My Writing Process–Blog Tour

Well there’s a first time for everything, and this is my first time going on a blog tour! I’m beyond flattered that fellow blogger Quanie Miller of Quanietalkswriting.com thought to tag me. Out of all the fabulous bloggers in her circle, she chose lil’ ole’ me 😀 I know you can’t see me, but I’m all aglow with pride. Be sure to check out her blog and her hilarious novel It Ain’t Easy Being Jazzy.

Now, on to the questions.

1. What are you working on?

I’m currently working through extensive content editing on my yet unsigned debut novel. It’s a beast, and I’m starting to think it’ll need to be broken up into a series. Its working title is When the Real Thing Comes Along and it’s a realistic contemporary Christian novel. My protagonist’s ultimate goal is to let go of past emotional trauma and open her heart to the possibility of falling in love again. It sounds a little heavy, and at times it is, but it’s also full of laughs. My goal for anyone that reads it is for them to walk away asking themselves some tough questions about love, relationships and who they are in God. 

I’ve got two other novels brewing in my head, but I won’t let myself start to work on them until I get WTRTCA out. My next protagonist is getting a little antsy, so I need get to writing her story soon!

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Mmmhhhh…Christian fiction has really evolved over the last few years, primarily due to the self publishing revolution. Back in the day, major publishing houses had specific rigid guidelines regarding the main character’s morality and actions. It made sense, because most readers of faith-based literature chose to read that genre in an effort to avoid potentially offensive material. The only problem was that often the books ended up being totally unrealistic. So I guess this is my round about way of saying that my work differs from others in the Christian genre by attempting to keep it as real as possible. I’m a Christian and I’ve made mistakes and stupid decisions. The characters in my stories tend to do the same. But guess what? God still loves us, flaws and all. I hope that’s what stands out as the main message in everything I write.

Why do I write what I do?

I think I sort of delved into that with the previous question. But I’ll take a moment to also add that Christian fiction is not my ONLY genre. It’s the genre of my current work in progress. My goal is to blur the lines between genres. Eventually, I hope my entire body of work spans various ethnicities, races, faith practices, lifestyles, etc. All people are fascinating to me, and I think everyone has a story to tell. I write because I have something to say. I write because, through out my life, books have been my saving grace. If I can offer someone else a needed escape or the opportunity to look at the world through a different set of lenses, I count it a privilege.

How does your writing process work?

What process? You mean people actually have a thought out method to the madness of writing? Stories pop in and out of my head for months, sometimes years, before I actually write them down. I know I need to write it when it won’t let me go! I’m absent-minded, but if I sit down and play out a scene or short story in my mind, I can re-create it eons later on paper. I don’t want to sound totally out there, but it’s almost like the stories I tell are memories of lives I never lived, but that need to be shared. When I decide to finally write the story out, I’m character driven. I start it, and then they take over. It’s entertaining for me to see where they go. It’s also frustrating, but hey, that’s life.

Who am I adding to the tour?

As much as I’ve enjoyed talking about myself, it’s not all about me. I get to tag someone I think should join us on this tour. Ann Fields is the wonderful author of Fuller’s Curse–a psychological horror story with super natural elements that will leave you breathless! She’s also blogging at annfields.com. I hope you all take a moment to check out Ann’s space in the blogosphere!

What’s Your Writing Process?

Photo credit: ~Cin~ / Foter / Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

 

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