My Writing What?

I was tagged by the lovely Kristina L. Martin for this little tour about writing processes.

I'm going to admit, my post is going to be much more "just the facts, ma'am" than hers. Mainly because I've gotten swallowed up by edits and RT planning, but also because I'm a pretty simple girl who doesn't like to get overly wordy.

1) What am I working on?
This is kind of a weird question because there are two of me and I'm not entirely sure at the moment which me is publishing the book I'm editing. (A decision should be made by the end of the month.) So I'm just going to answer for BOTH of me. Right now I'm editing a novel for Entangled's Brazen line. It's tentatively called My Fiance, the Hero and it's about a divorcee and a movie star. Fun times are had by all (after all, it's a Brazen :P ). In addition, Seleste has Agents of TRAIT 3: Fighting for Keeps in the midst of edits (I believe that one is slated for June). AND Julie is working on an outline for a follow-up to Fall with Me. It's kind of a busy time right now, but busy is good.

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?
Uh... I hate this question. I'm sexier than some, not as sexy as others. My stuff is snarky as hell, so depending on which of the sub-genres we're talking, that's either different or completely ordinary. I don't write to try to be different than other people, I write to be me. So you get a lot of me in my books, and no one else can give you that.

3) Why do I write what I do?
I write what I do for a lot of reasons. One of the key ones is that I like to stretch different writing muscles. I don't want to just write one thing all the time. I need the shake up offered between contemporary romance and the spy stuff and then I might hop over and see how my vampires are faring. I also tend to fall in love with my characters. They're what drives me to complete a story (or start one for that matter.) So I write for them, to get their stories onto the page to share with others. (Yes, I know they aren't "real," but that's beside the point :P Also, no, I'm not crazy. At least not that kind of crazy.)

4) How does my writing process work?
I don't take time off well, so I tend to work on SOMETHING every day for at least a little while. Right now it's editing which is a totally different animal for me than drafting. I actually love editing in general. I love seeing something rough transition into the final product. (I imagine it's a little like cutting and polishing gemstones.) But it's a slower, more tedious process too. Right now I'm on "two chapters a night" as an editing goal. Some nights things go more smoothly than others, so I'll get more done. Other nights...

When I'm drafting though, I aim for 2500 words a day. That's more than some authors, less than others, but I figure 10 pages is a solid amount of work. I believe the most I ever wrote in a day was something like 12,000 words. My eyes felt like they were bleeding by the time I was done. I really don't recommend that.

I prefer to work at night in near darkness. Without the extra lights on, I'm less distracted by all the other things around me that need doing. Also, less distracted by my own reality as opposed to the fantasy I'm spinning. I love to have a cocktail when I write, but I don't do that very often anymore--usually I stick to water or tea (spicy rooibos) these days. I'm actually pretty boring in this regard, and I've been known to occasionally make up something outrageous when interviewers ask about weird things I do when drafting since I don't really have anything weird.

That's it. That's me in four questions or less. Now I need to get back to those edits I was talking about. And from here, I nominate the following victims...er authors to give you a peek into their writing worlds next week (please check out their sites and books!):
Margo Bond Collins
Jodie Griffin
Damon Stewart Pren

Knowing All the Answers

I had a funny conversation yesterday, but to understand it I need to explain what happened three days ago. So, I already mentioned requests from RT and getting those babies sent off. I mailed the last of them on Monday (YAY me!). Shortly after, I told my betas that I washed my hands of the manuscript for the time being. That I didn't want to talk about it, think about it... nothing. Honestly, I love that story, but it exhausts me. So I was looking forward to a nice little break while it was in someone else's hands.

After that, I went to work on another (adult) project. I'm tooling away at it for two days when WHAM! out of nowhere, one of my betas calls me and says, "So... what about STDs?"

At first I thought I'd misunderstood. Then I realized what she was asking. After first chewing her out for making me break my "I don't want to even think about that manuscript for a while" vow, I proceeded to answer her.

You see, there is a fair degree of promiscuity in the manuscript, so it is a fair question. (And not nearly as random as it sounds.) But, it isn't one that was addressed within the pages. For a minute, I wondered if I screwed up and should go back and revise (and resend with apologies). Then I reminded myself of one of my cardinal rules of writing. If it doesn't advance the story, don't include it. Explaining to the reader why they don't worry about STDs does nothing for the plot. Nothing. So it didn't belong on the page.

However, the conversation was a good reminder that, as the author, I need to know about all the stuff that didn't make the page. In this particular case, I did know and explained it to her. Sometimes though, you get hit with a question you didn't think about when writing and you look a little like this...

So, I try to make a habit of (especially when dealing with anything that could be considered controversial) asking myself the hard questions in advance. As for the others that pop up? Keep good notes. Because if you get asked once, you'll get asked again, and there's nothing worse than being an author who doesn't know their own story.

Time for Change

Publishing is a strange business. For a while, publishers will snap up a genre because it's hot. And then they get too many and they're done. This happened with vampires, and werewolves, and dystopians, and... You get the point.

Agents warn authors all the time not to chase trends, and I don't think most people doo. I think it's more an issue of the idea coming too late to catch the wave. Take one of my current WiPs. I'd had the first seeds of this idea germinating for over a decade (yes, it was a slow-starter) before the plot and characters finally came together. Once it did, I wrote the entire manuscript in a month. 

The only problem is that it's a genre that already had its trend time. (Like... right now. The saying that the when the books start coming out, it's too late for your manuscript? Yeah. That.) However, there are a lot of people who are still interested in the story. I just had to do something to make it stand out.

So... I took a good, hard look at the manuscript and said "What if?" (again--since that's how most stories start). Now, I didn't want to mess with the heart of the story because it still spoke to me. And... I loved the characters. But what I could change was the world-building, and the more I looked at it, the more I loved the idea of the changes. 

As soon as they were settled in my brain, I dove into the revisions. One of the ways I know something really works for me is how quickly and easily it comes together. Even more than the original version, this story--with its new societies--works for me. 

So how did I work around the "trend" issue? I mashed genres. This manuscript is the first in a trilogy, and conveniently enough, there are three very different societies in the world. Each of the installments will focus mainly on one of the three until all are covered, and I can't wait to start on the next one. I hope beyond hope to share these stories with you because I think it's a tale worth telling... and hopefully worth reading :)