Here’s Where I’m At (Writing Process Blog Tour)

This is an update blog post. Fellow author Morgan L. Busse invited me to join the blog hop. Her final book in the Followers of the Word series, Heir of Hope, comes out next year! Then she’s off for the steampunk world (I’m so excited!) She and other authors like Anne Elisabeth Stengl and Jill Eileen Smith are all sharing where they are in the writing process. Now it’s my turn!

What am I working on?

I’ve just finished sending in the giant “OK” to my publisher about my book, A Time to Die. I read through it with one last chance to catch typos, inconsistencies, and mistakes. Now it is set in stone, cemented into permanence, and beyond my control. (Panic!)

Since then, I’ve been working on book two. I’m 50,000 words in and signed up for Camp NaNo in July. I’m hoping to knock out another 50k (yes, in one little month.) A Time to Die comes out Fall 2014.

How does my work differ from others in its genre?

I read The Hunger Games series in three days. At the end, I literally threw the third book against the wall (no, this is not a common habit of mine.) I’ve never thrown a book before, but that series just spiraled deeper and deeper into hopelessness. By the end, I was left with no victory and no hope. The same happened with a few other dystopian series.

I started writing A Time to Die not long after, and my entire goal was to take a dystopian story and build upward toward hope through the series. Particularly hope grounded in Christ. That, in a nutshell, is one way my series differs.

Why do I write what I do?

I’m extremely passionate about pursuing life. I’ve always noticed a particular power in speculative fiction to inspire greatness. Since I’ve always loved writing, I see spec-fic as the perfect venue to convey my passions for something epic. Something greatly lived.

Right now, I write dystopian because I live in an increasingly complacent culture. I hope to rise above this in my own life, so I write stories about characters doing the same. Next, I plan to write fantasy because vivid imagination inspires us to dream, and dreaming leads us to wanting more. And God always has more for us.

How does my writing process look?

It usually starts with the question: What if? What if everyone knew how long they had to live? What if every wish came true? What if, what if, what if? I often think of a question theme before I find the plot or characters to make it come alive.

I outline only in my head. Once I start writing things down, they take on a sense of permanence which makes it harder for me to change things. So often times, I’ll let a story idea just stew and build in my mind, jotting minimal reminders of things. I know I forget some ideas by handling them this way, but I always pray and trust that God will cause me to remember what I need to remember, and to forget what needs to be forgotten in order for the book to be what it needs to be.

My actual writing schedule is a work in progress. So far, I write two days of the week and edit three days. We’ll see if that set-up serves me well. 😉

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Thank you for stopping by and reading the updates in my writing process. It’s always fun to share where I’m at with you. On Saturday, my dear friend and fellow author, Angie Brashear, will be joining the blog tour and sharing where she’s at in her writing process. Her book, Of the Persecuted, just released this month and it’s fantastic!

If you’re a writer, what does your writing process look like right now?

If you’re not a writer: what are you working on at the moment?

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