Thanks to the very talented Jane Ayres for
inviting me to take part in The Writing Process Blog Tour, a blog relay in
which each author discusses their individual writing process, and then passes
the baton on. I've been a bit of a slow runner on this one due to
being away on holiday and not posting when I said I would, but I hope I won't
have held the team up too much!
I've followed Jane's blog for a few years now. She writes, among other
things, equestrian-themed novels and I have a real nostalgia for those sort of
books, having been a huge fan of pony stories as a kid/early teen. The number
of books she's had published makes me gape... I'll never catch up! Please do
follow the link above to check out her blog, The Beautiful Room (what a
fabulous name for a blog) where you can find all her titles, including her latest release, The Perfect Horse, and the cover
reveal for her latest book 'Beware of the Horse 2: Angie's Revenge'.
You can read Jane's stop on The Writing Process Blog Tour here.
Now I have to answer 4 questions and pass the baton on:
1. What am I currently working on?
I have been taking a break from writing (see previous posts) due to
family and canine commitments (!) but I will be properly back in the writing
saddle at the end of September. My brain has, of course, still been working
whilst my fingers had a break and my current project is a supernatural
time-slip novel set in a stately home that's being restored. I love history and
the sense of layers of time in old buildings.
2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?
It's difficult to make short stories for women's magazines differ very
much from others
as there are certain requirements. I don't suppose my work does vary very much
from anyone else's really! As far as writing the novel goes, there seems to be
a definite formula for time-slip work. I will be doing my
best to find some way of making my story in some way different from others in the genre. I like stories with a lot of threads, and that's what I'm aiming
for.
3. Why do I write what I write?
I am mostly influenced by sensory stuff - feelings, vibes, sights are
what usually get me started. I began writing short stories because I felt it
would be a way to build my confidence and perhaps become published. Now I have
achieved that and my inspiration has (hopefully temporarily) run dry on the
short story front, I want to concentrate on my novel. The trouble is, short
stories provide a quick fix - quick yes or no, quick payment (!) and that
becomes a bit addictive. I think having had a long break will help me chill out
and take my time with my novel. At least, I hope so!
4. How does my individual writing process work?
This is something I definitely need to work on. I am very undisciplined!
When working on a short story I tend to get up early and do an hour before
work, then a bit more after work if I can. I think on my feet and re-write as I
go along. It's a bit hap-hazard, to be honest, but fine for short pieces of
work. I think that for the novel, being a larger body of work, I will need to
write it more or less without editing and then go back over it, otherwise I'll
never get to the end! (It's happened before - I have several that I stopped
half way through because I'd lost heart and interest.) Wish me luck!
And now for the passing on of the baton...
The fabulous Patsy Collins will be the next in line, although I think, like me, she isn't going to be running especially fast!
Patsy is a fellow writer of short stories and has also published several novels. Her blog, 'Words about writing and writing about words', is always witty and interesting - no pressure to keep that up, Patsy ;-) - so do pop across and have a look. You can pick up her free e-book of short stories - 'Not a Drop to Drink' - by clicking the link.
as there are certain requirements. I don't suppose my work does vary very much from anyone else's really! As far as writing the novel goes, there seems to be a definite formula for time-slip work. I will be doing my best to find some way of making my story in some way different from others in the genre. I like stories with a lot of threads, and that's what I'm aiming for.
Well, that was fun! Thanks for popping in!
8 comments:
I have to write things the same way - all the way to the end - before I can start editing. I just don't understand the people who write up to chapter 15 and then go back to chapter 1 and start editing before the whole thing is finished.
I used to be very haphazard about writing. Organizing my thoughts and plotting has helped me out quite a bit.
Good luck with the novel writing, I like to get the first draft down before going back and re-working. I sometimes wish I was more of a plotter but I seem to work best as a pantster! I used to love those horse themed books too.
Time slip story in a stately home sounds wonderful. I look forward to reading that one day!
Hi Linda - thanks for taking the baton. I love the idea of time slip novels - even the words are evocative. I've recently started to get more into historical fiction. I've tried for many years to get short stories published in the commercial fiction market, and only managed to do so once, so I have huge admiration for anyone who has cracked this. I'll have to keep persevering! Good luck with your novel. :)
You say you're haphazard and undisciplined as though there might be some other sort of writer out there!
Thanks for passing this on to me. I will get around to it ... eventually.
Layers of time... I love the image that conjures up. I used to be hooked on real time-slip stories, so your novel sounds like something I'd love to read :-)
Ooh free. I like free.
I think writing small pieces is hard. I've been wanting to try some. I've thought writing some of the shorts for magazines would help the books get exposure. But they are harder to write than you think, so give yourself a lot of credit for those!
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