Writing Process Blog Tour

This week the fabulous Jen Brooks tagged me in to do a post on my writing process. Check out her answers to the questions here: http://www.jenbrookswriter.com/2014/07/21/mywritingprocess-blog-tour/

And here are the questions!

1)      What am I working on?

I am working on the sequel to my debut novel, a space opera titled Empress Game. This will be the second in a trilogy and is called Cloak of War. It follows Kayla and her family of psionics in their fight to free their homeworld from occupation by the Sakien Empire.

2)      How does my work differ from others of its genre?

In a genre with ray guns, plasma rockets, ion pistols and so forth, there can be a lot of shoot outs. I like to bring the more personal elements of fighting into the action, and include gritty hand to hand combat in my novels. I like to showcase martial arts and the use of a good old-fashioned head butt to bring immediacy to the character’s struggles.

I also have kick-butt female protagonists, willing to sacrifice everything in their dedication to their goals. Now if only the men could keep up with them! ;-)

3)      Why do I write what I do?

I write speculative fiction (and space opera in particular, in this case) because it gives me freedom to explore any plot I want because the world-building is in my hands. If I want to see how a character would react to sudden freedom of choice after being the victim of mind-control for 5 years, I can create a sci-fi world in which that kind of set-up is possible. (Cloak of War is exploring that very topic!)

I also write kick-butt female heroes because a) there are just too few of them in literature/movies, b) I love to explore the strengths, mental and physical, of women, and see what they can do when driven to the edge, then past it. I have a lot of strong female role models in my family, and that’s just what comes natural to me, writing a character strong enough in her own way to meet and master any challenge.

4)      How does my individual writing process work?

Oh man, I could write a book on this topic! Honestly, and I suspect this is true of most writers, my processes is an amalgam of all types.

I do my best writing when I’ve already outlined. I love outlining. With an outline in hand, I can tackle a scene and only worry about the words, not also having to come up with the plot at the same time. Ideally I’d outline all the time.

But, I’m impatient, and a little lazy. Sometimes things don’t come to me. I have no idea what happens in the plot next. In that case, the only way to shake loose the story is to write. I put one word in front of the other, painfully sometimes, just typing and telling myself, “I can always rewrite this later.” I say, “Okay, write 500 words and see what happens.”

Sometimes they’re crap and I get nowhere ;-) But usually, it gets me going and slowly the wheels of plotting start to turn again. There’s no such thing as writer’s block. If you’re “blocked,” then you’re just not being versatile enough in your process. If one avenue isn’t working, attack it from a different direction: outline, free write, take a walk while musing on it, listen to suitable music, do a mock interview with your characters, read a book on writing craft (this usually gets me crackin’), try word association, write a list of things you don’t  know yet, and start thinking of the answers.

I like that last one a lot. Don’t ask yourself “what happens next,” ask “what would happen if she just gave up here?” or “Why is my villain so angry?” or “How does the nanovirus I’ve created actually work, on a scientific level?” Thinking of these details gets you going on how they affect the plot.

In the end I’d say my process is outlining whenever I can, and knowing that I need to utilize every other process at some point in the creation of a novel to keep me going.

Want to hear what two other great authors have to say to these questions? Check out:

Diana Botsford

Writer/Producer Diana Dru Botsford's work runs the gamut from novels to the screen including several Stargate SG-1 novels, the Star Trek TNG episode, "Rascal's" and the award-winning science fiction webseries "Epilogue."  She most recently contributed to the up-and-coming Stargate short story anthology, "Far Horizons," due from Fandemonium this fall. Check out her answers here: http://dianabotsford.com

And fellow Southwest Florida Romance Writer Patty Campbell

Patty Campbell has just finished the second book in her military romances, and has begun hero number 3's story. Her fascination with the USMC is part of family history. Check out her answers on her blog: pattycampbellauthor.blogspot.com