My Writing Process

So the blog has been a bit neglected lately…like, this is the first time I’ve logged in since late December. I’ve resolved to do better, though, and to kick things off, I was invited to participate in a blog hop by the lovely Sharon Clare. Sharon’s a Canadian author who studied psychology and writing at the University of Toronto. She has published paranormal romance novels with Crimson Romance, along with magazine articles, short stories, art reviews, and a newsletter. Sharon’s favorite place to write is outside under the maple trees beside the trickling pond and blooming lilies, and you can find more about her writing process HERE.

This blog hop is pretty simple.  I answer four questions about my writing process, then pay it forward by inviting three other writers to participate and linking to their blogs. I’m tagging Ellen Gregory, a fabulous Australian author of high fantasy who blogs about travel and writing and Dungeons and Dragons.  I’m also tagging my friend Debbie Christiana, who is a multipublished author of paranormal romance involving past lives and Strega, the Italian tradition of witchcraft. And finally, I’m tagging Jillian Chantal, author of an amazing array of contemporary and historical romance. Jillian participated in the My Writing Process blog hop earlier this month, and you can jump HERE to see her post. Keep an eye on Ellen & Debbie’s blogs, because they’ll be answering these same four questions a week from today.

And now for the four questions…

1. What am I working on?

Getting stuff ready! I have an UF/romance that I’m querying and a contemporary romance that I’m revising (again). I’ve also got the first draft done of a m/m romance set in the 1950s. It’s a short one, but I’m real pleased with how it’s working up. I’m also working hard on craft – still trying to figure out where I’m most comfortable.

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

My stories are funny and sexy and light, and while I started out thinking I’d love to grow up to be Janet Evanovich, now I’m more focused on figuring out what makes a good Liv Rancourt book.

3. Why do I write what I do?

My ideas tend to grow out of stuff I’m dealing with in the real world, filtered and twisted and shaped. Writing lets me poke at things and work out my thoughts, hopefully in a way that’s entertaining for others.

4. How does my writing process work?

I get an idea – often but not always while lying in bed – and write it down. Then I think some more. Then I write some more. I like to have a fairly good plan for where I’m going before I get there, which puts me more-or-less in the Plotter’s camp. I make an editing pass, and send it off to a few trusted individuals for feedback. Then I revise based on that feedback, and sometimes revise again if I’ve taken a new class or have a new approach I want to try out. Sometimes there’s a musical soudtrack provided by one of my Pandora stations, but I’m most productive when it’s just me and the laptop and my bright pink Kit Cat Clock ticking away.

Well there you go! My first post for 2014. Thanks for reading along…

Liv

One final thing…here’s a song by the Squirrel Nut Zippers that’s the unofficial soundtrack for my UF/Romance, Hell…The Story…