Blog Hop: My Writing Process

This month I’ve been tagged by a fellow author in a blog hop where I answer questions about my writing process and then tag three more writers.

I was tagged by the lovely romance writer Rebecca Brooks, who wrote about her writing process here. Here’s a bit more about Rebecca:

Rebecca Brooks lives in New York City in an apartment filled with books. She received a PhD in English but decided it was more fun to write books than write about them. She has backpacked alone through India and Brazil, traveled by cargo boat down the Amazon River, climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, explored ice caves in Peru, trekked to the source of the Ganges, and sunbathed in Burma, but she always likes coming home to a cold beer and her hot husband in the Bronx. Her books are about independent women who leave their old lives behind to try something new—and find the passion, excitement and purpose they didn’t know they’d been missing.

And here are my answers to the questions on my writing process:

What am I working on/writing?
After breaking my brain doing a lot of intense revising this summer, I’ve changed pace and am working on drafts of a couple new writing projects.

The first, collaborating with my husband, is a superhero romantic comedy set in a world where superheroes outnumber the non-supers, called “delicates.” A superhero woman gets suddenly trapped in a bank with some bad superheroes—along with a non-super guy she finds incredibly obnoxious. My husband and I alternate writing chapters from the woman’s or man’s point of view, with him writing the female chapters, and me the guy’s.

I’m also trying to write a short horror story—though, since I’m probably more a romance girl at heart, my scary story includes some stolen kisses. Although said stolen kisses may be precursors to a monster jumping out or someone getting their arm ripped off.

How does my work/writing differ from others of its genre?
I write mostly romance, usually romantic comedy, but my stories differ from other romances in that they are often strange and sometimes wacky. I write about finding love in unusual and fun settings, like haunted houses, or with unconventional characters like graffiti artists. I favor strong and irreverent humor, crazy sex scenes, and unique twists.

I’m also a big believer in character development that goes beyond the romance in the story. Though I define romance as a story where the romantic relationship is the vehicle for a character’s change, I like the character’s arc to have ramifications for other aspects of his/her life. I don’t want to just write a story where two people fall in love; I want to write a story where two people fall in love and the changes they evoke in each other cause them to make peace with their past or decide to join a travelling circus.

Why do I write what I do?
Even though I didn’t always realize I wanted to be a writer, I’ve always been a romantic. I’ve created stories in my head since I was a little girl, and these stories were almost always romantic. Today, the Tv shows that compel me the most feature an intense relationship, and I’m drawn to books with the same.

I’m interested in how people and characters reveal themselves in relationships, and romantic relationships are often the most tantalizing–passionate, sometimes resisted, occasionally forbidden, and of course full of surprise kisses. I love writing witty dialogue, sexual tension, sex scenes, and bawdy language–all of which often fall under the umbrella of romance and romantic comedy.

How does my writing process work?
Haphazardly, if I’m honest. Like other areas of my life, I have the best of intentions and the not-best of follow through. Ideally I try to write first thing in the mornings, and read in the evenings. But often I’ll oversleep and/or have to squeeze in writing at other times, like when my younger son is napping and the older is at school, or in the evenings. I’m still creating and finishing stories, though, which is the important thing. I generally prefer to do a rough draft and immediately put it aside for a couple months at least. Then I’ll return to it, make a couple passes of revisions and editing, send it to beta readers for feedback, and then do a few more passes.

And now I’m tagging three other writers to answer these questions! Here goes:

Jonathan Andrew has been writing stories for as long as he can remember. His stories focus on witty dialogue, unexpected plot twists, and unlikely heroes. He writes in all kinds of genres for all kinds of folks — Science Fiction and Fantasy, Comedy, Historical Fiction, Suspense — but always with a bit of the surreal thrown in for good measure. He also blogs about comic books and writing at jonathanandrew.org. He is currently working on two series of novels with the writer Danielle Neruda. He and his wife, the novelist G.G. Andrew, are the parents of two young boys, one of whom is on the autism spectrum. You can follow him on Twitter @andrewnovelist.

Jenny Vinyl: I write for fun on evenings and weekends and am thankful for a 9 to 5 job that gives me the time and energy to pursue other (mostly nerdy) hobbies like reading (of course!), crafting, movie-watching, and walking around the city. Will likely never refuse an invitation involving the eating of ice cream, frozen yogurt, custard, or related products. You can find out more at my website.

Elizabeth Cole is a romance author with a penchant for history, which is why she lives in an old house in an old city. She is the author of the sexy Secrets of the Zodiac and the sweet Regency Rhapsody series. She can be found hanging around libraries and archives, or curled in a corner reading, cat on lap. She believes in love at first sight. Then again, she also believes that mac ‘n’ cheese is a healthy breakfast, so don’t trust her judgment on everything. Find out more at elizabethcole.co.