Bryan Murphy's Blog - Posts Tagged "blog-tour"
Writing Process Blog Tour
My friend Marta Merajver-Kurlat (http://www.martamerajver.com.ar/marta...), author of Just Toss the Ashes and Why Can't I Make Money?, among other works, kindly invited me to participate in this blog hop tour and answer four questions about my writing process.
1) What am I working on?
My first novel. Its provisional title is Revolution Number One. Usually I write short stories, which I set in an imagined future in order to write more freely about the present. The novel, in contrast, is set in Portugal back in the 1970s, where a young English businessman struggles to survive and thrive during the world’s coolest Revolution. I’ve just finished the first draft, so I guess that the real work is about to start.
2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?
Well, in the novel, I use the past to write essentially about the present and the future. I don’t read enough historical fiction to know how different that makes it.
Most of my work, though, is set in the near future. It’s really too low-tech to be true science fiction. My philosophy is that the problems of the near past, the present and the near future are similar: what is important is how we deal with them, irrespective of technology. Perhaps a better descriptor is social science fiction.
Whatever the setting, I hope to write literature first and genre fiction second.
3) Why do I write what I do?
I like to set my stories in places where I have lived and worked, like England, Italy, Portugal and China, but to move away from the present in order to get a clearer perspective on it. I have always been future-oriented, but advancing age has successfully tempted me to look backwards as well.
4) How does my writing process work?
Writing a novel changed this. Before, I would write a short story or poem on paper. Then I would type it on to the computer, print it out and revise it several times using pen on paper, before keying in the changes to leave a final version on the computer.
For the novel, the first version of each chapter went straight on to the computer, and so did some of the revisions. That saved time and sped me towards the goal of a completed first draft. I have reached that particular target way ahead of schedule, so I’m prepared to spend a great deal of time turning it from a finished novel into a good novel - if I can.
The wonderful Andea Buginsky is taking up the baton next week and explaining her writing process, on Monday 7 July.
Andrea Buginsky is a freelance writer with a BA in Mass Communication-Journalism from the University of South Florida. She has always wanted to be a published writer, and decided to try to write children's fantasy books a few years ago. The Chosen is her first book, and was released on December 14, 2010, to her delight.
Andrea has written three more books since:
• My Open Heart, an autobiography of growing up with heart disease.
• Nature's Unbalance: The Chosen, Book 2
• Destiny: New Avalon, book 1, a YA fantasy
She is currently writing the second book in the New Avalon series and editing the third book of The Chosen series.
Andrea lives in Kansas with her family, which includes her two precious puppies.
You can visit Andrea on her website or Google+. Her blog is at: http://www.andreabuginsky.com/.
1) What am I working on?
My first novel. Its provisional title is Revolution Number One. Usually I write short stories, which I set in an imagined future in order to write more freely about the present. The novel, in contrast, is set in Portugal back in the 1970s, where a young English businessman struggles to survive and thrive during the world’s coolest Revolution. I’ve just finished the first draft, so I guess that the real work is about to start.
2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?
Well, in the novel, I use the past to write essentially about the present and the future. I don’t read enough historical fiction to know how different that makes it.
Most of my work, though, is set in the near future. It’s really too low-tech to be true science fiction. My philosophy is that the problems of the near past, the present and the near future are similar: what is important is how we deal with them, irrespective of technology. Perhaps a better descriptor is social science fiction.
Whatever the setting, I hope to write literature first and genre fiction second.
3) Why do I write what I do?
I like to set my stories in places where I have lived and worked, like England, Italy, Portugal and China, but to move away from the present in order to get a clearer perspective on it. I have always been future-oriented, but advancing age has successfully tempted me to look backwards as well.
4) How does my writing process work?
Writing a novel changed this. Before, I would write a short story or poem on paper. Then I would type it on to the computer, print it out and revise it several times using pen on paper, before keying in the changes to leave a final version on the computer.
For the novel, the first version of each chapter went straight on to the computer, and so did some of the revisions. That saved time and sped me towards the goal of a completed first draft. I have reached that particular target way ahead of schedule, so I’m prepared to spend a great deal of time turning it from a finished novel into a good novel - if I can.
The wonderful Andea Buginsky is taking up the baton next week and explaining her writing process, on Monday 7 July.
Andrea Buginsky is a freelance writer with a BA in Mass Communication-Journalism from the University of South Florida. She has always wanted to be a published writer, and decided to try to write children's fantasy books a few years ago. The Chosen is her first book, and was released on December 14, 2010, to her delight.
Andrea has written three more books since:
• My Open Heart, an autobiography of growing up with heart disease.
• Nature's Unbalance: The Chosen, Book 2
• Destiny: New Avalon, book 1, a YA fantasy
She is currently writing the second book in the New Avalon series and editing the third book of The Chosen series.
Andrea lives in Kansas with her family, which includes her two precious puppies.
You can visit Andrea on her website or Google+. Her blog is at: http://www.andreabuginsky.com/.
Fine Fruit On The Nettle Tree
I'm very pleased to host this stage of The Nettle Tree's blog tour. You can find the book here: http://shop.claytonbye
The editors have asked me to comment on one of the stories that I found particularly striking. The Nettle Tree is an anthology that re-defines a genre – the Western – and does so largely by grafting elements of fantasy and science fiction on to it. Perhaps because I am a writer and fan of science fiction, I was most intrigued by John Rosenman's story, “State of the Art”, which, set in the future, looks at facets of our present and our past with humour and deep philosophical concern. Rosenman uses the tropes of the Western to subvert themselves, as technology from the future intrudes and overturns the apple-cart. He leads us to question what we expect from a Western, and why, and also to ponder whether “artificial intelligence” is a contradiction in terms. He achieves this with a splendidly light touch, and gives us the pleasure of seeing the new-style baddies get their old-style come-uppance.
Here are the book's details:
Title: The Nettle Tree
Publisher: Chase Enterprises Publishing
Editors: Kenneth Weene and Clayton Bye
ISBN (print): 978-1- 927915-10- 3
ISBN (eBook): 978-1- 927915-11- 0
Format: Trade paperback and e-book
Pages: 166
Genre: Speculative Western
Price: $17.95 (print) $3.95 (e-book)
The book and pdf e-book can be purchased at: http://shop.claytonbye
It is also available on Amazon in print form and on Smashwords for all e-book formats.
The editors have asked me to comment on one of the stories that I found particularly striking. The Nettle Tree is an anthology that re-defines a genre – the Western – and does so largely by grafting elements of fantasy and science fiction on to it. Perhaps because I am a writer and fan of science fiction, I was most intrigued by John Rosenman's story, “State of the Art”, which, set in the future, looks at facets of our present and our past with humour and deep philosophical concern. Rosenman uses the tropes of the Western to subvert themselves, as technology from the future intrudes and overturns the apple-cart. He leads us to question what we expect from a Western, and why, and also to ponder whether “artificial intelligence” is a contradiction in terms. He achieves this with a splendidly light touch, and gives us the pleasure of seeing the new-style baddies get their old-style come-uppance.
Here are the book's details:
Title: The Nettle Tree
Publisher: Chase Enterprises Publishing
Editors: Kenneth Weene and Clayton Bye
ISBN (print): 978-1- 927915-10- 3
ISBN (eBook): 978-1- 927915-11- 0
Format: Trade paperback and e-book
Pages: 166
Genre: Speculative Western
Price: $17.95 (print) $3.95 (e-book)
The book and pdf e-book can be purchased at: http://shop.claytonbye
It is also available on Amazon in print form and on Smashwords for all e-book formats.
