The lovely Rebecca Enzor has tagged me to participate in the My Writing Process Blog Tour, which means I’ll be answering four questions about my process and then passing the questions along to two other authors. To read about Rebecca’s current project (very intriguing, I might add), visit her post here.
What am I working on?
I’m currently writing a handful of Supernatural Sleuth short stories that I’ll publish as a collection later this year. Then I’ll be diving into the fifth book of my Elemental Magic series.
How does my work differ from others of its genre?
My Elemental Magic series is a bit eclectic in composition—it’s urban fantasy spiced up with murder mysteries, crime fighting, romance, and mythological creatures. And while vampires, werewolves, and the like exist in that world, they’re not the main attraction. For my elementals, think Charmed meets Avatar, the Last Airbender.
Why do I write what I do?
I write and read fantasy to escape the struggles of this world that are beyond my control or capacity to conquer. Sure, going up against monsters and magic may bring my characters to the edge of despair and almost certain defeat, but they always triumph. Their victories lift my spirit and inspire me to keep fighting, even when mundane hardships seem impossible to overcome.
How does my writing process work?
Goodness, just when I think I have a process down, it seems to change! I’m definitely a plotter though. I brainstorm story ideas with pen and paper (complete with color coding!), and then craft a general outline from start to finish, always looking for potential plot holes to fix before I’ve written twenty pages into something and then have to backtrack. But just because I plan most everything out doesn’t mean there’s no room for detours or surprises. When the muse strikes, I listen and make adjustments.
Lately I’ve been struggling to focus while trying to write on the computer, so I’ve been doing a lot of first draft material by hand and editing later. This process has been working really well—I’ve been averaging 1600-2000 handwritten words a day. But hey, if my process needs to change in the future, so it shall!
That’s all for me. For the next stops on this blog tour, check out these authors!
Alina Sayre is the author of THE ILLUMINATOR’S GIFT, a Middle Grade fantasy written with an imagination and poetic elegance reminiscent of C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia and Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings.
Susan Illene is the author of the SENSOR series, a dark urban fantasy featuring a kick-ass heroine and steamy bad boy. She recently released PLAYING WITH DARKNESS, a companion novella following Book 3, DARKNESS DIVIDES.
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Angela Wallace, Author 
1600 to 2000 handwritten words a day? You’re on a roll!
I slowed down to 1300-1500, but I’m still super happy with it. I think I slow down at the beginning of each story too, so once the plot picks up hopefully I’ll still be cranking out those words!
So glad to see you getting productive with writing again. Also, I’m totally with you on pen/paper being the way to go for plotting and/or writing. Sometimes the old-fashioned way still works best!
Pen and paper also makes it easy to get some words in anywhere. I’ve started writing in the kitchen while cooking and eating dinner.