SEVEN THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT MY WRITING
This is actually a FB meme I was tagged on by awesome author (and all-around amazing writing friend) Gini Koch, wherein I was challenged to write seven things about my writing that people don’t know. And I thought it would also make a great Blog post. So, here are:
Seven Things You May Not Know About My Writing:
1)When asked where my ideas come from, I answer honestly, “from the voices in my head.” Truth. All my work is character driven. So, in that respect, I am a total pantser, meaning I write by the seat of my pants. This means I feel a lot like a journalist, following my characters around and writing down what they do and say. The hardest part about doing this is to give the characters the reins, even when they seem to make choices that further complicate things, which they generally do at every opportunity.
2) I have been writing since I was in elementary school, but started truly studying the craft of fiction in earnest over 20 years ago. I continue to pursue that education by attending writing workshops and conferences and reading books, blogs and articles on the subject. And by teaching. Every time I craft a new workshop, it either fortifies a concept or helps me to explore that aspect of craft in a new way. Not to mention, I always learn something from participants when I teach.
3) I earned my Master’s degree in Creative Writing from Prescott College and an early draft of The Healer’s Legacy was submitted as part of my thesis, which was focused on the use of fantasy literature as resistant text for young women in a patriarchal normative social environment.
4) I used to be more focused on poetry and was a regular on the Phoenix SpokenWord circuit. It wasn’t until 1995 that I realized I had bigger stories to tell and began writing novels. The first (very crappy) draft of my first novel poured out of me in less than eight weeks. It was a great story with fun characters, but was horribly written. It took me years of studying craft and more revisions than I care to count before it was finally publishable and debuted as The Nelig Stones in 2013.
5) I wrote a (not yet published) Picture Book. TBO—I have actually written several (It is not as easy as it looks!), but this one I think is actually worthy of publication, and since my current publisher does not publish Picture Books, I am in the process of submitting it to agents and editors. Wish me luck!
6) I love writing. Although, I used to dislike the revision process. However, I have always wanted to make sure I am giving my readers the best product possible. Now, I enjoy and find a great sense of fulfillment in polishing the work and getting it right. I do think I owe a lot of that enjoyment to working with a fabulous editor. Credit where credit is due: Anne Lind.
7) I have multiple projects going at all times and all of them are at various stages of development. As I finish revisions on The Matriarch’s Devise (the second book in The Healer’s Legacy series), I am also thinking about the next book I am writing, an urban fantasy titles Collars and Curses. A very rough draft of that book has been cooling off this past year and is now ready for me to hit hard on revisions, including filling in the gaping plot holes I already know exist. I also started drafting a follow-up to the Nelig Stones, and have the first few chapters written and most, if not all, of those new characters have been bouncing around inside my head for over a year. The PB mentioned in #5 was first drafted in 2013 and revised numerous times since then. I have been making notes on the final book in Kira’s trilogy, as well. In addition to this, I co-write the Tavara Tinker series and have been editing and/or collaborating on a number of other projects.
What kinds of things do you think people want to know about YOUR writing?
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