My Writing Process – blog tour

Today I have the honor of being a part of a special blog tour for writers. This thing is spreading like wildfire, and thanks to my friend and poet, Michelle Wing, I get to be one of the tour stops! You can check out her writing process blog and more at thepoemwhisperer.com.

The purpose of this tour is to get to know a few writers on a deeper level. So without further ado, here’s a little bit about me:

1) What am I working on?
I am currently writing the third and final installment of my Forever After series. The first book is A Symphony of Cicadas, a story of a woman named Rachel who dies with her son, Joey, just weeks before her wedding. The story is from her point of view in the afterlife, and reveals the unraveling of the family she left behind. The second book is Forever Thirteen, Joey’s journey through the afterlife and his fight to save his friend he left behind. This third book is a prelude to the first two, telling how Rachel met and fell in love with her fiance, and the trials and tribulations of blending a stepfamily.

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?
I never meant to write a “fantasy” novel. I’m more of a literary fiction kind of reader, and most of my prior (unpublished) writing is literary fiction. However, a vivid dream I had changed all that, and my books about the afterlife began. However, each book in the series, while of a common theme and with the same characters, can be classified under three different genres. The first is adult paranormal, the second leans toward young adult paranormal, and the third is more literary/romance fiction. This is a risky move, because how do you focus on one group of readers when it can reach three? However, it’s also an unintended tactic to reach more readers, as each book can be read as a standalone and doesn’t stray too far from the other books’ themes, and has the ability to lead the readers to a new genre. In a way, this series has the ability to attract three times as many readers.

3) Why do I write what I do?
My passion for writing is on family issues. In each book I have written, I have touched on subjects seen within families with teenagers, stepfamilies, teen mothers, etc. It’s what I know, and what I love. There are so many underlying factors in families that are interesting to write about, things that many struggle with. It’s my way of providing answers to questions we all have, or even just offering a commiserating view to the hurdles we all face in families.

4) How does your writing process work?
I always start with an idea. I jot that idea down, creating a rough storyline with an end in place. But when I write, I rarely go by that plotline entirely. The end is usually concrete, but how I get there often strays so far from my original plan, it’s laughable. I find that as I write, the characters have a different idea of how things should go. And who am I to stand in their way? After all, it’s their story, not mine. Still, it makes me feel safer to have a plan to begin with, even if that plan is ignored along the way.

And there you have it! Be sure to check out the following writers who will be blogging about their writing process next Friday, May 23, 2014:

Erica Chretien has a degree in English and Creative Writing from U.C. Davis and currently lives in Sacramento with her husband and two children.  She is transitioning from writing her parenting blog, whykidsneedmanuals.com to writing short stories and romance.  She is a member of the Romance Writers of America and enjoys writing happily-ever-afters and is currently working on her second full-length novel.  You can find excerpts and blog posts at ericachretien.com.

Jessica Dall finished her first novel at age 15 and been writing ever since. She is the author of such novels as Grey Areas and The Bleeding Crowd, the Broken Line Series, and a number of short stories which have appeared in both literary magazines and anthologies. When not writing, she works as a freelance editor and creative writing teacher in Washington, DC. Find her at jessicadall.com

Cinda  MacKinnon grew up in Latin America. She began telling stories to her little brother when they were children in Bogotá. Her experiences and love for the people, culture and natural setting of Colombia resulted in her award winning novel, A Place in the World. A writer, former university lecturer, and environmental scientist, she has an MS in geology and a longtime passion for botany. This background enabled her to weave details into her writing on tropical nature and geology, as well as Colombian society. She has published short stories as well as articles in journals on environmental topics; she received the William Penn Mott Jr. Award for environmental advocacy. She lives in northern California with her husband Tom and their golden retriever. Find her at cindamackinnon.wordpress.com.