I haven't been a published author for many years. When I see my books in book stores, or listed on online book sellers, it inspires me to continue to do what I do. And, hopefully, continue to grow and become a better story teller with each adventure I create.
As a reader, I've fallen in love with Historical Fiction. So, naturally, I guess, I've decided to take on this challenge as a writer, too. Historical fiction is a completely different animal from contemporary fiction. Being true to my characters in every way: dialogue, clothing, social norms, etc. takes a lot of thought, and is nothing like contemporary fiction. With Contemporary Fiction, I can easily read a newspaper article, or watch a news broadcast to get an idea of how my heroine can challenge or push the boundaries. With Historical Fiction, I can do some of the same, but because of a much smaller network of support, and challenges with technology staying within the boundaries of what could and would be done can be a challenge of its own, especially if you're not writing Science Fiction.
I think my love of fiction (all genres) influences my writing. Some of my pieces may be more mainstream, or Women's Fiction in their read and feel. Where as my current work-in-progress would definitely be classified as Romance. It is extremely interesting to me when I finish writing a piece, and I sit back to read it to determine which publishers to pitch. It is even difficult :-)
But, I don't believe I could write any other way. And I grow as an author, I become even more solid in my hybrid style of writing. It's the story I love to tell. I love writing stories about a woman's journey. A story that tells how she moves from where she is when the reader is first introduced to her to where she will stand when the story has been told. My stories don't always necessarily have a love interest introduced, immediately, and that's on purpose. Sometimes, my women need to grow into themselves before they're ready to find love. Or, at least before they can recognize it.
Because of my love of many different types of stories and styles writing, my writing process involves reading a lot. I like to keep myself open to all sources of information as possible pieces to a story I want to tell. I'm a true pantser, so I keep a lot of notes, that eventually evolve into a loose story structure that gets tweaked time and time again, as I tell the story.
Writing is such a personal journal journey for every author. We all tell our stories in different ways, and have many ways of accomplishing our goal of completing a story. I enjoy the art of story telling. For me creating the story, it's one of my favorite parts of writing. Talking to readers who enjoy the stories I tell is another favorite.
If I didn't write, I'm not sure what I would be doing, Maybe music, or some other form of creative expression. Some form of story telling.
What about you? What's your process as a writer?
To find out more about the writing process of some of my friends, visit their blogs:
Brien Michaels
Chelle Cordero
LaVerne Thompson
