#Mywritingprocess – What makes me tick
The writing process blog tour’s basic theory is that each author answers four questions, says who nominated them and nominates a fellow author to continue the tour. It sounded like a lot of fun and so I was delighted to take part.
Who Nominated me:
I was nominated by my friend Gabriele Martin (www.writingretreatsinitaly.com) to take part in this blog tour. Gabriele’s book Flight of the Uberbites is a comedy.
Flight of the Uberbites:
Introduction for those who are new to my blog
First of all, I would like to extend you a hearty welcome if you haven’t been to my blog before and introduce myself. I’m Jody Klaire, I’m 30 and I’m an author with Bedazzled Ink. I started writing after going to the Hay-On-Wye festival as a musician and picking up a card for a short story entry. Since then, I have been hooked! I have three short stories published to date, one in the bestselling anthology for Shelter called Stories for Homes. My debut novel The Empath is out summer 2014. If you want to know any more about me and my projects please feel free to look around, take a seat and enjoy your time on my site.
1- What am I working on?
As I type, I’m working on a Novella called Upon My Honour which is a prequel story to Fractured which is out in winter 2014. After that I’ll be in editing mode on another of my novels which is currently marinating in the drawer.
2- How does my work differ from others of its genre?
Well, I believe that we all have individual voices and perspectives on life and that extends to writing. Unless you’re adamantly copying someone word-for-word, an author’s book will always carry an individual slant. All that being said, my work is different because my characters are, their voices are and my style of writing is not like any other writer. My novels are written in the voices of the characters and, if I’m not completely off-kilter, will give you a unique experience.
Another way my work is different, is that I write thrillers but with touches of fantasy, the supernatural and the settings in which the stories take place are more often than not created from the dark recesses of my mind. The protagonists in my novels are also strong, very human women who I hope will be the kind of characters that remain alive in the minds of the reader long after the book is finished.
Thirdly, I write series so that when you take the time to meet one of my characters and to love them, they will be a friend for a while to come!
3- Why do I write what I do?
I never set out to write thrillers and to meet me you wouldn’t necessarily fit me with the genre as I love to laugh, smile and make others do the same. You do get some humour in my books (what is life without it?) but my characters often get plunged into desperate worlds with murky depths. I love to write adrenalin-fuelled novels but with an emphasis on character because although the crisis they face is exciting, to me, it is how they use the challenge to grow and overcome it that drives me.
I do occasionally stray into romance for my short stories like Fields of Gold in Stories For Homes which is great fun to write and a completely different discipline. I would like to explore a few genres in the future to enhance my own writing as each one requires a different attack. But, no mistake, I love nothing more than writing a thriller, it’s the genre that brings my pen to life.
4- How does my writing process work?
My writing process begins with the initial idea, it can come from anywhere and everywhere and I have books and books filled with scribbled ideas. Then I will use a system that I picked up from reading ‘Nicola Morgan’ (Crabbit Old Bat – that’s really her blog name, I’m not being abusive!) I find the heart of my novel. It’s one sentence that hits exactly what I’m going for. Then that becomes a paragraph, then a synopsis or book plan.
After that I plan every single chapter, I love James Patterson’s style and so I favour a shorter chapter to build pace.
Creating concept art comes next, then I write and listen to music and fill my mind to the brim with the main character. I like to do character interviews, I love to hear their voice in my mind and picture their movements. When I can almost see them speaking to me, I sit down and open a new Word document and let the stored energy burst through my fingers.
I write at a somewhat hectic rate and during writing, I cannot switch off from the plot or the characters. When I sleep, I dream about them, they live with me twenty-four hours a day until the book is finished.
Every day, bar a Sunday, I write. It’s my profession and my passion. I cannot go more than a few days at most without it, I need to create for the sake of my own equilibrium. Sitting down with a blank page in front of me is heaven. The hard graft of putting down seventy to ninety plus thousand words is hard work but an exciting and invigorating experience. Finishing the book is always a mixture of relief and elation. As for hearing what readers think of it… I can’t wait to find out!
My nominated author:
My fellow Bedazzled author Barrett ( http://wordsofbarrett.wordpress.com ) has agreed to follow on from my post.
Barrett spent her formative years in the quiet North Chicago suburbs. Art and music helped fuel an overactive imagination that eventually channelled into a flair for the dramatic and a dream of acting. Life and times deferred that dream but offered a new challenge. At her ten-year class reunion, Barrett announced plans to start nursing school. Nursing provided a career of endless challenges and learning opportunities spanning thirty years, several jobs, and great travels.
After relocating from Illinois to Wisconsin to New Mexico, Barrett set down new roots and fell helplessly into a new passion—writing. With some encouragement and provocation, she spent fourteen years making up stories—roughly, twelve completed manuscripts. Then it was time to take the leap of faith and consider publication. That was when the real “learning” began. Readers, betas, critiques, mentors, edits, revisions, revisions, revisions, and then some pitches, some rejections, and some more revisions.
And now, Barrett’s got books, published books. Her first book, Damaged in Service was a finalist for a Golden Crown Literary Society Award. It is the first of a four book series. But that’s not all for this story . . .
You can find out more about her books from the Bedazzled Ink website: http://bink.bedazzledink.com/index.php/authors/barrett/