World Blog Tour

Today I'd like to thank Suzanne Purvis at www.suzannepurvis.blogspot.com for inviting me on this great tour of blogs! Thanks Suzanne, I'm super excited! For those of you who haven't met Suzanne yet, she's a a published author of children's books and a really kind, supportive (and patient!) mentor to those of us just finding our writing/blogging legs.

A Little About Me...

I like being outdoors. I get my best ideas when I'm walking. I also like to ride my bike. I ride it the same way I did when I was a kid, hence all of the scars on my knees. I stand up on the pedals and push down on them with the flat of my foot, I lean across my handlebars, my elbows extended, I puff my mighty way up the inclines: puff, puff, puff-grrrr- until I reach the top and then... I go really fast down the hills so I can feel the wind whipping through my hair and little animals gasp in terror at my unstoppable charge and frantically scurry out of my way, sometimes tripping in their haste.

I also like to knit...socks.

Four Questions About My Writing...

Here I go...

What am I working on?

I'm working on world building. I write urban fantasy and I like to create my own reality.You don't think so much about how detailed your world will need to be when you first start. For example- what music do they listen to, do they watch tv, how will they wear their hair? But those things are super important to know, even if they never end up in the book. 

I think when you're first starting out as a writer you need to know as much as possible about each character and what's going on in their world. That way when you begin actually writing the novel it will flow more easily for you and you won't have to start and stop as much, which is just discouraging. 

So my experience has taught me that I should always answer as many questions before I start writing as I possible can.

How Does My Work Differ From Others of This Genre?

Well, it's important to respect the rules of your genre. So, if you're asking me, do I break them? Yes. But! I also go back and un-break them, too. Because, they exist for a reason and I humbly admit that I am not bigger than the rules. 

On the other hand, (tell me you knew that was coming) You can't write a book with the goal of selling it. If you write something with the intention of creating a marketable product you'll end up just being a creative typist. I prefer to be a teller of tales and sometimes that means I sacrifice the popular trends in order to write as the story is telling itself to me.

Why Do I Write What I Write?

I write like I paint and create music-it just sort of comes out. I'm often surprised by what I've written when I go back to revise and edit. It can be like I am a conduit for the story. I think that goes back to the first answer. The more I work on building the environment, the more I can just allow the story to tell itself. I become as much reader as I am writer. 

How Does My Writing Process Work?

I like to immerse myself in the tale so that I can hear the voices of each character and smell the scents that they do. I think that when I do this it creates a more all inclusive experience for the reader. I "notice" things, like- that I still have a knife in my hand or that the bottom of my shoe is sticky, that I don't think I would notice if I was "thinking" about what I was writing.

 Thank you so much Suzanne Purvis for allowing me to tag along on this fun World Blog Tour.

And please come back again. Next week I'll be continuing my Story of Blaize with part 6! Hope to see you and feel free to add a comment.

My gift to everyone who has been kind enough to read  my post is this link writingmusings.com which is Judy Post's blog. She's fabulous!  Please check her out  on July 22 or before : )

Thanks so much and hope to see you again, Sia