Interview from Enduring Romance (Part 1 of 2)
Today and tomorrow, I'll be posting an interview I did with Kimber An of Enduring Romance, a blog where you can find book reviews, author interviews, really cool articles, and it's the home of the world-famous Cyber Launch Book Parties. Kimber An graciously hosted a Cyber Launch Book Party for MLTF. It was a blast! Prior to the party, Kimber An asked me a few questions. The link to Enduring Romance is in the LINKS list to the right, as is a link to her personal blog Star Captains' Daughter. Kimber An's review of MLTF and my Cyber Launch Book Party are in the "June archives." Enjoy!
***Potential techie glitch -- Some of you still may not be able to see the links to the right of other blogs/sites. If you can't, just scroll to the bottom of the blog. Trust me, they're down there, just keep scrolling. Webmaster Todd is on the case.
Can you share the journey you took in creating MAGIC LOST, TROUBLE FOUND? What first inspired you? Did it flesh out right away or did the details come later? How did the characters reveal themselves to you?
Let's see if I can remember that far back. What eventually became MLTF started in my college days as a result of wanting something to read, but not being able to find anything in the bookstore that I thought I'd like. My roommate got tired of my complaining and said, "Why don't you just write something yourself?"
So I did.
And it sucked.
But I kept going. I finished that one and wrote another book, a sequel to the first one. It sucked only marginally less, which meant (at least in my own mind) that I was getting better. Hmmm, maybe being delusional is a big part of finally getting published.
Those two books formed the base for what eventually became MLTF. Raine, Mychael, Chigaru and Phaelan were in those first two books (though vastly different than they are now). Piaras didn't come into being until I was on the second draft of MLTF. (What can I say, the kid's a late bloomer.) Piaras was just supposed to be a "fetch & carry" character--there for window dressing, maybe say a line or two, etc. Then in the scene around Chapter 6, when Raine comes home and is talking to Tarsilia, and Piaras goes to open the shop. . .suddenly one day when I'm working on that scene, Raine hears Piaras singing from the next room. The kid had a magnificent voice. That got Raine's attention (and mine). A few days (or maybe weeks) later, when I was writing the scene where Raine is meeting Ocnus Rancil close to The Ruins. . .suddenly Piaras is there getting himself yanked into a dark alley. What the hell??
I've since learned that if a character gets yanked into an alley or thrown out of a bar, that character is worth paying attention to.
Can you share your process for taking a story from rough draft to submission-ready manuscript? What's your best advice on how they can improve the craft of writing to meet publication standards?
For me, the first draft is for getting the story down, the second draft is for filling in the blanks, third draft is for buffing, polishing and making it pretty. Though most of the time there ends up being five drafts--each one adding more detail and texture to the one before. Later drafts are the real fun. Then I basically keep doing it until my gut tells me I've finally got it right. Between drafts, I like to let it sit and simmer for a week or two, then when I come back to it, it's fresh to me, and more details reveal themselves.
That's the annoying part for me. I'm ultra-organized and methodical. My writing brain apparently is not. When I was doing the final draft of MLTF (Book 1), the first two pages for Book 4 came at me out of left field. Boom. There they were. So I stop and write them down. I've got notebooks full of scenes and dialogue that come to me like that. I write them down, knowing that somehow they'll fit into a story somewhere at some time. My brain doles out ideas like puzzle pieces. It's up to me to figure out where they go. Frustrating as hell, yet fun at the same time.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of Kimber An's interview tomorrow!
***Potential techie glitch -- Some of you still may not be able to see the links to the right of other blogs/sites. If you can't, just scroll to the bottom of the blog. Trust me, they're down there, just keep scrolling. Webmaster Todd is on the case.
Can you share the journey you took in creating MAGIC LOST, TROUBLE FOUND? What first inspired you? Did it flesh out right away or did the details come later? How did the characters reveal themselves to you?
Let's see if I can remember that far back. What eventually became MLTF started in my college days as a result of wanting something to read, but not being able to find anything in the bookstore that I thought I'd like. My roommate got tired of my complaining and said, "Why don't you just write something yourself?"
So I did.
And it sucked.
But I kept going. I finished that one and wrote another book, a sequel to the first one. It sucked only marginally less, which meant (at least in my own mind) that I was getting better. Hmmm, maybe being delusional is a big part of finally getting published.
Those two books formed the base for what eventually became MLTF. Raine, Mychael, Chigaru and Phaelan were in those first two books (though vastly different than they are now). Piaras didn't come into being until I was on the second draft of MLTF. (What can I say, the kid's a late bloomer.) Piaras was just supposed to be a "fetch & carry" character--there for window dressing, maybe say a line or two, etc. Then in the scene around Chapter 6, when Raine comes home and is talking to Tarsilia, and Piaras goes to open the shop. . .suddenly one day when I'm working on that scene, Raine hears Piaras singing from the next room. The kid had a magnificent voice. That got Raine's attention (and mine). A few days (or maybe weeks) later, when I was writing the scene where Raine is meeting Ocnus Rancil close to The Ruins. . .suddenly Piaras is there getting himself yanked into a dark alley. What the hell??
I've since learned that if a character gets yanked into an alley or thrown out of a bar, that character is worth paying attention to.
Can you share your process for taking a story from rough draft to submission-ready manuscript? What's your best advice on how they can improve the craft of writing to meet publication standards?
For me, the first draft is for getting the story down, the second draft is for filling in the blanks, third draft is for buffing, polishing and making it pretty. Though most of the time there ends up being five drafts--each one adding more detail and texture to the one before. Later drafts are the real fun. Then I basically keep doing it until my gut tells me I've finally got it right. Between drafts, I like to let it sit and simmer for a week or two, then when I come back to it, it's fresh to me, and more details reveal themselves.
That's the annoying part for me. I'm ultra-organized and methodical. My writing brain apparently is not. When I was doing the final draft of MLTF (Book 1), the first two pages for Book 4 came at me out of left field. Boom. There they were. So I stop and write them down. I've got notebooks full of scenes and dialogue that come to me like that. I write them down, knowing that somehow they'll fit into a story somewhere at some time. My brain doles out ideas like puzzle pieces. It's up to me to figure out where they go. Frustrating as hell, yet fun at the same time.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of Kimber An's interview tomorrow!
posted by Lisa Shearin at
7:54 AM
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