Category: WIP (Page 14 of 16)

Confessions of an Author: Writing Process

March 25, 2014 / Katie L. Carroll

Confession #8: No matter how long I write and how many stories I complete, I have yet to master my own writing process.

Ask a dozen authors about how they write their books and you’ll probably get twelve different processes. You might hear some similar terms (plotter vs. pantser) and techniques (setting certain daily word goals, for example), but ultimately how an author writes (and by writes, I’m mostly talking about writing first drafts here) is a highly personal endeavor.

Me, well, I’m never quite sure how to answer that question. Because every manuscript I have written has ended up entailing a different process. For some reason, the projects I have tackled have each required their own approach to drafting.

Elixir Bound, my published YA fantasy, started with journal entries of character sketches and world building. I drafted this novel over a period of several years, writing in spurts and putting it away for months at a time. It was my first attempt at writing a full-length novel and it was somewhat blissful being so ignorant about the writing process and the business of publishing. I wrote this with high expectations but without any real pressure. It presented itself in very chronological order, I think because it’s essentially a quest novel, and I just wrote it with little outside forces involved.

The second manuscript I completed is a middle grade mystery with a first-person male point of view. I wanted to write something very different from Elixir Bound. I did a lot of research before and during the drafting process. I read entire non-fiction books; attended a lecture on local history; and created maps, calendars, charts, and pages and pages of supplemental materials.

And the process for my current WIP (currently titled Black Butterfly) is, well, a hot mess. I’m writing it in scenes, but not necessarily in any kind of chronological order. And there’s an element to the story in which the main character can only know certain information at certain points in the story, and I haven’t quite nailed down the timeline for that (or for the main plot in general). So, yeah, this one is going to require a lot of rewriting and editing.

But writing this way has been incredibly freeing. I normally (for the most part) write a story from beginning to end in order. To be able to jump around in the story and to not have to worry about transitioning from scene to scene means I can just write the good stuff, the stuff that’s being persistent about being written. It means I’m writing this story faster than I’ve ever done before. I look forward to my writing sessions, even as I approach the dreaded middle of drafting (which is usually the point where I start to burn out and need a break).

I think it’s important to be flexible as a writer. Set goals but realize that it may take some experimentation to get there, and the way you envision achieving those goals may have to change over time. Have a commitment to writing, but realize that the creative process is not a set step-by-step process. No one can tell you how to best write the book you are writing (maybe you can’t even tell yourself that). Like in life, in writing be open to new ways of discovering things (like your own drafting process), and you may find the perfect fit for your manuscript.

Writers and non-writers, what kinds of projects are you currently working on? Is your process working for you?

My Writing Process Blog Hop

February 17, 2014 / Katie L. Carroll

I’ve been tagged! Author extraordinaire Kai Strand asked me to participate in the My Writing Process blog hop. Make sure to check out Kai’s post about her (many) works in progress and her blog at http://kaistrand.blogspot.com/.

Now on to the questions I must answer:

1. What am I working on?

I’ve been really mum on the blog lately (and in general) about my WIPs since putting myself in a creative bubble last fall. I’m not exactly ready to bust open the bubble, but a little sharing won’t hurt.

So I’ve been working on drafting two different YA projects. Elixir Saved (which I’ve mentioned on the blog before) is a companion novel to my published YA fantasy Elixir Bound. It has three point of view characters, is epic in scope, and has a central theme of sacrifice. My other YA project is tentatively titled Black Butterfly. And that’s all I’m going to say about that one.

I’m hoping to have good drafts of both done before Baby Boy #2 arrives, but that may be wishful thinking. We’ll see how the drafting progresses.

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

My work is different from others in its genre in exactly the same way as any other writer’s is (how’s that for a paradoxical answer!). What I mean is I write stories that only I can tell in a way that only I can tell them. Okay, you want me to be more specific. One important way I try to stand out in the fantasy genre is to feature dynamic female characters with complex relationships among themselves and with the males around them. (Admittedly, there are other fantasy stories, particularly YA ones, that do this, but I think there aren’t enough.)

3. Why do I write what I do?

I write for teens and kids because that is what I love to read. But it goes beyond that, too. Kids and teens are learning and growing in ways an adult never will. A book read by a child has a far greater impact on his/her life than a book read by an adult had on that adult’s life. I think it’s important to offer kids and teens important, deep, diverse, fun, and entertaining reading experiences (not necessarily all provided by a single work). And I’d love to feel like something I’ve created can have even a small impact on a child.

4. How does your writing process work?

I’m not sure I’d say it does work. I often feel inadequately equipped to be a writer. Not because I can’t write well, but because the process can be elusive. Most of my stories start with a driving plot point and a character and grow from there, but I’ve never written two books in the same way. But they eventually get written, so maybe it my process does work.

****

Thanks for reading about my writing process. I’m tagging two more authors extraordinaire Erin Albert and Suzanne de Montigny. Be sure to check out both their posts next week!

