Rock my socks off author Carlene Love Flores challenged me this week with questions about my writing process. Last week, Carlene blogged about her process, and the next story in her Sin Pointe novel series. Check out more about the fabulous Carlene and start with the first book in her rockin' contemporary romance series, Sidewalk Flower. Now it is my turn to dig deep and reveal my process, and I had to do a lot of shoveling. :)
1) What am I working on?
I am writing the next story in my UltraSecurity series about Pax and Oracle, Surefire's boss and mentor respectively, two secondary characters with a romantic past from A Surefire Way. While Surefire takes a sabbatical with Raven to gain control over her new goddess-given powers, Oracle struggles to use her mind reading skills after having been mentally attacked by an Aztec god when she tried to find Surefire. It's been over a month since the incident, and Oracle still can't use her power without experiencing a panic attack. Then Detective Guy Matthews, her current boyfriend and colleague, asks her to help with a transhuman case. It's life or death, and Oracle is the victim's only hope in figuring out what happened to him—or rather her now. The male victim is changing into a woman from a drug administered by his girlfriend, and his body isn't handling the transformation well. But when Oracle finally overcomes her anxiety, she finds Surefire wasn't the only one changed by their interaction with an ancient god. She wishes she could confide in Pax about it, but her dating Matthews has put a strain on their relationship. Not to mention the hot dreams she's been having about him are making it difficult to work with him. Pax has his own issues: business partners angry over the Aztec incident that's brought on a government investigation into U-Sec and a new client calling in a favor—for free. Pax has been working for a month straight to set things right after one agent is killed and another transformed into ... well, he's not sure what she is now. More than transhuman that's for sure. He's ready for a long weekend break when he's ask to go to Mexico once again. A drug lord is tapping into an ancient power unleashed when they rescued Surefire, and only Pax can stop her.
2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?
Although I love vampire, werewolf and witch stories, I wanted to write a different type of paranormal story—one that combines science and supernatural elements. I find inspiration in Discover magazine articles and scientific research as well as paranormal investigative tales and mythology. Some of my characters have acquired their powers through science and a few through supernatural means. Just like comic book superheroes and villains who all have diverse abilities with varied history. I see my book as a subgenre of paranormal romance. A superhero romance.
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| British cinema poster for Goldfinger, designed by Robert Brownjohn |
I was inspired to do something different, something I'd never read before. I grew up watching action-adventure movies like Raiders of the Lost Ark, spy thrillers with cool gadgets and over-the-top villains like Goldfinger, superhero stories such as Supermanand the Wonder Woman television show, and reading tons of romances as a teen and young adult. My love for all these genres challenged me to combine them into a story, which I would want to read. Strong heroines I could route for and be inspired by their journey. Stories that give the reader a fast, fun escape.
4) How does your writing process work?
Frustratingly slow, especially when I see how quickly my friends are writing. (I'm looking at you, Carlene!) ;) It usually starts with an interesting scene and setup. From there, I build a story around it and try to figure out who these characters are in the scene: How did they get there? Why did this happen? Where are they going from here?
Many times this scene is inspired by something I read in a magazine or saw in a documentary. I have stacks of magazines and books around my desk and websites bookmarked on my computer with fascinating scientific facts or weird stories. For example, the term transhumans—what my characters with special abilities are called—was taken from a Discover magazine article onepigenetic and robotic enhancements. People who have been altered are being labeled transhuman in the scientific community.
Once I have a grasp on the scene, I'll start writing a very rough first draft of the entire story. This acts as an initial outline and allows me to let the story flow organically instead of plotting first, which tends to stifle my creativity. After I know where the story is heading, I go back and fill in missing details, add in research, flush out characters, and weave in motivation and make sure it properly sets up the rest of the story. When I read through my rough draft, I use Scrivener where I can add notes or attach articles or websites within the file to easily reference for what I may need to add to or clarify in a scene. As my U-Sec world is growing, I started writing out characters and plot points on large flipchart paper and tape them to my wall like I've done in a proposal war room (my other life) when we would storyboard. Then I have my husband and critique partners read it over and consolidate their story edits—a very painful but necessary step—before I send it off to my editor.
Look for a preview chapter of the next book in the U-Sec series on my blog before the end of the month.
_______________ Look for a preview chapter of the next book in the U-Sec series on my blog before the end of the month.
Next week enjoy blogs on the writing process of the following authors. Two of my favorite authors who are turning their love for writing:
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