So, here goes. What am I working on? A number of things at the moment which I hope will make good summer reads (hence the gratuitous pic of a beach in Varadero Cuba where I will shortly be setting a crime story). I like to work on two or three things at once so that if I get into problems with one thing, I can go on to another. I do that in my reading too, I suppose I have a butterfly mind. At present one of my works in progress is a romantic suspense set in New England (very different from Cuba, that's one of the joys of writing, being able to jet away at a moment's notice, in your imagination of course).
How does my work differ from others in the genre? I have chosen a hero who is a search and rescue officer working up in the mountains but who has also been to war zones and disasters such as collapsed buildings. He is everything I would want a hero to be, sensitive, courageous, sometimes bull-headed but always with the right motives. I've fallen for him so I hope my readers will too. The heroine is a total opposite. Office based, a city girl with a very cerebral career. It's always productive putting opposites together and seeing them a) attract and b) deal with all the differences being, well.... different, can lead to.
Why do I write what I do? Total and utter escapism. I'd love to go New England but despite many trips to the West Coast, I've never been there.... yet. That's one of the glorious things about writing. You have the ability to visit places you've never been and also the ability to go back and revisit places you love. I often write about places I've been to on holiday such as Italy (the Lemon Grove) and Croatia where I am setting a current serial for People's Friend which will be titled 'The Lavender Field'.
How does my writing process work? I'm afraid I'm a messy writer and my desk is testament to that. I leap in, fearlessly, with all the bravado of a total fool. I have an idea, a beginning and an end, I know what my protagonists' conflicts are but not how they will overcome them. Then, starts the magic. As the story unfolds, there come revelations, things I never thought would happen. Then, inevitably come the plot tangles which you get when you don't plan. I have tried planning and it just doesn't work for me. I have to get the first draft down and then undo the knots. In the end I get there though, but blood, sweat, tears and coffee are all involved.
It's been great fun chatting about my writing process and reading about others' different ways of writing. I'm now handing the baton on to Kitti Bernetti who writes for Xcite and will blog next week.
Wednesday, 7 May 2014
My Writing Process #2
Many thanks to Christina Hollis for kindly asking me on her blog to take part in the blog hop about 'My Writing Process'. Christina is a very busy and successful author who writes wonderful romance for Harlequin and also tweets @ChristinaBooks. Thanks for this opportunity Christina.
So, here goes. What am I working on? A number of things at the moment which I hope will make good summer reads (hence the gratuitous pic of a beach in Varadero Cuba where I will shortly be setting a crime story). I like to work on two or three things at once so that if I get into problems with one thing, I can go on to another. I do that in my reading too, I suppose I have a butterfly mind. At present one of my works in progress is a romantic suspense set in New England (very different from Cuba, that's one of the joys of writing, being able to jet away at a moment's notice, in your imagination of course).
How does my work differ from others in the genre? I have chosen a hero who is a search and rescue officer working up in the mountains but who has also been to war zones and disasters such as collapsed buildings. He is everything I would want a hero to be, sensitive, courageous, sometimes bull-headed but always with the right motives. I've fallen for him so I hope my readers will too. The heroine is a total opposite. Office based, a city girl with a very cerebral career. It's always productive putting opposites together and seeing them a) attract and b) deal with all the differences being, well.... different, can lead to.
Why do I write what I do? Total and utter escapism. I'd love to go New England but despite many trips to the West Coast, I've never been there.... yet. That's one of the glorious things about writing. You have the ability to visit places you've never been and also the ability to go back and revisit places you love. I often write about places I've been to on holiday such as Italy (the Lemon Grove) and Croatia where I am setting a current serial for People's Friend which will be titled 'The Lavender Field'.
How does my writing process work? I'm afraid I'm a messy writer and my desk is testament to that. I leap in, fearlessly, with all the bravado of a total fool. I have an idea, a beginning and an end, I know what my protagonists' conflicts are but not how they will overcome them. Then, starts the magic. As the story unfolds, there come revelations, things I never thought would happen. Then, inevitably come the plot tangles which you get when you don't plan. I have tried planning and it just doesn't work for me. I have to get the first draft down and then undo the knots. In the end I get there though, but blood, sweat, tears and coffee are all involved.
It's been great fun chatting about my writing process and reading about others' different ways of writing. I'm now handing the baton on to Kitti Bernetti who writes for Xcite and will blog next week.
So, here goes. What am I working on? A number of things at the moment which I hope will make good summer reads (hence the gratuitous pic of a beach in Varadero Cuba where I will shortly be setting a crime story). I like to work on two or three things at once so that if I get into problems with one thing, I can go on to another. I do that in my reading too, I suppose I have a butterfly mind. At present one of my works in progress is a romantic suspense set in New England (very different from Cuba, that's one of the joys of writing, being able to jet away at a moment's notice, in your imagination of course).
