Fellow ScribeWench and award-winning historical fiction writer Lesleyanne Ryan has tagged me in a blog hop to discuss my writing process. Something to bring me out of my hibernation – why is it so darn cold out there? You’re in Canada, silly. But – there’ve been windchills of -30 C this time! It’s good for the ecology, wimp.

Okay, having got the weather out of the way, on to my writing process:

1)    What am I working on?

I’m working on a series of science fantasy novels based in a fictional version of Asia. The first is complete, more or less, and I’m midway through the first draft of the second. To keep my sanity, I started writing short fiction last year, and have about a dozen stories in various states of submission, revision and (inevitably) rejection. I’m also working on a science fiction novella. Well, I should be working on it – the first draft is complete and I need to glue myself to my laptop and edit it. Oh yes, I’m also ‘working’ on a middle grade fantasy.

Used with permission from Debbie Ridpath Ohi at Inkygirl.com

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

I’m so glad you asked! I think the biggest difference is that I don’t hold myself to genre rules. I don’t stick to science fiction, or fantasy, or horror. My stories are usually a mix of science fiction and fantasy. And sometimes a bit of horror creeps in when I’m not looking. They are a lot harder to place, but this is just what feels right to me.

3)    Why do I write what I do?

When I was ten, my fifth-grade teacher asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up, and I said that I wanted to write science fiction. At that point, my science fiction universe was limited to Marvel. Now that I’m a bit better-read, it’s still the genre I love most. There are all kinds of ways to say something interesting when  you can bend the rules of the known universe. In plausible ways, of course.

4)    How does your writing process work?

If I had a proper process, I’d probably be far more prolific than I am. It’s usually a first line or scene that grabs me, and then I just write, seeing where it goes. When the first draft is complete – and it’s the first draft that’s hardest for me, taking the most discipline – I let it gestate for a while. Then I’ll go back to it and edit it. The revised second draft is what I’ll show a beta reader – one of the wonderful women I workshop stories with. I’ve also used Critters and I highly recommend it to any writer who wants lots of feedback.