The Process Project: Meet Holly Tellander!

Welcome to week ten of the Process Project!! If you don’t know about us already, you can find out more here and read about other authors' processes: The Process Project.

Meet Holly Tellander!

Holly hails from Wisconsin where she lives with her husband and two kids -- she is currently working on her Young Adult/Magic Realism series! All of Holly’s work can currently be found on her website. She’s participating in the April A-to-Z Blogging challenge, so check in to see her progress.

And now for the questions!
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JB: What’s your genre?
HT: I am currently writing the second book in a YA/MR trilogy, but I don't know that I've found my forever genre. I'm realizing more and more than I really like writing self-help and parenting articles and babbling about whatever happens to catch my fancy. The process of stringing words together effectively and lyrically is what I love most of all, so any genre that allows me to do that (and air out my inner know-it-all) is a genre that works for me.

JB: Do you think your genre of writing informs your process?
HT: I actually don't. I think whatever character or message has formed in my head is the one that has the most impact on my process.

JB: Do you have a writing routine or any rituals?
HT: Hmmmm.... I do not have a particular time of day when I usually write, but I am certainly more productive when I write in the morning. I do have a writing spot, but I share it with my techie husband who collects gadgets and screens the way some people collect stray animals. Someday, I will remedy this situation.

I am the mother of two small children, so having 'space' at all is a luxury. I'd never get anywhere if it had to be a 'certain way' :) Kids.... the gift that keeps on giving!

I do like music, but if feels distracting. The best background noise for me is to have my windows open, a breeze blowing in and to hear the sound of people doing their business outside; lawn mowers mowing, kids shrieking, cars whizzing by, dogs barking... that's my kind of white noise.

I usually brew myself a hot cup of green tea with a dollop of honey whenever I start to write. If things go well, that's where it stays. If things go downhill, I have no choice but to break open a bag of Kettle Chips to entice my muse to come back to me.

JB: When do your best ideas come to you? What are your best brainstorming times?
HT: Definitely when I am walking my dog without a notebook in sight ;)

JB: Who/what inspires you?
HT: People watching!!

JB: Now let’s talk process. How do you organize your ideas before writing?
HT: Oh dear, you are highlighting my shortcomings ;0 I have a dedicated writing journal for jotting down ideas when they come to me, but I hardly ever have it with me. The truth is that I have notes spread all over the place; random slips of paper in my purse, notebooks, disconnected word documents and even the notepad feature on my phone. This is an area that needs attention... *slinks off to round up wayward notes and compile them.... or eat Kettle Chips....*

JB: Is there any particular way you like to structure your work while writing?
HT: I've just discovered how much I like outlining and I am using it for my second novel. The system I used for my first novel would be best described as 'walking into a pitch black room with a weak flashlight and taking teeny tiny steps to make my way across the vastness of the plot and only making it out alive by the skin of my teeth after 8 jabillion re-writes'. I like outlines much better.

JB: When you’re on the road and ideas come to you, what do you usually do?
HT: Dictate them into the voice-to-text feature on my phone and pretend I'm a business bigwig who will have someone come along and type them up and leave them on my desk by the end of the day.

JB: How do you handle revisions?
HT: I confess to eating more Kettle Chips in the rewrite stage. I also need a dedicated beta reader at that point to help me see things clearly. Dedicated beta readers are a godsend, are they not?

JB: Is there any advice you can give to writers struggling to get the words flowing?
HT: Take a break. A real break. We go around telling ourselves that we have to keep our noses to the grindstone, that we have to keep up with all the other writers out there is social media land, and if we don't we end up feeling like we aren't 'real' writers. But the truth is that everyone needs downtime. No one can produce in a vacuum. And when I say 'really' take a break, I mean take as long of a break as you need without pummeling yourself with guilt. (I find that only slows down the process of getting back to work for me.) Also - exercising works wonders, cuddling with someone is always useful and did I mention the amazing power of Kettle Chips? (I think it's the extremely gratifying crunch.)

JB: And most importantly: why do you write?
HT: Simply put, I write because I have something to say :) I put my heart and soul into it when I have some to spare, and I try not to beat myself up on the days that I don't.

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Thank you, so much, Holly, for participating in the Process Project! It is so valuable to hear about the process of writers at all stages of their careers! Don't forget to check out Holly’s progress of the April A-Z blog challenge, and keep an eye out for her YA/MR series! You can stay up-to-date with her progress on her blog and these other websites!

Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Goodreads | Holly Tellander (Blog/Website)

The Process Project: Meet Poet, Kim King!

I am THRILLED to be sharing with you an interview with the amazing Kim King! I was fortunate enough to share my thesis experience with this wonderful and supportive poet who I am now happy to call my friend. In honor of National Poetry month, I bring to you, the writing process of Kim King!

Meet Kim King!!

Kim King's poetry has appeared in a number of journals and anthologies, including Prompted, An International Collection of Poems, Wild Onions 2013 and Wild Onions 2014, Point Mass, In Gilded Frame, The MidWest Quarterly and The Road Not Taken. She lived and studied in France before becoming a high school French Teacher. She has an MA in Writing from the Johns Hopkins University and writes from her home in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

And now...onto the questions!

JB: What do you write?

KK: I'm a poet!

JB: What is your writing routine like?
KK: My writing routine is not a routine, because I teach French at two different high schools every day. Sometimes, if I have an idea percolating, I will drop everything to get it down, but I always have lessons to plan and papers to correct. In the summer and on weekends, I have time to write. I like to write in the mornings, when the sun is hitting the patio. I'll make a pot of coffee, take my journal outside, listen to the birds, smell the grass, and start writing. I prefer quiet to write, so I find writing in a coffee shop distracting, unless I put on headphones. I often write poems directly on the computer, but the distractions of email, Twitter, and FB get me off task. Following an interview that I read in The Paris Review with Billy Collins, I've returned to the journal and pen. I ordered the same pens and journal that he mentioned, hoping that they'll bring good writing karma.

JB: When you are preparing to write a new poem, what kinds of techniques or methods do you use to organize your ideas?
KK: Usually, poets will say that the poem writes itself. For me, when I have an idea, an image, or a metaphor that is rattling around in my head, I'll write down those first few words. Sometimes a title comes first. I'll try to think of concrete images to connect to those first words. I may do research on whatever it is I'm writing about, like the types of trees, names of flowers, descriptions of how bridges are built, or historical or literary information. I'll write one line, and then another, and just keep writing until it ends. I'll read what I have written and decide whether or not the poem needs to be written in a certain form. Some poems come out as sonnets and others as free verse. I may rewrite a free verse poem in iambic pentameter blank verse, if that's how it sounds best. I may start out writing a sonnet and decide later that the poem does not want to be a sonnet. I experiment.

JB: While you are working on a piece, do you have any particular way that you structure your work?
KK: Once the poem is down, I transfer to the computer and always write in Times New Roman twelve point double spaced, as my professors at Johns Hopkins required. Once it's on the computer, it's easier to move the lines, to add and delete words, and to play around with the form. I'll save the first version by a title or by the first line of the poem. Later, when I work on it again, if I make major changes, I'll rename it as the "Title2", "Title3", etc. When the poem is where I want it to send it out for publication, I'll rename it "TitleFinal." I keep my poems in files for each year. When a poem is sent out for publication, I move it to a "Submissions" file. I keep a document with all the names of the journals where I submitted, the dates of my submissions, the title of the poems that I sent, and the deadlines for responses. I update that file with "Accepted" or "Rejected" when I hear from the publication. This way I can be sure that I do not send simultaneous submissions to journals that do not accept them.

JB: Can you tell me a little about your revision process?
KK: Revisions are tricky. I'll go back and tweak a poem many times, trying to tighten it up and eliminate unnecessary words. I'll double check the meter, if it's in meter, and concentrate on end words and enjambment. I want the end words of each line to carry a punch of sound or meaning. I'll look for words that I've used twice, find another synonym, and change one of them. I want each line to pull the reader to the next line. If the reader gets bored or lost, he or she will never finish the poem. I have a few trusted poets that I may send the poem to for another pair of eyes. They may find a tense shift, a preposition, or a metaphor that doesn't quite work, and I'll revise it again. I revise until I cannot find anything else to fix. I usually have the most trouble with the endings. I have to decide if the poem is complete, or if it needs another stanza.

