My Writing Process | Blog Hop

I was invited by the lovely Amanda G. Stevens (whom I had the blessing of meeting and photographing at the ACFW conference last year) to join a blog hop! You can see the previous post [here].

Today we'll be talking about my writing process and answering 4 questions. I'm pretty excited to join in on this and hope you'll enjoy it!

My Writing Process

What am I currently working on?

Revisions. Revisions. Revisions.

Ugh. I have to say that working on them isn't the best, or most exciting thing I've ever done, but I am realizing that the writing process is really that - a process.

My current work in progress is (tentatively) titled Runaway. You've probably heard me talk about it before, but I'm excited about where it's finally headed. I've plotted my changes and am working on them as quickly as I can.

In a brief snapshot:

Where can you run to that no one will find you? When Zoie Wells, an accountant at a prominent corporate law office in Los Angeles, is caught stealing evidence of the company’s unlawful business dealings, she attempts the impossible: to disappear.

On the verge of winter, Zoie flees to the historic town of McCloud, in Northern California, where she meets Grant Patten, a local woodworking artist. His friendship is exactly what Zoie is avoiding, but Grant’s special training as a Navy Seal may be the only thing between her and a hit man hired to hunt her down.

How does my work differ from others in its genre?

Good question. I guess you could say it's slightly different in the fact that, though it is suspenseful and action packed, I still try and write the more emotional scenes with a lot of feeling. I think that the emotion can sometimes become lost, creating an action-packed novel without the deeper connection of characterization.

For me, this is a strength and a weakness.  On the positive side, it strengthens the reader's connection to the characters but on the negative side I find myself spending too much time on the emotional and then I need to go back, cut out a lot, and push forward to more action. It's balance I'm striving for.

Why do I write what I do?

I just love suspense and action whether it's movies or books. I've become really interested in all things military as well and I like incorporating that in my writing. It's funny because, looking back, I used to write strictly romance and enjoyed that, but now I feel like the minute I think of a plot it involves some from of action and generally a life threatening situation (or several). It' just comes naturally to me now and I can't imagine not including some form of suspense or action in my writing now.

How does you writing process work?

It's hard to say. Most of the time I can't get away from ideas. I could look at an empty glass on a table and be inspired just as much as I could reading a true life story about a soldiers heroic service to his country. No matter what it is though, I start to get a sense of excitement generally followed by goosebumps (no joke!). Then sit down and start to write (if possible) or I add it to an Evernote page on my phone.

Just a week or so ago I was flying back from a visit with my parents and an idea struck me while reading another book. It had nothing to do with the story I was reading, but all the sudden this plot was vying for my attention and I had to get out the opening scene. Good thing I can type quickly with my thumbs (hehe).


Well, thanks for stopping by the blog and I hope you "hop" on over to my friend K. L. (Kelly) Bridgewater's blog next Monday for her answers to these questions!

K. L. Bridgewater is an active member of My Book Therapy and ACFW. Two of her short stories, Letting Go and Moving on, have been published. She finished her Bachelor and Masters degree in English at Indiana State University. She has completed two complete manuscripts, Missing and Deadly Hunt, which she hopes one day will be published. Currently, she's working on a three part trilogy that she's in the process of plotting and can't wait to introduce Devin Sanders and Chloe Walker to the world. She proofreads her friends' manuscripts to help them with the writing process. Besides here, she also blog on Hoosier Ink and Sleuths and Suspects. Feel free to check them out. She resides in Western Indiana with her husband, their three sons, and their two dogs.