My Writing Process
Many thanks to Lisa Amowitz, for inviting me to join the Writing Process Blog Tour. Lisa is an author, cover designer and graphic design professional living in New York City. Her YA noir ghost story, BREAKING GLASS was released in 2013. Her latest book, VISION will be available September 9, 2014 from Spencer Hill Press. Check out Lisa’s website, follow Lisa on Twitter and read about Lisa’s writing process here.
As part of the blog tour, I’ve been asked to answer 4 questions.
1. What am I working on?
I’m taking a break from paranormal to work on a YA contemporary about a teenage girl dealing with the frustration of living with her grandfather, who suffers from Alzheimer’s. But since I can’t do anything the neat and easy way, there will also be pirates.
2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?
Writers put their own unique spin on their stories according to their own life experience. At different times, I’ve lived with my grandmother, my great-aunt, and my mother while they had Alzheimer’s, so I feel qualified to write about the ups and downs of living with someone who has dementia. I volunteer at a middle school library, and I’ve talked it over with my wonderful librarian, and we can’t find many books that discuss Alzheimer’s from a teen’s POV. Since the baby boomers are getting older and there’s no cure available, more kids will be faced with family members who have some form of dementia. And when a family member has dementia, the entire family suffers.
3. Why do I write what I do?
I have so much respect for ghostwriters – how they can take an idea that’s not theirs and write an entire book. I can’t do that. I have to crawl inside an idea and live with it for a good long time before I can put together the pieces that will make up a cohesive story.
4. How does your writing process work?
How I’d like my writing process to look …
This is what my writing process really looks like … there’s a light at the end, but no clear path and lots of stuff to trip over.
My writing process is a work in progress. I “pantsed” my way through Auracle, and two other manuscripts that I shelved. I spent so much time rewriting Auracle, that I decided to outline future work. That didn’t quite work out as planned, either, as it didn’t give me the chance to get to know my characters before sending them off on their journey. The story I’m working on is a combination of research, drafting and outlining. Even though it’s a contemporary, there’s a historical element to it which required extensive research. I like visuals, so if I find a picture in a magazine or on the internet that reminds me of a character, I’ll print it and keep it in my story file. The setting is critical to this particular story, so I broke out the colored pencils and drew up a map. My writing partner and I try to meet once a week, and we email back and forth to keep ourselves on track. Now that I’m finished with most of the research, my goal is to write 1,000 words a day and get the first draft finished in 3 months. At that point, I’ll let it sit for a couple of weeks, then print it out and give it a good hard read with “fresh eyes”, then heavy duty edits before I’m ready to send it off to be beta read. I’ll use that feedback to edit it a few more times before I’m ready to send it to my agent for her feedback, then it’s back to more edits and polishing before it’s ready for her to shop.
That’s it! Sounds so easy, doesn’t it 😉
And now, it’s my pleasure to introduce two fabulous authors who will be posting about their writing process on their blogs next Monday, April 7th ~
My writing partner, Wendy Thomas, is approaching her 1,000th blog on Lessons Learned From the Flock. Wendy is also a journalist – her work has appeared in many newspapers and magazines, and you can tune in next week to hear more about the book she’s working on. You can find Wendy on her blog, Facebook and Twitter.
My Class of 2k12 sister author, Lynne Kelly, is the author of the 2013 Crystal Kite Award winner CHAINED, a heartfelt middle grade story about 10 year old Hastin who takes a job as an elephant keeper to work off his family’s debt. You can find Lynne on her blog, Twitter and Facebook.
Gina Rosati 