Erin Albert (http://www.erinalbertbooks.com/erins-blog.html) is an editor at BookFish Books and author of The Fulfillment Series. Since she picked up Morris the Moose Goes to School at age four, she has been infatuated with the written word. She went on to work as a grammar and writing tutor in college and is still teased by her family and friends for being a member of the “Grammar Police.” In her free time, Erin enjoys acting, running, kickboxing, and, of course, reading and writing. Her favorite place to be is at home with her family and easygoing tabby cat.

Suzanne de Montigny (http://suzannesthoughtsfortheday.blogspot.ca/), author of The Shadow of the Unicorn: The Legacy, was an elementary music teacher for twenty years where she discovered her knack for storytelling. She has nearly completed The Shadow of the Unicorn: The Deception.

Guest Posts and Elixir Bound Sale

November 4, 2013 / Katie L. Carroll

Despite falling back with the clocks this weekend, I’m running low on sleep this Monday morning, so a cop-out informational post. 🙂

First off, the ebook of Elixir Bound is on sale for only $.99 through Thursday. For all ebook platforms, you can get it at the MuseItUp bookstore, and it’s also on sale over at Amazon. If you do get a chance to read it and don’t mind posting a short review over at Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or anywhere else you feel so inclined, I’d really appreciate it. Reviews from readers really do help get the word out there about books!

No word on the date for when the paperback version of Elixir Bound will be shipping, but it is available for pre-order. Any day now I hope, and certainly in time for any holiday shopping you might be doing for a teen (or YA loving adult)!

I’ve also had a few guest posts up lately. Writing buddy Meradeth Houston featured me on her Sary in the Real World series with a fun post about my problem ridden trip to Alaska to run a marathon. My sister and I did this trip awhile back and keep saying we’re going to write a memoir about it one day, tentatively titled Loose Bowels and Butt Chap.

Also, Anne Nesbet interviewed me over at the Enchanted Inkpot. I answer questions about creating Elixir Bound, my current WIPs (though I’m still in the bubble, so not too much about those), and what magical portals I would like to be transported through. It was a really great interview!

How was everyone else’s weekend? Any good plans for the week?

Putting My Writing in a Bubble

October 16, 2013 / Katie L. Carroll

I’ve been in kind of a weird place with my writing lately, really feeling the need to put my writerly self in a bubble and focus on what I want from my stories without thinking about the reader, my critique partners, or anyone else. I’ve been putting myself out there a lot lately, with the blog tour last month, contacting schools and bookstores for speaking opportunities, and being really open about my process. So I think it’s time to step back for awhile from all this crazy public life stuff.

That doesn’t mean I won’t be blogging, though. I’ve come to really love my Observation Desk (which in case you didn’t know is the name of this blog), my place that’s all my own where I can wax philosophical (or less than philosophical!) about anything I want. And I love interacting with all my readers through your comments. And I love hosting other authors here, too!

Keep an eye out for a new Females in YA posts with lots of linky love, some scientific type posts (because I haven’t been doing enough of those lately), and pictures. Because pictures are easy posts to do! 😉 And of course, all those lovely guest posts from my fellow author friends.

So I’ll be in the bubble, but it seems there will be lots of holes in the bubble for me to breathe and share with you all, but maybe just not about any of my current WIPs! What have you all been up to lately?

Elixir Saved Sneak Peek

September 20, 2013 / Katie L. Carroll

First off a bit of news: I have received my print galley of Elixir Bound from the publisher and it’s up on my publisher’s website as available to order! Still no firm date on when I’ll be able to hold it in my hot little hands, but the galley and order option means we’re getting close. Yay!

So as the Elixir Bound in paperback blog tour continues (full schedule here), I’ve got a sneak peek at the companion novel (still a work-in-progress…and it’s kind of terrifying to be putting this out there at the this stage, but figured I’d be brave) Elixir Saved. In this next book, Kylene, Zelenka (both of whom you might know from Elixir Bound), and Devon (new character here!) have all been saved the by the Elixir. Now they must decide how much they are willing to sacrifice with their second chances at life.

As you can see from the description, Elixir Saved will feature many of the characters from Bound, but will also introduce some new characters. With three POV characters and new quests, Saved is even more epic than the first book.

I’ve mentioned before how I originally wrote Bound as a fantasy adventure after my sister Kylene passed away at the age of 16. I tried writing the story from her POV, but it was too hard at the time. I’m happy to say one of the POV characters of Saved is the character Kylene. This sneak peek is the first few pages from her POV (keep in mind this is an unedited version :)). Enjoy!

Kylene Kase waited in the wings for her big moment on stage when lightning struck. It hit a giant oak behind the outdoor stage, which split down the middle with a loud crack and caught on fire. The upper half of the tree toppled over and smashed through the backdrop, shooting sparks out toward the crowd.

