My turn! Today the
My Writing Process Blog Tour passes through the
simply creative borders of Ttown here at
Judith
Cullen - Stories. In the paragraphs below I’ll answer a few questions about
how and why I write, but before I get started I’d like to thank my friend
Jackson Arthur, author of
PDA and other
delightful paranormal science fiction works.
Jackson
posted his writing process last week on his
Portals – Jackson Arthur’s
Universe blog, and I’d urge you to
checkout his writing process by clicking here.
Time for the train to chug through
this
station as the tour thunders on!
What am I working on?
I am working at putting the finishing elements into
Miracles: A Trio of Island Tales
– the fourth and final installment in this year’s
Trio Tales series.
It will be released this year, followed by an anthology
of the 2013
Trio Tales series with additional short stories and possibly
some poetry.
Then we start fresh in 2014
with a new series of short story collections!
I also started a project this summer which is turning into a novella length
fiction piece, and will probably come out in early 2014, fulfilling my personal
goal the develop the "chops" to write longer works.
It is a romance and
fantasy involving a dark elf, a snow elf, and a diverse community of elves
around them.
These are not wee elves
that make cookies in trees. They are closer to Tolkien’s elves, had his narratives had focused on a working class.
It lacks
a title yet, but I have hopes one will come to me before I actually “press play”
on the release.
How does my work differ from others of its genre?
I am, at the moment, primarily a writer of short fiction.
I think of it as practice for writing longer chapter
books.
I like publishing “fictional
monographs” on a single subject, and that is what the
Trio Tales series is
envisioned to be: easy to read and share, suited for electronic devices. It also
allows me to explore an array of different subjects and not get boxed into one
genre.I am fond of saying I am an author in search of a genre, or perhaps avoiding one.
I haven’t decided whether this is a wise approach or a foolish one yet.
It is simply where I am.
I tell good stories.
The more I tell them, the better they
get.
They bring me joy, and I am pleased
that others seem to enjoy them as well.
Why do I write what I do?
“
There are more things in heaven and
earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy...”
So said Shakespeare’s damned Danish prince, and I agree.
I believe that we are granted all the magic
we need in our lives, for good and ill both.
Call it God, the Universe, Karma, call it whatever you will.
It is all inside us and we have to make
choices about how we use what we were given.
That is the journey we call life.
I do not pretend to take sides and make choices for other people.
I tend to gravitate towards stories of self-discovery, stories that make you
laugh, make you cheer for a character, and leave you with a lingering “hmm…” percolating
in your mind.
That is what my stories do
for me, and I hope those who read them feel the same. I like exploring new
places and new environments in my work, and sharing those discoveries in my work.
How does your writing process work?
I have worked in theater and opera as a designer for a long time.
I recognize there that my best work starts
with the germ of an idea.
It can be
anything: a sleeve joint on a gown, a shape, a texture, a metaphor.
In my writing it is much the same thing.
What
would the world truly look like from the cat’s perspective? What if a technically savvy teenager was
suddenly faced with very real legends come to life? What if the thing that
haunted you were you own words?
From there the stories build.
I have
written a mix of stories that are pure fiction, and fictional interpretations
of real events.
What I have learned so
far is that the story and I work in partnership.
If I wrench a story in to being, or have an
agenda with the story to the exclusion of all else, the writing is not as good.
My number one rule is “serve the story, not yourself.” If I open myself up, and
remain open to the evolution of the plot, the words and ideas flow.
My best work is
when I am emotionally engaged in the plot and its characters, not simply functioning
as their puppet master.
It is especially fruitful if I am so engaged when I am in "raw text" or "first draft" mode. My fingers will pound at the keys, and sometimes I will barely be able to keep up with where the story is taking me - the "passionate me" hard at it. If the reader cannot connect directly with some character in the piece, whether empathetically or emotionally, the work is flat.When I follow up and refine in a number of subsequent passes, that is time for the "rational me" to be working.
I do my best writing early in the morning or late at night.
I need quiet and focus.
Because I write primarily short stories, I
only use rough notes as outline, but I can already see from my novella project
that I will need more structured outlines for longer works.
Because my writing really sprung from my work as a voice artist and
presenter of literature, reading my work aloud is crucial.
I need to hear it several times.
I also find I read it differently if I read
it
to someone, as opposed to muttering it to myself.
If there is a section that doesn’t scan or
flow, it becomes obvious read out loud.
I also have a few well-trusted proofreader/beta-readers who give me
feedback.
I think that will be more and
more handy the longer my written works become.
It has been a great journey so far, and I look forward to more
adventures in that wonderful, ethereal world where it is just me, the ideas,
and words.
My heart and soul are in my
best works. There’s a lot of “Judy” in all my stories.
***
Thanks for taking the time to read about my writing process. Next week the
tour will be visiting long time friend Amy Jarecki. Please be sure to look in
on this fascinating and talented lady next week!
Next Week
Amy Jarecki: Amy
Jarecki writes contemporary romance and Scottish historical romance. Her award
winning romantic suspense,
VIRTUE will be released on December 6th. For fun,
she hikes, bikes and plays a mean game of golf. Born in northeastern California, Amy holds an MBA from Heriot-Watt
University in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Visit her online at
www.amyjarecki.com
and visit her blog
Selections from MIRACLES: A TRIO OF ISLAND TALES Presented Live in Second Life (c) and on Stream.
