Today is Blog Tour day, when writers answer
questions about their writing process. Last week, fellow author Penny Grubb
posted hers. You can check it out at http://pennygrubb.blogspot.com.
Penny is a hard act to follow, but I thank
her for the invitation.
So, what is my writing process? I always
have a notebook and pencil but the main area for work is my study. I would blush
to let anyone see inside but all those books, papers and maps are lying around
for a purpose. The cat enjoys prowling among them to find a cosy nook to sleep,
until he senses I'm totally absorbed. I draw a veil over the language used when
he pulls me out of my other world.
1 What
are you working on?
I'm writing the second story about brothers
in a half-French, half-Turkish family. The period is 1811 - 1813, so the
background is the Napoleonic wars and the general turmoil throughout Europe. My main character is a Rake but he longs for a
proper role to equal his older brother, the skilled diplomat [whose story is
told in Scandalous
Lady]. I'm sure his brother would have
cautioned him: Be careful what you wish for! In his eagerness to undertake a
noble quest, he becomes entangled with a pair of vicious spies and faces one
crisis after another in a fast paced chase across England
and France.
2 How
does your work differ from others of its genre?
I'm a great fan of all Regency stories but
I particularly like tales set in exotic places. There were plenty of
independent women who set off to discover the world, so I combine those two
elements. I've written two tales set in Constantinople [which was on the
tourist trail for rich aristocrats with a yacht ] and my current novel begins
in the Pyrenees, from where the hero travels to meet with the French royal
family who were in exile in England
in 1813.
3 Why
do you write what you do?
My family were great storytellers and I
always had enough imagination to add further episodes to the tales we told each
evening around the fire. And if I read a story I particularly liked, I couldn't
part with the characters, so I made up further episodes for them. Long ago and
far away were my favourite places. So I'm simply carrying on the family
tradition. Also I love accounts of intrepid women adventurers, and model my
heroines on them. Currently, I feel very at home in the wider Regency era, although I also love - and write - medieval adventure stories.
4 How
does your writing process work?
A story always begins from a picture or two.
I have an ever-growing collection of faces and places, found in
magazines. Suddenly one face stands out and his or her story begins to take
shape. Some scenes are clear immediately although I don't know at that point
where they will be in the novel.
I scribble a working synopsis, about half a
page. This grows and changes as I go along. By Chapter 3 the characters are
dictating what they will and won't do. It's a weird process but it truly
happens. Of course, there is plenty of research, which may lead to some
revision.
For In All Honour I walked the streets of Bath to be sure the timing of the characters'
outings is right.
For Scandalous Lady I visited a delightful palace in Istanbul. As well as
being a royal pavilion, it was used for official business and the signing of
treaties. It is now the
State
Music Museum.
For my current story, [gulp] I ventured a kilometre
inside a vast prehistoric cavern in the Pyrenees,
then transferred my fear of this adventure to my heroine. Most recently, I made a
visit to Hartwell House in Buckinghamshire, which was absolutely wonderful and inspired extra
elements for the plot.
Editing and revision take place as I write.
If something feels wrong, it disturbs my sleep. That means that the following
morning I grab paper and pen before even getting out of bed to rewrite the scene or move events to a better
place. Normally, I prefer to write in the late evening, until the inspiration
gives out.
Thank you for visiting my blog. Please leave a
comment.
NEXT WEEK
Jane Riddell, editor and writer of short
stories and novels. The photos of her travels on her website are wonderful. http://www.quietfiction.com