The whole production—written by, directed by, and starring Kylene—flashed to a halt. A message, brought by the higher beings, filled her head. The implications of the six terrible words paralyzed her.

Kylene regained her senses and jumped off the nonstage side of the wings, tumbling to the hard ground covered in browning grass. The wood used to construct the stage served as kindling and the whole thing billowed with smoke and flames in a matter of minutes. She ran from the stage to escape the ashes, but acrid smoke curled toward her and burned her throat.

From a safe distance, she watched props of faux golden pillars melt and distort into shapes reminiscent of grotesque faces. As the stage collapsed in on itself, she sank to her hands and knees and sobbed. A strong hand pulled her to her feet. Her younger, but much taller brother, Bhar, grasped her hands. His blue eyes turned hazel as they reflected the orange flames.

He grasped her shoulders. “You okay?”

Kylene nodded; she was fine physically, if not mentally. She searched the frenzied crowd for the rest of her family, face stricken as she suddenly realized one of them might be hurt.

The list of her closet family members tumbled from her dry lips. “Ma, Pop, Katora, Lili, Ariana and the kids?”

“They’re all fine!” Bhar yelled over his shoulder as he ran to the perimeter of the disaster. “Pop says go home. I’ll see you there.”

He peered into the flames, presumably searching for anyone trapped in the ruins of the stage. A crowd of spectators, actors, and crew—some screaming—ran past. An old man fell in the chaos. Bhar lifted him up, offered him a shoulder to lean on, and escorted him to the road, disappearing into the throng.

Kylene stood, frozen in place, while her dreams of a successful production burned to the ground with the stage. The last support beam creaked and groaned, giving itself to the inferno. She fled for home, the early autumn leaves crunching underfoot in rhythm with her hiccupping sobs. Her white-blond hair flew wildly behind her and tears flowed from her bright blue eyes, obscuring her sight. Not that seeing mattered; her feet automatically knew the way down the dirt road to home.

It wasn’t the failure in front of her whole family and the entire town of Tussar that made her cry as much as the six words resonating in her head. In the Great Peninsula, higher beings—sometimes even Mother Nature herself—communicated with humans through the weather. The messages were often cryptic, hard to interpret. However, the message brought by the lightning came through clearer than the transparent bottles that held the essence—a renowned beverage in the Great Peninsula—brewed by her family.

Kylene sprinted straight through the front door of her family’s old, wooden farmhouse, up the rickety stairs, and into the room she shared with her sister Katora. She flung herself onto her bed and sucked in heaving breaths. Even with her face buried deep in her freshly laundered pillow slip, all she smelled was fire.

Before long, a warm hand caressed her back accompanied by Katora’s soothing voice. “Shhh. It’s okay. Don’t cry, Ky.”

Easy enough for Katora to say. She never cries.

She knew her whole family thought she cried too much, but surely the shocking message justified her distress. Eventually the sobs abated and Kylene’s body quieted. She sat and smiled at Katora, one of her three older sisters, the one closest in age to Kylene.

Katora’s blue-green eyes sparkled in her flushed faced. “You heard the message too. Sounds like another quest.”

Kylene rubbed her eyes and frowned. She shared neither her sister’s interpretation of the message nor her enthusiasm for quests. The last and only quest she had been on had nearly killed her. It had been Katora’s job to pick the flowers that contained the nectar for their family’s secret healing Elixir and take over as the Elixir’s guardian. Kylene, merely there to accompany her sister, received a deadly wound from a poisoned spear as a souvenir. If not for the Elixir, she likely would not have recovered.

Lately, nightmares of her loved ones, cold and blue-lipped, haunted her sleep. Would that be her fate if she went on another quest? She pushed away the thought as tears prickled the corners of her eyes.

“The message for the last quest to pick the flowers for the Elixir…” Kylene paused, not sure how to phrase what she wanted to know. “Did you hear it?”

“No.” Katora’s brow furrowed as she gazed at her. “I only saw the snow. The message was for Pop—he was still the guardian of the Elixir then.”

“Did Pop tell you what he heard?” Kylene asked.

Katora stared past Kylene to the wall, but she didn’t really appear to be looking at anything in particular. “I don’t know if he heard a specific message last time. What was it he said? Something about how the greater beings aren’t always clear on what they mean. He told me the snowstorm came as the Elixir’s supply was low, so he took that as a message we needed to retrieve more of the nectar.”

Kylene frowned. The message she heard as the lightning struck held no such ambiguity.

“But you heard a specific message this time?” she asked.

Katora smiled. “Oh, yes. It was like someone speaking right inside my head. No guessing games this time.”

The experience sounded the same as Kylene’s. Tears squeaked from her eyes again, blurring Katora’s face so much it reminded Kylene of the ugly shapes of the melting columns. Perhaps she misinterpreted the message and someone else would be made to fulfill it. She shivered. She didn’t want the message to be true for her or anyone else.