This week I’m participating in the Speculative Fiction Blog Hop, with thanks to Sheila Guthrie for organising things. Before I begin, make sure to check out last week’s post by Carole McDonnell, author of Wind Follower.

And now to answer some questions about my writing process.

What am I working on?

I just finished the second story in the Memory Magus series, entitled The Haze, and I’m back working on the first book in my steampunk series, entitled Hopebreaker. I’m keeping details about it under wraps for now, but I’m finding it very exciting, especially as it’s such a different tale to The Children of Telm. I’m also very pleased with how the cover turned out.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I think the key difference between my work and others writing in the fantasy genre is the kind of prose I use. Many have described it as “lyrical,” which I think is an appropriate term. To me, great stories aren’t just about what happens, or how real the characters are, but how much the language itself moves us.

Why do I write what I do?

I write to express, to tell stories, and to play with language. I write in the fantasy genre because of the freedom it gives me to tell amazing stories that are, on the surface, fantastical, but underneath explore real human issues. I think those are the stories that speak to us the most, and so I would hope that my novels offer both an escape from reality and an even greater immersion in it.

How does my writing process work?

For me, endings are pivotal, so I often start with that idea, which encourages me to then write what needs to go before it. I typically work out a very skeletal chapter-by-chapter framework, then create a new document for each chapter. I then usually go and write from the beginning, but sometimes I dip in halfway through, or even write the end before many other scenes. Having separate chapter documents makes this much easier, and helps prevent the feeling of being overwhelmed when opening a document with tens of thousands of words in it. Often I write all the pivotal scenes first, then fill in the gaps. I will then typically read through the entire book several times, revising as I go.

  

The next blog hop post will be from S.B. James, author of The Inventor’s Son. Read her biography below:

SB James, formerly of the (in)famous Jersey Shore and now a resident of Florida, has been writing since she was in seventh grade. She is currently working on the five (and a half) book Steampunk series The Inventor’s Son, as well as developing a new series, tentatively called The Zombie Prom Queen of the Apocalypse. She also dabbles in graphic design and artwork when she has the time.


1 Comment

Speculative Fiction Blog Hop | S B James, Doing the Write Thing · September 29, 2014 at 3:42 pm

[…] in what we’re calling the Speculative Fiction Blog Hop. The post prior to this one was on Dean F. Wilson’s Blog. Dean is a fellow Steampunk author, as well as the author of The Children of Telm, an epic fantasy […]

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