Monday, August 4, 2014

Writing Process Blog Tour

I've seen these blog tour post going around for a while. It's so fun to see how everyone approaches their writing. I'm very excited to have been tagged to participate by Amber Stokes from Seasons of Humility. Amber was my proofreader for Resistance and put together the blog tour for it, so I've had a great time getting to know her over the last few months. You can check out her writing process post here.
 
Now for my writing process.
 
1) What am I working on?

I’m currently working on writing book four of Ilyon Chronicles. That has been my focus for the last month and a half. I actually wrote over 62,000 words in it just since mid-June. Now I only have about 4-6 chapters left to write. I can hardly wait to be finished. This has been the most difficult book to write of the series so far. It pretty much fought me every step of the way. As soon as I finish, my focus will have to shift to seriously editing The King’s Scrolls, although I am really excited to get started on book five.

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

Well, for one, I don’t write fantasy that contains magic. Not that I’m completely opposed to magic in fantasy novels if it’s done a certain way. I just don’t have any reason or desire to include magic in my novels. I like my fantasy to have a more historical feel and be more “real.” I think the biggest difference in Ilyon Chronicles is how many different genres I dipped into with it. It’s obviously fantasy, but I was heavily influenced by Ancient Rome, as well as the Middle Ages, so it definitely has a historical feel. But parts of the society I created are also very modern and it leans toward having a dystopian novel feel to it too.

3) Why do I write what I do?

Because I adore fantasy. :) I love the freedom it gives me and being able to create completely new worlds. As much as I love historical fiction, I don’t think I’m cut out for the research it takes. Fantasy allows me to satisfy the parts of me that love history while still being able to do anything I want for the story. Plus, I think fantasy is a very powerful tool to share the message of God’s love and how He works in our lives. Of all the books I’ve read in my life, the ones that have most touched and impacted me have been fantasy.

4) How does my writing process work?

I’m mostly a pantser, so I don’t do too much planning before I begin working on a project. I have my main plot points in mind and the ending so at least I know where the story is going. Then I just start writing. I’ve written seventeen books (not all published, obviously) that way, so I guess it works for me. When I write my first draft, it is very rough. I don’t do any real editing until I’m done with it. My goal is just to get it written as soon as possible. I don’t do any laboring over word choice. Actually, if I can’t think of a good word right away, I just put a pair of parentheses and move on. Pretty much every page of my first draft is dotted with them. My approach is to get it all written no matter how horrible it is in the beginning, and trust me, some of it is horrible. So horrible it makes me groan, but I just push on. Once I finish, I move on to many, many rounds of rewriting and editing. I actually prefer editing to writing. I like perfecting the story as opposed to the struggle of actually creating it.
 
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Next Monday (August 11) the tour will continue with these writers I've tagged!
 
Kendra E. Ardnek is the homeschooled author of The Ankulen and The Bookania Quests. She's been a Christian since she was three and a half, and a lover a literature for longer than that. She also loves to knit and crochet.
 
 
 
Melody Jackson lives in the unbearably hot state of Arizona, (well, at least it's a dry heat) and enjoys writing, singing, playing guitar, and, well, more writing. She lives with her crazy family, as well as a menagerie of animals, including her four siblings, cats, and one grumpy chinchilla.
 

4 comments:

  1. The feel of your book is one reason I liked it so much. It is definitely Fantasy, but as you said, it has a Middle Ages, Ancient Rome feel to it. It was new and not something I had encountered before and I loved it.

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    1. I'm so glad you feel that way! Obviously, as a writer, you always hope to offer something unique.

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  2. I just found out about you and your books from a couple of blogs, and I can't wait to get my hands on your books! I'm so glad that you stay away from magic in your fantasy books because my family is Christian and my parents are very iffy about allowing me to read most fantasy books involving magic and/or sorcery. Wow! 17 book is a lot. If you don't mind sharing, when did you finish your first book? Did you start writing novels as a teen?

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    1. Hi Ana, I'm so glad you found my books! And I'm glad I can offer fantasy for readers who don't want to read about magic.

      The first story I ever finished, which was probably the length of a short novella, I wrote when I was about 12. The first novel I ever finished was when I was 14. I first starting writing stories when I was eight, but they weren't very long. :) They've slowly gotten longer and longer as I've gotten older.

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