People often ask me what my writing process is. How do I write? What inspires me? Do I carefully plan out my plots?
Well, I thought I'd enlighten you.
This is only the way I do it. Each author has their own way. And as it's British little me, this is sprinkled with my own brand of snark.
My stories sort of just 'come to me'.
This can literally be through a dream, or even just a vague thought which pops into my head.
Generally, it starts as the hint of a theme.
Maybe I know the end; what I envision the characters' purpose is.
Or sometimes it's the very first paragraph.
My current work in progress started with the idea of a scene in a caf; my vampire sitting down for coffee, pretending to be normal. But this didn't even get featured in the end.
There's two great British slang phrases for you! ;-)
I honestly just sit down at my laptop, and start typing.
It's often a surprise to me what drips from my fingers.
It feels a bit like when I channel Reiki, only it's the story I'm channelling.
When I was writing True's Love I thought I was going to go crazy.
It filled my head every waking moment, and even when I slept. From the first thing in the morning until the last thing at night it was knocking on my skull, demanding my attention.
I just had to sit at my computer as much as possible and get it out of my head and onto 'paper' just to get some peace.
I have lived a somewhat turbulent life, and some of my own experiences have fuelled my writing. Never directly though.
I was a counsellor to young people in the past. I drew on the stories told to me in that context to create the fictional story of Broken & Damaged Love - a romance story which offers hope to child sex abuse survivors. It's the book I'm most proud of as it can do so much good in the world.
(soon to be released), had a very different inspiration!
It was really exciting to delve into a fantasy world filled with magick.
My familiar has been my muse.
I pick threads and start weaving them.
Some bits stand out and I start to explore them further.
Often, my own characters start telling me where they should go next! Yes, this sounds bonkers, but many authors go through this. It's fine.
I've totally had to change my intention for characters before at their demand!
But that means the dreaded editing must now take place.
At least one more draft is created as I sift through, trying to ensure the best flow has been created. Is there anything superfluous? Do I need to elaborate on anything?
This is the stage I begin to worry.
What if they don't like it? Am I good enough? How do I compare to...? Will readers enjoy my work?
Oh, the wonderful paranoia which inevitably creeps in!? :-/
I rely on my proof readers' scrutiny. Happily they've not told me I'm crap yet!
I then speak with my wonderful cover designer Robin Ludwig who works her magick, and somehow puts a picture to my book. This picture has to reflect what the story is about within approx. 2 seconds of a potential reader looking at it.
Much head scratching happens here.
My book baby is uploaded into Amazon! :-O
Dern dern deeerrrrn!!! (*scary music*)
A little bit of poo comes out as I depress the 'publish' button.
I screw my eyes up tightly, and press it, sending many wishes for its success as it travels through the ether.
Nothing can describe the sheer horror of this moment.
People will soon be able to see my book. People!
They will judge it (if they ever manage to discover it).
And then the real work begins...
(but that will be a future post)
btw all images on this post are from Pixabay
So, that's all for this post.
Keep your eyes out across all my social media for news of when my duology will be released unto to the world:
You have no idea how much I hope you enjoy my books. 💖
Always in love and light,
TL
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