My Writing Process

Everyone writes differently. Having done a good deal of time not only in academia but specifically as a mentor and tutor I know what the rule books say about the right way to write. Outlines, timelines and plotlines. I can write that way when I'm talking about Shakespeare or Stephen King, but that's not how I create. Do I have an idea in my head about where the story starts and where it ends...yes. More than that, I let my imagination do it's job. It's called "stream-of-consciousness" and I have had professors tell me that this isn't a "real" writing method. Well, for me it is. For many people it is. I sit at my computer and I let my thoughts flow. I follow the story as it progresses inside my head. Sometimes it twists and turns so much that it even surprises me. Once the story is finished then I go back and start editing. As you can imagine this often cuts what I've written in half then it gets stretched out again and cut again and and and....until finally I have a finished product.

A cozy writing nook where creativity flows.

The Spark of Inspiration

It is odd the way that inspiration strikes. Sometimes I will be halfway through a particular story when I get a wild hair about something else. I have a document full of one line thoughts that may or may not lead to another book someday, then I go back to what I was working on. Sometimes I'll hear something on the news or read something on a web site that starts a thought that starts a story. In the case of my book, The Sapphire Legacy, it started with a news story about a woman inheriting a necklace from a relative she'd never heard of. From that thought I leapt to a book I'd read once called "True Women" about the generations of women in a particular family. Both these elements found their way into that book. My books also, always, promote not only a healthy self-image but a strong morale compass. Like women all over the world I've spent enough time doubting myself, second guessing myself and allowing myself to be disrespected to know that the last thing I want my heroines to be is weak. I've been accused of believing in the Cinderella myth. Okay, I accept that. I like my entertainment to have happy endings and so I write happy endings.

Something about Houses

I'm not sure why but every story I've ever written in based around a house. Perhaps because I've never owned one of my own. Maybe that has always been the foundation behind my fairy tales. It could also be because I've lived in so many of them. I'll tell you more about all the different houses I've lived in another time. Here's a little tidbit to get the juices flowing....by the time I graduated from high school my family had moved 24 times (and no my father was not in the military). That's a story for another day.

Elements I consider regarding the setting:

• Atmosphere: Is there a vibe in the town or area about the main characters in the story.

• History: Nobodies story starts from nothing. Everyone and everything starts long before it starts.

• Geography: A big town, a little town, in the Hill Country or along the coast. Everything is a part of the story.

  
  

Developing Characters

My thoughts and ideas for a story always start with a character. My stories are like my life, like anyone's life, with a lot of different characters. Every character has to have a story. The big question is how much of that story the reader needs to know. Do we need to know their genealogy or is it enough to know that they work at the local gas station. Do they have a distinct world view or are they part of the local scene. Does it matter what motivates them or is it enough to know that they love their job. Every character can have a million angles or only one or two.

Embracing the Chaos

The writing process is often chaotic. Ideas that flow freely sometimes become tangents so far off the plot line in the story that I have to delete them (and move them over to that document with story ideas) and refocus. That's why I have a team of four friends who help me edit. Without them I may be forever lost in the chaos.

The Final Touches

For me, the final touch involves setting chapters, organizing paragraphs and fixing punctuation. I have a terrible habit of adding extra spaces at the end of each sentence. I don't know where the habit came from but as much as I try I can't change it. Perhaps it has something to do with the stream of consciousness way that I write. Regardless, please try not to judge me about this. I try hard to catch it on the review but I'm sure some of them slip past me.

Cover Design

I try hard to make the cover reflect the meat of the book. The Sapphire Legacy cover isa bunch of sapphire jewelry, specifically a sapphire necklace that plays a role in the novel. The covers for the reclamation series are desert scenes, mostly a lonely tree.

The Journey of Publication

I decided to go with Amazon's self publishing feature. Why? Stress or more correctly the need for the lack of it. I was approached by several large publishing houses but the amount of money required for their editing, publishing, and pushing was and still is far beyond my capabilities. I am working with a group called Reading Glass Books, now also Writers Market. Their price for assistance was less steep and more doable but still a true strain for me that my body just can't handle. I'll talk about that at another time too, but for now just know that the less stress I have the better.

Finally, for today, I just want to say Thank You for visiting my page. I'm truthfully looking forward to sharing my life and the writing process with you. Feel free to email me or respond on this blog.