JB: And so, Kim, my final question for you is...why do you write?
KK: I write because I have ideas for poems in my head, or because I'll see something that I want to tell someone else. I wrote a poem about domestic violence after I saw a man smash his wife's head into boxes of candy at Costco. I wrote a poem about a crippled man begging at an intersection on North Avenue in Baltimore, because I saw a girl hand him a lunch out her car window. I wrote many poems about my father, a World War II veteran, because I wanted to preserve my memories of him for my children. He told great stories and taught me all about life and how to be a good citizen. I wrote a series of poems while I was going through medical procedures for a possible breast cancer diagnosis. Those poems tell the story from the first phone call to the biopsy and then to the negative results. I wrote most of them in the waiting room or while staring at the ceiling in the hospital.

I look around me every day, especially when I'm driving, and I see something that triggers an idea for a poem. The idea may lay dormant for a while, but eventually, I write about it. I've been driving and jotted notes down for a poem on the back of an envelope, and if I'm a passenger, I always have my notebook with me. I often come up with ideas first thing in the morning, when I'm in the shower. When I get out of the shower, I write them down.

Some of my best writing comes from being under pressure, so taking a writing class with prompts and deadlines is a good idea. I also suggest participating in one of the Writer's Digest's April Poem-A-Day writing challenges. Even if the poems are not ready for publication, you have thirty poems at the end of the month to start revising.

Kim is participating in the Poem-A-Day via Robert Lee Brewer’s Poetic Asides Blog you can check out her poems on her blog here! Ksquaredpoetry

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I want to give a big giant THANK YOU to Kim King for taking the time to share her answers with us. Remember, April is National Poetry month! So get out there and read and write some poetry!

Want to read more of Kim King? Check out the links to some of her work below, and you can check Kim’s Blog out here: Ksquaredpoetry – or Follow her on Twitter @madkking.

Check out Kim's work here:
Prompted, An International Collection of Poems
Wild Onions 2013
Wild Onions 2014
Point Mass
In Gilded Frame
The MidWest Quarterly
The Road Not Taken

The Process Project: Meet Karen Bynum!

Welcome to week six of the Process Project!! If you don’t know about us already, please visit The Process Project page to find out more about this project, and read interviews with other authors.

MEET KAREN BYNUM!

Dragons, unicorns, genies…oh my! NA/YA author, coffee-lover, olive-hater, tea-drinker, music-listener. Random becomes me. Married to a genius. Mother of a human baby and a furry baby. Easily distrac --  Rep'd by AKA Literary, LLC.

And now, let’s hear some more about Karen’s writing process...

 

JB: What is/are your main genre/field of writing?

KB: I started out writing Young Adult paranormal romance, but as I looked back on my seven completed works, I realized only two of them were true Young Adult stories. I really write more New Adult urban fantasy/romance with diverse characters.

JB: Let’s talk a little about your writing routine and rituals. First, do you have a writing time or day?

KB: Before my little *cue Gollum voice* precious was born, I used to write at 4:30AM (insanity, right?), but now I covet every second of sleep…so I write throughout the day when he naps.

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JB: Music you listen to? Need silence?

KB: Uh, none! Unless it’s totally instrumental. But, I prefer silence. All the better to hear the voices, my dear. :P

JB: Do you drink or eat something special?

KB: Hmm, it varies…coffee, chocolate, some kind of carb, or hot tea. I tend to eat more when I’m editing/revising then when I’m creating new worlds.

JB: When do your best ideas come to you?

KB: On the treadmill, in the shower, and on long drives.

JB: When you’re on the road and ideas come to you, what do you usually do?

KB: Jot them down at a stop-light on the Post-It notes I keep in the console or put them in Google Keep on my phone.

JB: When you are preparing to write a new story, what kinds of techniques or methods do you use to organize your ideas?

KB: Back in the day, I pantsed my way through many a novel. I’d just open a Word document and race through the tunnel until I saw the The End light. The problem with that was plot holes, flat characters, and rushed endings. While all those things are fixable and did get fixed -- because I have an amazing editor -- I wouldn’t have had to work as hard if I’d known more of my characters’ backstory, goals, motivations, and conflicts. After loads of hard work and experience, I’ve found plotting -- at least fleshing out goals, motivations, and conflicts (GMC) -- helps the words flow easier and the edits less intense.

JB: While you are working on a piece, do you have any particular way that you structure your work?

KB: Even though my thoughts about the story don’t always come in order, I still write linear. I’ve tried writing by scenes, but it just ticked me off because I ended up having to rewrite those scenes completely since things changed.

