Writing Process Blog Tour – HappyMrsH add’s her pearls of wisdom. Honestly, genuine gems here ;)

Good morning, today I have been asked by fellow HarperCollins Author Georgia Hill to be part of a blog tour that hopefully will give an insight into an author’s writing process!  Before you have a goo at my answers, you can check out Georgia right here! 

Right, here we go!  I’ve been given 4 questions to answer.

1)     What am I working on?

Right now I am still very busy promoting Beyond Grace’s Rainbow, my 1st novel that was published earlier this year by HarperCollins. It was released as an eBook initially and the paperback launch has just happened, so I am watching with great interest as the book hits bookshelves in Ireland and continues to sell internationally as an eBook!  

In addition I’m working on my third novel, which is a sequel to Beyond Grace’s Rainbow.  The story picks up about a year after Beyond Grace’s Rainbow ended and readers will find out what happens next for the gang of friends, whilst also meeting some lovely new characters.  My second novel Sleep of Dreams, which is a stand alone novel, is currently with my lovely editor in HarperImpulse and I’ll be doing some re-writes on that soon too! And just to keep me totally busy, I’m also dabbling with a children’s book that seems to want to be written!  One day I’d love to get that published, just so I can have a book that my own children can read! 

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

That’s a tough question actually.  I’ve been told by my editor that my strength in writing is my ability to connect with readers on a deeply emotional level.  I’m an old fashioned seanchai (thats the Irish word for storyteller!) and quite a few readers have told me that as they read my book, it felt like they were just chatting to me in person.  I think that ability to connect with readers is because I write emotively with both humour and tears in equal measures weaved throughout my words.  And sure, if you have met me, that’s really how I live my own life! I laugh a lot because life is fantastic, but there’s been tears too over the years.  That’s what life is like in my experience, full of twists and turns that can take your breath away.  If you read my books, you  will see that I’ll always tackle tough subjects head on.  Some of the themes in Beyond Grace’s Rainbow included cancer, alcoholism, adoption and abuse.  But I always strive to write believable, down-to-earth real people, with flaws like us all, who are struggling to be the very best version of themselves that they can be.  

3)     Why do I write what I do?

When I started to write, I had no preconceived idea of which genre I wanted to write.  I just wrote a story that came from deep within my heart and low and behold a contemporary romance was born!  And everything else I’ve written since then is just the same, I write emotively, instinctively and compulsively.  I can’t stop!  I love every aspect of creating stories around wonderful characters who become my family and friends. As already said, I write about real life situations and you know what, truth is often far stranger than fiction!  I’ve said to my family recently about some stuff that has happened, that if I wrote it, noone would believe me!  

I’ve so many stories buzzing around in my head, I simply have no choice but to get them written!  It took me a while to release my inner writing beast, but now that it’s out, it’s there to stay.  I’m a writer. End of! And you know what, it feels soooo good. 

4)     How does your writing process work?

For me, the kernel of an idea comes first, then the characters follow afterwards.  For e.g, when I started Beyond Grace’s Rainbow, the idea in my head was to explore a central character who was sick and needed help from her unknown biological family, who heretofore had no interest in meeting their adopted daughter.  Would a biological mother, who had kept her adopted daughter secret for over 30 years, come forward, when she hears that she is seriously ill and needs a bone marrow donor from a family member? That concept really intruiged me.  But when I started writing that story, as Grace’s character took on a life of its’ own the story grew and grew, to so much more than that one theme.  Also for me, it’s only as the story is written that I discover the true personalities of my characters.  When I introduced Liam, Grace’s ex-boyfriend to the story, I had no idea initially if he was going to be a baddie or goodie.  I genuinely couldn’t make my mind up as to what his true persona was, but as the story progressed, Liam became real and suddenly, I understood him and what made him tick and he came bursting to life for me.

It’s the same at the moment, as I write the sequel.  I am introducing new characters to the story and in particular am having fun writing a quirky, American DJ called Quinn, who will play a big part in the story.  I haven’t worked out his back story yet, I prefer to do that as the story goes on and then go back to make it fit afterwards.

I know many authors like a more structured process when writing, but for me, I’ve no rule book, I write as I speak – fast and impulsively! 

 

So, if I was to put my writing process into a step by step guide, this would be it.

1. First comes the storyline.  This I usually ponder and mull over for some time, thinking through possible scenarios, discovering if it’s a story that would translate to a novel.  I do a lot of this mulling whilst doing mundane chores, like washing up! Seriously, if I look like I’m in a trance as I do the dishes, it’s because I am! I’m in writing planning mode!

2. Then comes the central characters.  Names are not important for me at this stage, I just give them any name that pops into my head, usually borrowed from family members!  I often change a characters name several times throughout a novel, until the right name fits.

3. I start to write – I don’t plan too much in advance, I just write and see where the story goes, only stopping if I hit a roadblock.  I don’t edit as I go along, as I’ve found that when I do that, I never actually get anything written, as I re-write and re-write over and over! For me it makes more sense to get the story written and then go back and make it a publishable book.

4. Once the novel is completed, I read start to finish and make copious notes, as I begin the first re-write. It is in this stage that characters often change dramatically and secondary characters get beefier roles.  Of in some cases, a character goes completely, as they don’t fit anymore with the story!

5. I then read through complete manuscript again and go for second re-write. This is more about fine-tuning, improving the writing and ensuring consistencies throughout.  At this point, I put my big girl pants on and get brave enough to ask a friend to read through and give an honest opinion.  

6. Then comes the final readthrough and  third edit.  3 is the magic number for me on re-writes. 

I found this wonderful pie chart on pinterest that sums up the creative process beautifully for me and is of course 100% true! (I wish! No napping in our house with two smallies!)

Right, time for some random internet surfing!  See you on twitter! 😉

But before I go, let me tell you about another HarperCollins author Vonnie Davis, who will continue the blog tour with some insights into her own writing process on the 6th January.  Vonnie is such a lovely woman and has written a fantastic Christmas novella, Santa Wore Leathers, (click on the title, if only to see the great cover lol, but then check out all the great 5star reviews!) 

Here’s a few words from Vonnie, filling us in on what we can expect from her writing!  

I’m a woman fortunate enough to be living her dream. A dream that took root in the sixth grade, when I penned my first series of short stories and then laid dormant until I retired from working. Imagine: a fifty year span of dreaming … hoping … plotting.

Now I’m multi-published and the winner of several awards for my contemporary, historical, paranormal and romantic suspense.

If you like alpha males, permanently infatuated with the women in their lives, and feisty heroines, who tame their alphas with a smoldering gaze or a dose of attitude, then try one of my stories. I lace them with humor and fill them with passion and suspense.

Although I write for my own enjoyment, I mainly write for you–the delightful and intelligent woman who loves her romantic stories.

 

Chat soon, 

Carmel x