold this book to Spencer Hill Contemporary, I turned in both a short synopsis (think: back of the book type blurb) and a full story synopsis–but that is just a framework. Now, especially after all the editing in book one, I have a better understanding of some of the characters, and am adjusting accordingly. As this is a companion novel, and tells the story of two new characters you may or may not have met in book one (tee hee), I’m getting to know them now in depth.

This past week, that took the shape of fleshing out a bit of back story and figuring out their positive and negative traits (help courtesy of The Positive Trait Thesaurus and The Negative Trait Thesaurus), choosing my story soundtrack, and casting my characters (help courtesy of my FABULOUS street team, the Flirt Squad). This week, I’m taking those traits and the synopsis I already wrote, and blending them into Goal Motivation Conflict statements for each, as well as a complete, detailed three-act plot.

This is my favorite part 🙂

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

This one’s a bit harder to answer, as it would probably depend on what book. I will say that regardless of genre or category, all my books are very character-driven.

YA: My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century and A Tale of Two Centuries are time travel fantasies and that are also historical romance, but I think those differ from others of its genre in their humor and heart. Book three in that series, My Not So Super Sweet Life, which releases next Monday, differs from the first two in that it is now dual POV (Cat and Lucas), and is straight contemporary romance with hints of the fantastical.

YA: The Fine Art of Pretending and book two which is in pre-plotting are dual POV contemporary romance, and I’d say that the focus on family and friendship, as well as humor, makes them stand out.

Adult: Taste the Heat, Seven Day Fiance, and book three releasing later this year, Crazy in Love (tentative title), are sweet category romance with a spicy edge. What makes them stand out from others of its genre is the New Orleans setting, the Cajun culture, the use of food (you will be hungry reading these books!), and the humor.

Why do I write what I do?

I love to mix things up and keep it fresh. That’s why I bounce a bit genre and category wise. So far, it’s been a mix of YA and adult, with NA joining the mix later this year, and I’ve written contemporary, historical, fantasy, and even a bit of paranormal. I love that my publishers give me the freedom to write so freely, and that my fans are so willing to jump around with me.

But, while the categories change slightly from book to book, ROMANCE is always at the core of each one…and the reason is because I’m a sucker for a happy ending. Reading and writing romance stories reminds me of the good in the world. The power of love and personal connection to overcome hardship and struggle. The need we all have to be truly understood by another. How despite our various backgrounds, social status, and nationality, at our core we’re all the same. We all love to swoon. We all love to see the growth that results from a true love journey. And we all love to believe that in the end, everyone has a perfect match.

How does my writing process work?

I gave you a glimpse into my pre-plotting with question one (See above). Once I have a detailed outline, and I mean detailed–each character’s arc tracked throughout, hitting on relational, familial, and life goals–I begin drafting. I try to write at least a scene a day, sometimes a chapter, and I edit as I write. When I’m happy with that day’s work, I email it to my critique partners. Normally, by the next morning, they’ve sent me back their feedback and suggestions. I input those, make my own adjustments, and move to the next scene. To get back into the character’s voice (especially when I’m writing a dual character story), I often go back and read a scene or two, and I tweak a little as I do so. With all that being done, by the time I reach the end, I’m pretty much finished. I send to betas to read and then the next week it’s in my editor’s inbox.

Plotting can take anywhere from a week to three weeks, depending on the amount of research needed or the length of the book.

Drafting takes me roughly three to five months at most, depending on the length of the book and how many books I have releasing during that time, or how many books I’ve having to edit. Because I know exactly where my story is going and the goal for each scene, the drafting stage is easier for me. It doesn’t mean I don’t make adjustments. I often combine two scenes into one or move a revelation forward or backward, but for the most part, the outline I have when I type Chapter One is the same as when I reach The End.

When my editor emails my edit letter, it usually takes me a couple days to formulate a plan, and then a few days up to a week to make the changes. For some books, that’s because I had very little to change…and for others, it just means that I’m an obsessive nut who can’t sit still until I have the book exactly the way it needs to be lol.

 

So, that’s MY take on the writing process, put as simply as I could. If I really got started, I could write a book just on the crazy ways I dive into my characters and set up my outlines. Or how I talk to myself in Panera while drafting…

Anyhoo, be sure to follow the rest of the tour next week, and see how my good friends Cindi Madsen and Cindy Ray Hale set up their incredible novels.

 

cindi

CINDI MADSEN

Cindi Madsen is a USA Today Bestselling author of contemporary romance and young adult novels. She sits at her computer every chance she gets, plotting revising, and falling in love with her characters. Sometimes it makes her a crazy person. Without it, she’d be even crazier. She has way too many shoes, but can always find a reason to buy a new pretty pair, especially if they’re sparkly, colorful, or super tall. She loves music, dancing, and wishes summer lasted all year long. She lives in Colorado (where summer is most definitely NOT all year long) with her husband and three children.

Find her at her website, TwitterFacebook, and Goodreads

cindy ray

 

CINDY RAY HALE

Cindy Ray Hale lives in Tennessee with her husband and four children. In addition to being a writer, she’s an avid reader and a social media junkie. At the age of 17, she wrote a short story Instant Harmony which later appeared in the April 2000 issue of New Era, the official magazine for the youth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Destiny is her first book.

Find her at her website, Twitter, and Facebook.