So instead, I start each story out with a few notes about the world-building and GMC, scribbled on Post-Its or in old notebooks, and then I launch into the words. Fingers to keys. Eyes to screen. Voices chatting away inside my head.

I do find plotting out a few overarching ideas/turning points helps. And I use Michael Hauge’s Plot Structure for that. But I can’t plot too intensely because if I do, and I know everything that’s going to happen, it just kills the story for me. (I had that happen just recently. Argh!)

JB: ​When it's time to revise/edit your work, do you have any particular methods that you use to help you through the process? ​

KB: After I type The End, I usually don’t look at that story for at least a week…maybe two, if I can wait that long. ;) Then, I read the entire thing over a couple days while taking notes on repeated concepts/phrases and things that need to be tweaked/rewritten. I get those things done, send to my beta readers, and cut out overused words while I await their feedback. After I make the beta reader adjustments I read it one more time, and then it’s off to my freelance editor (*insert plug here* Danielle Fine is ALL THE AWESOME, seriously, don’t know where I’d be without her). Once she’s worked her magic -- AKA we’ve done about a gazillion rounds of edits until it’s shiny like a diamond -- it’s off to my agent!

JB: What do you do when you're stuck?

KB: Keeping the momentum going is a huge help. So even if I only write ten words one day it’s something. If I’m plugging right along and suddenly seem to have worked myself into a corner, I’ll do something else for a few minutes -- laundry, dishes, eat a snack. Anything that I can accomplish in a short amount of time, and then I go back to my manuscript. Usually, I’ll have worked out the problem by not thinking about it for a bit. And I always try to remember, “First drafts don’t have to be good. They just have to be written.” Because… “You can’t fix a blank page.”

JB: And most importantly: why do you write?

KB: To be honest, guilt. LOL Writer’s guilt is real and alive in me. If I don’t meet my daily word count the voices in my head make me feel horrible. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE writing… It’s an escape -- and it’s like playing God to the worlds I build. But, it definitely is something I have to do. If I don’t, all the worlds I have in my head will collide and my soul will implode. I need those worlds on paper! I need to keep my soul intact! So, yeah, that’s why I write. :P

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Want to read more by Karen Bynum? You can check out here books (and download FREE below!)

Download LORE for FREE on Amazon

Download LORE for FREE on B&N!

Check her out on the web:

Karen Y. Bynum's Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Pinterest

The Process Project: Meet J.C. Davis!

Welcome to the Process Project!

Week 2, Day 1

MEET J.C. DAVIS!

Welcome to Week TWO of the Process Project. In case this is the first time you’re hearing about us, the Process Project is a blog series compiling answers to questions all writers should think about when it comes to their process. Many of us just write...we don’t think about how, or why, we do the things we do. Thinking about your own process can help you be more productive, and hearing about other writers’ processes can help you hone yours, or make you feel like you’re not as crazy as you think you are. And c’mon, it’s just downright interesting!

For week two, I’d like to introduce to you J.C. Davis. A programmer by day, J.C. Davis writes Young Adult and Middle Grade fiction, the occasional short story and has far too many hobbies to keep up with. She lives in Dallas, Texas with her husband, two kids and a hedgehog named Percy Jackson. A second-generation book addict, she has piles of books in her house and a serious picture book habit that's transferred to both of her kids. Family visits to the library are a frequent and necessary thing in her household. She adores Doctor Who, HarryPotter and has an unnatural affinity for Monty Python skits. Her short stories have appeared in Bastion Science Fiction Magazine, Writing Tomorrow, and Spark: A Creative Anthology among others. You can find links to all of her work here: J.C. Davis.

J: First and foremost, why do you write?

JC: I write because I love stories. I am an intense book addict and I love making stories of my own in addition to reading as many books as I can. I average around 100 books a year and read across several genres. Words are a kind of magic that wrap around me. I can't imagine not adding to that deluge of words. I also have amazing friends, betas and critique partners who cheer me on and keep me in-line when I need it.

I suppose most writers will say they always wanted to be a writer, but that wasn't true for me. In college, I toyed with a few book ideas but never started any of them. Later, when I discovered the Harry Potter books, I fell so deeply in love that I had to scurry online to find other Potter-heads to share my obsession with. That led to the fascinating world of fan-fiction. I read some, decided I could definitely write that and then jumped in with both feet. I wrote a novel length fan-fiction with original characters and that gave me the confidence to know that I could finish a novel, that I could plot and that, at least according to other fans, I was a decent writer with a bit of potential. I put the world of fan-fiction behind me and started writing original work. My first novel was an utter mess. It's locked in a drawer and guarded by attack trolls. My second novel is the one I am currently submitting to agents.

