Lynne Connnolly award-winning author of Paranormal, Historical and Contemporary Romance tagged me to talk about my writing process. You can check out her blog here:
Lynne Connolly's blog
The Questions:
*1) What are you working on?
LOCK AND LOAD, Book 2 in the SEAL EXtreme Team series.
*2) How does your work differ from others in the genre?
LOCK AND LOAD is Military Romance. It is a little different from other books I've read in the genre in that the Navy SEAL continues to perform his military duties and fight his battles with the heroine by his side. Action and danger are a big part of the story line. I love suspenseful books. And I simply adore SEAL stories--biographies, autobiographies, and pure fiction.
*3) Why do you write what you write?
I have always been intrigued by Navy SEALs, who are known as the best-of-the-best. The jobs they perform are both highly dangerous and extremely important. I can only imagine how hard their lives must be and how difficult it is to love a SEAL. This series is my way of honoring the courageous men who serve our country. It's such a little thing, but it is what I can do to give back and say thank you to them and their families.
*4) How does your writing process work?
The writing starts in my brain a long time before any words hit the page. I play with the concept and imagine the characters. Once I have a general idea of what the story will be about, I jot down scene ideas. This part is fast-- snippets and incomplete sentences.
Next, I do character sketches to get to know the people in the story. Their habits, motivation, wants, and internal conflict all need to be fleshed out pretty well before I can really begin.
This next part is probably the hardest: the synopsis. I sit down and write a paragraph for every scene in the book making sure to highlight the conflict and emotion in EACH paragraph. By doing this I can see where I am going. Plot holes tend to pop out at this stage and I can fix them before I write the book.
After all that, I start writing. I go from scene to scene, trying not to stop for the day until the scene is complete. I write fast and hard, not slowing down to edit. I have completed an entire novel in five weeks. But! It's a first draft, like a skeleton without skin and muscles.
I give myself a couple of weeks to let the draft percolate on the back burner before I start edits.
The editing process can take longer than the writing process! It's where I layer on the deep emotions (muscles), description and color (skin). Imagine a painter layering on color and depth.
The book will then go to a handful of super fabulous beta readers who read very carefully. These folks keep me from going outside without my pants on, or with my skirt stuck inside my underwear. After I've straightened out my, um, wardrobe disasters, the book goes to an editor. While it is being professionally edited, I work on the next book.
Sound like fun? Maybe not to everyone, but it is pure bliss to me. Except, you know, when I'm pulling my hair out because the characters won't behave. Or my skirt is stuck in my underwear. :-)
Thanks, Lynne, that was fun.
Kimberley
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