I'VE BEEN TAGGED!

                                  

WRITING PROCESS BLOG HOP!

I’m so pleased to be participating in my first blog hop as my good friend, Vashti Q Vega, tagged me for the Writing Process Blog Hop. Vashti is the successful author of a brilliant book, The Basement, and writes a popular blog, which I highly recommend you check out.

Here are the Writing Process Blog Hop rules: 

1.) Link back to the person who invited you to this Blog Hop.

With pleasure – here’s the link to Vashti’s blog: 

http://vashtiqvega.wordpress.com/author/vashtiqvega/  

2.)Name four writers who will continue this Blog Hop and notify them.

Here are my four nominations:

Squid McFinnigan is a brilliant short story writer with a unique voice who brings his characters to life so vividly, they take up residence in your imagination.

Paula Pencarrow is a storyteller and writer whose musings and reflections on her writing journey, and on life, are expressed with clarity and precision. Her posts are a great read.

A. Long, is a talented poet and generous soul who has a great sense of humour, and a good word for everyone. You can read his beautiful poems on his blog where he posts short stories, poetry and writes on various topics.

Alys Daniels-Creasey, is a young poet on a writing marathon,who posts her poems on a daily basis. Alys's poems address many topics, and she has a distinct voice. She is definitely a poet to watch, and I love reading her poetry.  

3.) Answer the four questions below:

What are you working on?

I ’m working on a paranormal romance written during last November’s NaNoWriMo, and just finished the first edit. At the moment I’m letting it rest for a few weeks - with difficulty because my imagination won’t let the story go!

It’s the first supernatural tale I’ve written, and I’m thoroughly involved with my characters’ struggles – it’s my twist on the eternal triangle. I have a title but waiting to be sure I won’t change my mind. 

How does your work differ from others in the genre?

Whew! That’s a tough question. Um... because I’m an individual and my stories reflect my unique perspective. (Does that sound convincing?)

Why do you write what you write?

Because I enjoy answering the question of what if, by delving into other, different lives. I think emotions – expressed or repressed – rule our behaviour and I want to explore how this impacts people’s lives. I don’t write in any one genre. My last novel (promo alert) An Unstill Life falls under the commercial women’s fiction banner, and is more character led than the current work, which contains more action.

How does your writing process work?  

Basically like this: 

   INSPIRATION: an idea hits me, and I fall in love with either the character or the premise.

   INCUBATION: Once I have the heart of the story, I incubate the concept for a while,

   returning to the idea over time, thinking about what I have so far, and pondering ideas. 

   I do this alongside whatever I’m currently working on, letting my subconscious share some

   of the work. 

   For example, my WIP is a trilogy and I’m incubating ideas for the second book in the 

   series. The characters are established and I have the basic plot, an notion for a subplot 

   and the conclusion, but the plot outline isn’t clear in any detail yet. Similarly I know how 

   the third book in the series opens, and how it needs to end but the rest is still hidden.

   PLANNING: Writing is a journey of discovery and I’m learning, that for me, the clearer  

   the outline, the freer I feel to expand and enlarge on it when I start writing the story. And 

   I’m discovering that what worked for my writing in the past, doesn’t work for me now, 

   and what works for me now, may not always work in the future. 

My writing process is not orderly; ideas come in bursts and I grab and expand them. One aspect or another is always churning around in my mind, and I jot down bits and pieces on scraps of paper or in various notebooks, so I'm a bit disorganized. Sometimes I think writing is similar to participating in an extreme sport – lots of hard work and discipline are necessary, but the thrills and the results are worth the effort. 

Writing Update

While I rest the WIP, I have a ton of plans to execute – first being to catch my breath, have a day off, and do nothing but read...the rest can wait! On the list is: research on background details for the current novel, see if I can get the WordPress site up, sort a few pieces to put on Wattpad - writer with GSOH seeking friendly readers etc., etc. It’ll be interesting to see how much I accomplish...

Today’s Haiku

past melodies lead

down hazy tunnels of time

to places I’ve lost

Useful Links: Check out these amazing bloggers – you're in for a treat!

http://vashtiqvega.wordpress.com
www.squidmcfinnigan.blogspot.com 

http://paulareednancarrow.com/

http://ajwrites57.blogspot.com/

http://80000words.blogspot.co.uk

I’ve hit a glitch in the 100 Happy Days challenge, as my laptop is moodily refusing to upload my pics, but please join me on Twitter and check out the ones I've posted at: teagankearney@modhaiku 

Thanks for visiting my blog, and please do leave a comment.

To all story lovers out there, good reading, and to those of you who write, good writing.

PERFORMING TRIAGE ON YOUR NOVEL

The Oxford Dictionary defines the concept of triage as follows: The process of determining the most important people or things from amongst a large number that require attention. When a patient is rushed into the ER, they are assessed to determine the number and seriousness of their injuries. Now, if they broke a wrist as a result of falling after a heart attack, the heart attack is dealt with first. You wouldn't expect a doctor to attend to a headache while the patient bleeds to death.

Triage is an excellent way to tackle editing. So, which area of a novel needs attention first?  Readers are discerning; if they can’t identify with your main character, they lose interest, and it doesn’t matter how exciting the plot, it’ll be a two dimensional cardboard story. So sort out your protagonist before anything else, because we know putting a book down is the easiest thing in the world.

 In my previous novel, An Unstill Life, half-way through the second edit, I realized my protagonist was a bit of a wimp. I had created someone to whom events happened, and she was boring. So I sassed her up, making her more fiery and neurotic. After which she became a lot more interesting, and stopped haemorrhaging over my story.

Once you’ve sorted your character’s inner and outer conflicts (leave out either of these and you’ve lost an opportunity to involve the reader more deeply), you can move on to plot, setting and language. Readers invest in characters, and overcoming the challenges you present for them is what grips your reader.

Writing Update

I can’t believe I’ve reached ch. 24. It’s the climax, and my beleaguered heroine is willing to sacrifice herself - but will it be enough? By this coming weekend, I’ll have finished ch. 25, the conclusion, and the first edit. 

I’m really chuffed with myself, but also experiencing a little sadness as I approach the closing stages of my heroine’s journey. There is still a rest period, the read through, and at least one or two more edits. I’m aware I have a certain amount of sensory additions to make; possibly more internal monologue, as I find a character who simply reacts to current events is thin on depth. But the reading will tell me if this aspect is lacking, or if I’ve burdened my lead character with endless irrelevant musings. The novel is not finished yet, but after this edit, there will definitely be a space in my internal landscape till I resume writing. 

Today’s Haiku

EMBRACE

Pretty or ugly

Rich or poor, no difference -

Death’s equal in love

Useful Links:

I’m still making some of these mistakes, but at least I can add them to the list!

http://www.theprocrastiwriter.com/avoid-these-6-dumb-mistakes/

I’m participating in the 100 Happy Days challenge, which I find a genuine mood lifter, so please check out my happy pics, and join me on Twitter: teagankearney@modhaiku 

Thanks for visiting my blog, and please do leave a comment.

To all story lovers out there, good reading, and to those of you who write, good writing.