My Writing Process

First off, I need to thank Angel Nicholas for inviting me to participate in this blog tour. You can read all about Angel's process here.

So, to keep in line with the parameters of the blog tour, I'm to answer four questions. I'll probably go off on some tangents. It seems to be what I do.

1)     What am I working on?

Currently I'm working on the first book of my Skyhawk Security series. I've finished the first draft and am currently working on editing the draft and threading a secondary story line in.  It's my first full length novel and as such it offers challenges that smaller pieces haven't presented before. It's also the first time I'm going into a story knowing that it will be the start of a series. I'm building a world that needs to be sustained through at least another two books, if not longer. Hopefully much longer.

Lily Myers is determined to enjoy every second of her life. Lord knows she's sacrificed enough. She firmly believes she can have-and do-it all. So when she's attacked and her family insists she hire a body guard, she does so grudgingly.
Clint Sloane is tying up loose ends. One of those loose ends happens to be Lily. She's smart, sexy and has the power to break him. The men after her won't stand a chance, because he's going to take care of things first.

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

My work skates the line between dark romantic suspense and more humorous, contemporary romance. I take the approach that we're just seeing a snippet of the character's lives. Their entire life can't be a suspense novel, so there are elements of the mundane, day-to-day tossed in. Not enough to make it drag on and be boring, but enough to really connect with the characters and feel like you know them. They have dreams and regrets. They don't always to the right thing and they make mistakes.

I suppose that's not necessarily different from others of it's genre, but the way I talk about it seems to be a little different.

3)     Why do I write what I do?

Back when I graduated from college I remember being thrilled at the thought of reading a book just because I wanted to. No more trying to figure out what an author meant when they said the curtains were blue (I'm still convinced that 90% of the authors simply meant that the curtains were a lovely shade of indigo rather than whatever it was the professor decided it meant) or reading books that I simply didn't connect with. As a result I read everything I could get my hands on. I fell in love with historical romances and devoured everything I got my hands on. Along the way, as an avid reader, I met some authors. Some really wonderful women who opened up the world of romance to me, beyond the ballrooms and period dress. Suspense and mysteries that have happy endings. Two of my very favorite things all rolled into one! How could I resist?

There were a few characters (not my own) that would haunt me. I simply needed to have more of them, so I would up writing a few short stories staring these characters. And I started writing. And talking to more authors who encouraged me to keep writing. To listen to my own characters and put them on the page.  The lure was too great to resist, so I started to dabble. A little bit here, a little bit there. I'd ask my husband about plot points and character details and generally drove him crazy. He encouraged me to join RWA and started me on this amazing journey.

4)     How does your writing process work?

My process has been a work in progress to figure out what works for me. It seems as though I'm surrounded by writers that don't have to do an exhaustive plot outline and edit as they go. To say I'm not one of them is an understatement.  It's taken me a couple of years, but I finally seem to realize that I must have an outline. I don't necessarily have to follow it, but I have to have it so I know where I'm trying to go. Otherwise my romantic suspense might wind up being an apocalyptic fantasy.

So, I start with an outline. A huge poster board covered in sticky notes outlining the characters and plot.  From there I do a fast draft where I write. No editing. No going back and fixing that part that just didn't quite work out. Just write.

Then I edit. I delete half of what I wrote before and re-write it. It's bitterly painful, but oh so rewarding because this is when the story starts to really shine. It had a shape before, but now it comes alive. 

In terms of day-to-day writing, I get up at 5 AM nearly every day to write. It's the only time my house is silent, with the critters (both two and four legged) are otherwise occupied (aka asleep) so I can get a string of at least two thoughts to piece together.

Most of all, I've learned I have to laugh at myself. So many people take themselves so seriously, that they seem to lose the joy in doing something so amazing. And, really. Writing is amazing.