J: Can you talk to us a little about the environment you write in?

JC: Ninety-nine percent of my writing is done on the train during my commute to and from work. I love the motion and the background noise; it unlocks my muse. When I need to, however, I can write almost anywhere, though I prefer a bit of quiet. A nearby library, my bed, my writing desk, all are fair game. I never listen to music while I write because the noise distracts me, pulls me out of the story and drops me into a different world.

J: When you’re writing, and you get stuck, what do you do?

JC: This is where writing on the train comes in handy. If I get stuck, I people watch and jot down descriptions of my fellow passengers and make up stories about them. I sometimes try asking my characters open-ended questions and then writing down the answers. I've tried free-writing whatever comes into my brain. If I am really, really stuck it normally means there's a plotting issue I'm missing so I go back to my loose outline and fiddle with it, possibly leap ahead a few chapters if I need to, just so I can keep my momentum going.

Want to read more?? Tune back in tomorrow to see how J.C. Davis writes and revises!

And, in the meantime, check her out on the web here! Website/Blog || Twitter: @JCDavisAuthor || Goodreads

The Process Project: Meet Amanda Pate!

Welcome to the Process Project!

Week 1, Day 1

MEET AMANDA!

To kick off our Process Project Blog Series, we’d like to introduce to you, Amanda Pate. Amanda has been published the 2012 and 2013 issues of The Baylorian for photography and for poetry, as well as the Oklahoma Baptist University Literary Journal, Scriblerus. You can read her latest project, By Order of the King, on Wattpad, which is updated on a bi-weekly basis! Read More About Amanda below. Now let's get to some of those questions!

J:  What are your main genres/fields of writing?

A: I write in a variety of fields. I have written in poetry, historical fiction, fantasy, and I've even tried my hand at contemporary realistic fiction. However, the genre in which I most enjoy writing is fantasy. I have written two novels in that genre, and I'm currently planning another.

J: Can you talk to us a little about your writing routine and rituals?

A: I feel like my writing routine is slightly peculiar. I cannot be in a place that has a lot of action going on, so coffee shops are a no-go. Even the library sometimes throws me off because I'm in a different environment. The best writing space is on my bed, in my room, with the door closed. I can't write in any other place. 

Michelle Madow, Author of The Secret Diamond Sisters, Talks Process and Publishing!

Savannah. Courtney. Peyton.

The three sisters grew up not knowing their father and not quite catching a break. But it looks like their luck is about to change when they find out the secret identity of their long-lost dad—a billionaire Las Vegas hotel owner who wants them to come live in a gorgeous penthouse hotel suite. Suddenly the Strip's most exclusive clubs are all-access, and with an unlimited credit card each, it should be easier than ever to fit right in. But in a town full of secrets and illusion, fitting in is nothing compared to finding out the truth about their past.

Read my interview with the author herself, Michelle Madow!

Interview with Author, Amanda Miller: Thoughts on Writing for Children, Self-Publishing, Collaboration, and more!

Amanda Hart Miller is the author of the new children’s book series about SyperDylan. The books are illustrated by her brother, Grant Miller. So far they have released two books, SuperDylan and the Powers of Just Right and SuperDylan and the Night Horse, and both are available on Amazon (click the covers below to visit the Amazon store!)

The series stars Dylan, a middle child with a big sister and a little brother. The first book focuses on Dylan starting school, and feeling like he is in the shadow of his older sister, Sydney. But throughout the story, Dylan realizes his own position as an older brother as well. The second book takes place when Dylan and his family move and the kids must switch schools and make new friends. Dylan’s anxieties manifest themselves in nightmares, and, with the help of his sister, he must learn to overcome the “Night Horse” in his dreams.

I recently had the opportunity to talk with the author to get some of her thoughts on writing for children, collaborating with an illustrator, use of the unreliable narrator, the world of self publishing, and more!

After the interview, be sure to check out how to enter our contest to win a FREE, SIGNED copy of SuperDylan and the Night Horse!

Here is the full Q&A from our interview: