Traumwind - My Writing Process

My Writing Process - Blog Tour

2014-4-21

Well, I was tagged by not one but two lovely authors to participate in this Blog Hop Thingie. So here are my answers to the four questions, and below you'll find links to more lovely creators of fiction.

1) What are you working on?

Right now, I'm putting the finishing touches on draft one of "A Matter of Scales," which is a little murder mystery, with some myth added. It's set in the same world of "No Thing Harder Than Bone" and has several direct ties to that story. (You can read it in the recently published Theme-Thology: New Myths collection.)

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

Aren't we all different? Maybe just that I accept and embrace my divergence. Also, I write what I want to read, but that's not so different, is it?

3) Why do you write what you do?

See above. Plus there are certain ideas, concepts, I'd like to flesh out. The good old WhatIf, with a good dose of hobby inventor mixed in. I like to explore alternatives, and fiction seems like a perfect vehicle for that. All those ideas need to go somewhere.

4) How does your writing process work?

For each and every piece I have written lately, I seem to invent a new process. But there are certain common elements. I often start by collecting diverse ideas, stuff that interest me at the moment, but often has no connection. Sometimes I'll even draw cards at random or enter into writing prompt challenges for those core concepts.

I then brood over those ideas, words, images, until I start to see connections. I build on those connections, iterating over the whole thing several times.

In the end I have a tightly woven mesh of characters, places, concepts. All I need to do now, is write a story containing it all. (You did read that note of irony I had on the 'all I have to do?' Good.)

Another important element of my process is feedback. It's not easy to find the right kind of feedback, though. Sometimes I need plain praise and encouragement, but more important is quality feedback, from people who's opinion and judgement I trust. Who can call me on my BS. Who will help me improve. A good editor can do this.

I have more to say on process and general creativity, but I want to keep this post here short and give the four other people I'll link to a chance to add their's.

First the two authors who tagged me (and who have already put up their respective post):

A. Carina Barry has an eclectic writing style that swings like a pendulum between the polar opposites of love and death. Between these two points lies the vast totality of human existence. Thus she can be found exploring these themes in romantic fiction, poetry, and gothic horror tales.

Anne Leonard is the author of the fantasy novel Moth and Spark (Viking 2014) and is at work on a subsequent novel. She has served time as a lawyer and as an academic. She lives in Northern California.

And here are the two who will post their version of "My Writing Process" next Monday:

Dani Beneker was born and raised in California but settled in the Southwest for the 300 days of sun a year. She enjoys knitting shawls, which is odd because it's rarely that cold in the desert, but fun nevertheless. She draws her inspiration from all over the globe, themes and names and deities from places as diverse as ex-Soviet bloc countries to Mesoamerican ones. Her short stories and musings can be found at:

http://writingouttakes.wordpress.com

Rianh Silvertree is intrigued by the fantastic as it reveals itself in the ordinary; by inklings and barely noticed movements in the liminal spaces of the urban environment. Her fingernails change colour constantly, but she never paints them.

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