How does my work differ from others in the genre? I have chosen a hero who is a search and rescue officer working up in the mountains but who has also been to war zones and disasters such as collapsed buildings. He is everything I would want a hero to be, sensitive, courageous, sometimes bull-headed but always with the right motives. I've fallen for him so I hope my readers will too. The heroine is a total opposite. Office based, a city girl with a very cerebral career. It's always productive putting opposites together and seeing them a) attract and b) deal with all the differences being, well.... different, can lead to.
Why do I write what I do? Total and utter escapism. I'd love to go New England but despite many trips to the West Coast, I've never been there.... yet. That's one of the glorious things about writing. You have the ability to visit places you've never been and also the ability to go back and revisit places you love. I often write about places I've been to on holiday such as Italy (the Lemon Grove) and Croatia where I am setting a current serial for People's Friend which will be titled 'The Lavender Field'.
How does my writing process work? I'm afraid I'm a messy writer and my desk is testament to that. I leap in, fearlessly, with all the bravado of a total fool. I have an idea, a beginning and an end, I know what my protagonists' conflicts are but not how they will overcome them. Then, starts the magic. As the story unfolds, there come revelations, things I never thought would happen. Then, inevitably come the plot tangles which you get when you don't plan. I have tried planning and it just doesn't work for me. I have to get the first draft down and then undo the knots. In the end I get there though, but blood, sweat, tears and coffee are all involved.
It's been great fun chatting about my writing process and reading about others' different ways of writing. I'm now handing the baton on to Kitti Bernetti who writes for Xcite and will blog next week.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
14 comments:
thanks ,,,
Very interesting Cara. You must go to New England, one of my favourite places. Used to love driving to Connecticut when I lived in NY. You will love it.
I too love the escapism writing gives you - one miserable, wet, cold day in January I started a romance set on a Greek island, it made me forget how miserable everything was.
Carry on with the good work, not only do you take yourself off you take your readers too!
Your work like me, Cara, allowing the characters to tell the story as they go. glad you are writing another PF serial. I am still waiting to hear about my second.
Thank you Margaret and Wendy, and good luck with all your writing!
What a very busy writer, and they all sound great projects, Cara! I work on different things at once too.
Sorry, messed up that lprevious comment. This is what
I meant to write -
Fascinating to hear how the writing process works for you, Cara, and congratulations on all those successes.
I can't imagine how you manage to cram in all that writing when you also have a busy job. You're amazing. Rx
Hi Rena and Rosemary, I think all writers are busy nowadays because you don't have to just do the writing but the promo too. One of the things I absolutely love about writing though is that you do, finally, get to the end where you can say a piece of work is well and truly finished. With other things in life, like gardening, you can never do that. There's something incredibly refreshing about being able to pick up and look at a finished product! Good luck with your writing too.
I like working on more than one thing at a time for the same reasons.
I love your photo of Cuba, it looks so inviting and makes a great setting for a story. Hope the Serial Writing Course went well, maybe you'll blog about it?
Carol
High, girl!
Whether you obtain morality4mortality to wiseabove
and/or just glean tantalizing specimens for thy next best seller,
I realize my penname is quite morbid, yet,
you shall find in our blogs a lotta (subliminal) moxie
which has taken this sinfull mortal yeeeeers to compile:
I lay it ALL out for you, dear, with All-Star-Oxygems:
Wouldn’t ya love an endless eternity
of aplomBombs falling on thy indelible cranium?
An XtraXcitinXpose with no
zooillogical-expiration-date?
An IQ much higher than K2?
An extraordinarily, anti-establishment victory
with a sardonic, satirical wit Who’s savvy??
Here’s what the exquisite, prolific GODy sed
(with a most excellent detector of bull§ht):
“Faith, hope, and love,
the greatest of these is love -
jump into faith...
and you'll see with love”
Doesn’t matter if you don’t believe (what I write);
God believes in you.
Meet me Upstairs, girl, where the Son never goes down
from a passionate, lucrative iconoclasm where you’ll find
nonillionsXnonillionsXnonillionsXnonillionsXnonillionsX…
of deluxe-HTTP [<- pi] opportunities for excitement BTW.
Do it. Do the deed, dude. Sign into the Big House.
Winning the lottery is unique, but it's not that easy to win. All my life,
I have always believed I will win so big, but I eventually ended up losing
every time I play. I kept on playing for 3 yrs, and I never won. I almost
gave up in life. Until a friend of mine told me about one Dr kogbodo who
helped her win big. I never wanted to believe, but I just decided to give
it a try. To my greatest surprise, I finally got to win $20,000. And I just
can't stop thanking Dr kogbodo for this great favour he has done for me.
Every matured mind, should contact Dr kogbodo to win big as well. Kindly
contact @ drkogbodospelltemple@gmail.com
Their playful designs and cozy comfort make them a favorite choice for holiday traditions, from gift exchanges to festive gatherings. As we continue to embrace the magic of Christmas newborn onesies, we not only celebrate the season but also the simple, joyful moments that define our holiday experiences.
These outfits create a sense of unity and fun, turning ordinary moments into cherished memories.
Post a Comment