My Writing Process - Blog Tour #mywritingprocess

I was asked to join in with this blog tour by Lizzie Koch, so here are my answers to the questions given.

1)     What am I working on?

This question could take me some time to answer, but I will try and be brief.

I am writing the 28 Day Challenge as blog posts currently. The posts will be done in about 4 or 5 days and then I will need to start editing it and shaping into a book for publication. It's a non-fiction book about health and fitness.

I am also working on some children's picture books. I have several written that I am still fine-tuning, and I've recently been bombarded with ideas for several more. My muse has been very active lately.

I am running the Chapter Book Challenge in March, which begins tomorrow, so I will be writing more of my chapter book called "The Day My Shadow Tried to Kill Me." It's a busy month for me, but I am usually able to fit my writing in at the same time as I coordinate all of the author guest posts and prize give-aways during the challenge.

I have written several novels during NaNoWriMo, but during NaNoWriMo 2012, I wrote a novel that was over 100,000 words. It's called "Prophecy Girl" but that is just a working title and will change by the time my editing and revising is complete. It's the novel I plan on focusing my editing on in the near future.

I will be writing another non-fiction book on the month of April during the challenge I am running called Blog Your Book in 30 Days. It's still being researched so I don't want to go into too much about it yet.

There are other writing projects I am working on at the moment, but the above writing projects are the ones I will be focusing most of my energy on in the near future.

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

Gah! Awful question for me! I am not sure how it differs! At the moment, it differs because it isn't published yet.

I think I tend to write stories full of hope. It is very difficult for me to put my characters in seemingly desperate situations, but I am working on changing that about my writing, not getting rid of the hope, but making it appear as if the hope is lost, at some point, when it is really there all along.

3)     Why do I write what I do?

This is a little bit complicated to explain because I write so many different types of books, and I have a different reason for writing each type.

For my health and fitness books, it comes down to the fact that, having been morbidly obese once upon a time and overcoming it, I know what it is like to be struggling to live a healthy lifestyle and to be struggling with weight issues, health issues, self-esteem issues and the like. I know what it is like to feel weak and unhealthy. I guess, having overcome it, I just want to help others do the same. 

The 28 Day Fitness Challenge was designed to make fitting fitness into your daily schedule easy to do, and it also helps increase your daily fitness so that, at the end of the challenge, you will find yourself stronger and more fit than you were when you first started. At the time I started the challenge on my Skinny Dreaming site, I also had fallen into not-so-great fitness habits, so it was also a way to get myself back into a daily fitness routine. It's freely available on the website for anyone to use, but I know that sometimes people find having the whole challenge in their hands where they don't have to go searching for it easier, so I'm turning into a book.

For my children's books, from the picture books to the chapter books and middle grade books, I write them because I love children. (I'd have to love children to have had seven of my own, right?) I love the sense of fun that children have and the fact that they are so easy to convince that magic is real.

For the record, magic IS real. I don't care that science can explain most things. For example,the miracle of birth: If you have ever seen the birth of a newborn infant, you'd feel the magic too and know it was real. Nothing will convince me otherwise.

For my novels, it just simply comes down to my love for stories. When I read stories, I sink into them and experience them through the words on the page, and I always feel the urge to create my own stories, to create my own worlds and characters to share with others. There is never a time when I am not feeling the pull to write, as if the stories in my mind are really floating in the air around me with whispy fingers that are constantly reaching out and tugging at me.

4)     How does your writing process work?

I would really, really love to say that I have an outline and a firm plot in mind when I write, but sadly, it wouldn't be the truth. I write best when I am winging it. I start with an idea, sometimes not even a fully formed one, and I start writing. There are times when I am just as surprised by where the story takes me as anyone reading it would be. 

I would also really like to say that I have a set schedule for when I write and some sort of plan for how I go about my editing and revising, but I don't, which is why I have many finished first drafts and very little writing that is ready to submit anywhere.


Here are threeof my friends who will be posting the "My Writing Process" blog tour posts on the 24th. Please go and visit their blogs.  Their posts will go up on March 3rd.

Melissa Gijsbers Khalinsky - Melissa Gijsbers is an Australian author and blogger. She has had flash fiction stories feature in a number of anthologies, including Teapot Tales: a collection of unique fairy tales.  When she’s not writing or coming up with ideas for stories, she’s running around after 2 active boys and working in the family business. You can find her online at www.melissagijbers.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/melissagijsbers

Ashley Howland - Ashley Howland lives in Adelaide, South Australia with her husband Ross, two daughters, Maddy and Aijay, her spoilt Labrador, Stitch. Her girls inspire her every day to write children’s books and the dogs often provide the material. Ashley also works as the curriculum manager for Labs ‘n Life. This requires random extra Labradors to appear in their lives and of course in Ashley’s stories. You can find more information about Ashley and her books here: http://ahowland.org/

Cecilia Clark - Cecilia Clark’s short stories have featured in several publications including The Book of The Tribes, a tribute to Clive Barker’s Cabal/Nightbreed, Steve Dillon Producer (August 9 2013) Teapot Tales; a Collection of Unique Fairy Tales, Melusine Muse Press (August 10, 2013) and ezine AntipodeanSF at http://www.antisf.com.au. She writes flash fiction for competitions and is a winner in the 2013 NaNoWriMo April Camp. Cecilia Clark is a member of the Federation of Australian Writers and Romance Writer’s Australia. Her author page can be found at Amazon.co.uk author central. She currently resides in Warrnambool Victoria Australia. Her "My Writing Challenge" post will found here: http://ceciliaaclark.blogspot.com.au

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