First of all, I'm on the USA Today's HEA blog today!! Go over and say hi!!
http://www.usatoday.com/story/happyeverafter/2014/06/15/recommended-reads-shewanda-pugh-ac-arthur/10551991/
I’m also a stop on The Writing Process Blog Tour! I was tagged by one of my lovely Golden Heart® sisters, Jessica Ruddick. Jessica writes YA, NA, and romantic fiction. You can find her here.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/happyeverafter/2014/06/15/recommended-reads-shewanda-pugh-ac-arthur/10551991/
I’m also a stop on The Writing Process Blog Tour! I was tagged by one of my lovely Golden Heart® sisters, Jessica Ruddick. Jessica writes YA, NA, and romantic fiction. You can find her here.
So here I go!
What am I working on?
Right now, I’m
working on a YA speculative story. I’m not ready to give much more than that
about it yet, but I’m really enjoying writing it. I’m also planning out the
story set right after my historical AFTER THE SCANDAL. I’ll write that next, I
believe.
How does my work differ from others of its genre?
ALTERED, my Golden Heart finalist, is different because it’s a YA
from 3rd person POV. Also, it’s science fiction instead of straight
paranormal or fantasy. It’s set in our
world instead of an alternate one, even though it stretches the boundaries of
reality a little bit.
My historical are
edgier than most of the fare out there. I’ve never written a ballroom scene.
Most of my action takes place in sketchy places and the stories are full of
suspense.
Why do I write what I do?
I write suspense
because I love action and drama. I’m enjoying writing for younger folks because
I think so much happens and changes in those years. As to historicals, I love
the kinds of conflicts in the 19th century, the time period I write. That time was lush with social conflict and social conflict is a lot of fun to delve into.
I usually spend
about a month or so getting my thoughts around a story. Plot, GMC/character stuff, etc. I plan out a
storyboard. Then it usually takes me 2-3 months to write a rough draft. After
that, a month or more to revise. Longer sometimes, depending on the story. If real life interferes, well, these times become very fluid. As to times during the day when I write? Well, I have two little boys. I'm not really sure where I find time to write. :)
Thanks for
stopping by! I’m going to tag two of my 2014
Golden Heart® sisters, Carrie Padgett and Lenora Bell!
Carrie Padgett lives with her husband, a dog, and a cat in
the flattest middle part of California. The up side is she's only a couple of
hours from both beaches and mountains. She writes sweet contemporary stories
set in Yosemite's front yard. She is a 2014 Golden Heart® finalist in the Inspirational Romance category. Her blog can be found here: http://livevicarrieous.com/
Lenora Bell is Golden Heart® Finalist in the Historical Romance category. Her blog can be found here: http://lenorabell.blogspot.com/
Make sure to visit them both next Monday, June 23!
Make sure to visit them both next Monday, June 23!
Hi Marnee,
ReplyDeleteHopefully this doesn't pop up twice with my comments - WordPress being annoying.
Anyhoo, I love that your historicals looked at more unusual aspects of the period, since I love looking at all the dingy corners and side streets myself - oh, so much potential! And I have only the greatest admiration for those who can storyboard, since it's just not my thing. ;)
Hi Marnee! Enjoyed reading about your process- your historicals sound so different and cool! And I know your YA stuff is great because you're DAUNTLESS! As another mom of two boys, I'm impressed that you find writing time-- I couldn't seem to really get started until mine got a bit older. Great post!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tag, Marnee! I enjoyed following you all over the web today. ;-)
ReplyDeleteShelly - Nope, just got it the one time! I love the dirtier, grittier parts of history. (That doesn't sound right...) And I'll fill you in on how I storyboard any time you'd like! :) Thanks for coming to visit!
ReplyDeleteAmy - I'm not sure how I find time either. :) Some days I succeed better than others. I'm looking forward to reading your debut this year too! Go DAUNTLESS!!
Carrie - Thanks for playing along! And thanks for following me today! LOL!! I'll return the favor next week! :)
Hi Marnee! I love these blogs and have learned so much about my GH sisters this way.
ReplyDeleteI have two fourteen year olds who read like the wind so the three of us have been reading tons and tons of YA and I've fallen in love with some of the more sci-fi type YA such as the Partials Sequence Trilogy by Dan Wells and the Under the Never Sky trilogy by Veronica Rossi. I can't wait until the kids are out of school and we can all read all day long!
Except for the part where I have a manuscript due to my agent and I have other real life adult things to do--but I can watch them read all day in the sun while drinking lemonade. :)
I simply love reading about process. Thanks so much for sharing!
ReplyDeleteOkay, so I gave a little hysterical giggle at "I usually spend about a month or so getting my thoughts around a story. Plot, GMC/character stuff, etc."…because I do the same thing, promptly followed by several sweeping changes during the redraft stage that equal rewriting about 75% of the book. Yep, that's me. The gal who writes every book at least twice. ;)
ReplyDeleteSo fun to read about your process and find another who uses storyboards (if you also use colored sticky notes, I'm convinced we're blood relatives!). Thanks for sharing, Marnee!
BTW, I'm having trouble with the credentials, so just in case it doesn't show up, this is Marni. :)
So what you're saying is you write sketchy historicals! LOL! That sounds like fun and definitely not your typical historical.
ReplyDeleteSharon! Good luck getting your MS off to your agent. I totally get the whole "real life adult" stuff horning in on my reading/writing time. LOL!! Thanks for stopping by! And I"ll check out those scifi series!
ReplyDeleteJulie - I love reading about process too. We're all so different, right? Thanks for coming by!
Marni!! I do use different colors. I storyboard on the computer, though, in Excel. But I color each of my squares based on POV. So that's like stickies, right? ;)
Jessica.... You know I'm sketchy. All my stuff is sketchy. :)
Hey Marni!
ReplyDeleteSo fun reading about everyone's process. I have no idea what a speculative YA story is -- spill!
You spend a lot of time planning. I wish I could. I end up having to get that first scene down - and then I'm off!
Hi Nan! Speculative is the fancy word they use to mean anything that isn't realistic. It's paranormal/fantasy/futuristic, etc. All that stuff. And yes, I plan. A lot of times I don't even write much of my initial thoughts down. I just spend a lot of time staring at my navel. But, I have to feel right about the characters before I start. Once I get going, I'm going. But I need that initial navel gazing phase to get my head on straight.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping!! :)
Hi, Marnee! Sorry for dropping in late. I love the sound of ALTERED, and I'm really intrigued about it being a straight SF YA in third person. Can't wait to read it!
ReplyDeleteHi Marnee! I love that you've never written a ballroom scene. Your work sounds amazing! Thanks for tagging me. Hugs!
ReplyDeleteHi Vanessa! Thanks for stopping by at all! :) And thanks! ALTERED was a lot of fun to write.
ReplyDeleteLenora - You're welcome! :) Yep, no ballroom scenes. I did write a dancing scene at a demimonde party. So, I guess that's as close as I got. But everyone was barely dressed and covered in golden paint. Maybe not that close.... ;) You're welcome for the tag!