Anna Mansell invited me to contribute to this blog tour where writers share their process. Anna is a full time writer and part time marketing consultant for the arts, living in Cornwall. Though her fiction work is yet to be published, she is working on her second novel and hopeful that one day in the next twenty years her time will come. She blogs at http://feelthefearandwriteitanyway.wordpress.com/ and can usually be found on Twitter, @annamansell
When Anna asked me to get involved with the blog tour I was plate spinning at the time but I think the fact that she calls her blog ‘feel the fear and write it anyway’ made me think ‘what’s another plate?’. So here is my contribution to the blog tour…
1. What am I working on?
I like that we started this with an easy one. I can do easy! I am currently writing the first draft of my second novel which has the working title, Virtual Family. I am loving the characters and the world I have created so I like to escape there as often as possible. I fear that there may be a grieving process when I finish this one.
2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?
I write Romantic Comedy but I like to think that it has a slightly darker side, which brings out the characters and hopefully keeps the pages turning as well as giving the reader a few laughs along the way. Life can be testing, to say the least, so I feel that finding laughter in unlikely places is the key to getting through the tough bits.
3. Why do I write what I do?
Umm, ponders for a moment and eats a custard cream. I really wish I had a very intelligent answer for this but I’m afraid the simple truth is that it’s just what develops in my head and that’s how it comes out. I’m not a versatile writer, I doubt I could turn my hand to historical fiction for example; Romantic Comedy is what I do. I also love to read this genre and I’m a bit of a Richard Curtis geek.
4. How does your writing process work?
I’m a project manager by profession so I am perpetually organised and that comes through in my writing process too. I know this doesn’t work for a lot of writers but it works a treat for me. I like to set targets, currently I am trying to write one thousand words a day. I love to plan, so I have a giant cork board with key plot points pinned to it that are colour co-ordinated depending on which characters are involved – I did warn you. I also have a word document that charts each chapter in a bit more detail and a scrap book detailing my characters and … OK I’ll stop there, does anyone know of a good therapist?
Well that was fun! Thank you Anna for that extra plate. I am now handing the baton to the lovely Bernadette O’Dwyer who I met at the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s Conference last July and whom I am eternally grateful to for recognising a lost soul and taking me in.
Bernadette O'Dwyer is a member of the RNA's New Writers' Scheme, an English teacher by day; an aspiring author by night. Currently writing her third novel, while her first and second novels wait patiently for an interested publisher. Her weekly blog at www.secretwriter1.blogspot.com depicts her journey, the highs and lows, of being an aspiring writer. To follow via Twitter search for @odwyer_author.
When Anna asked me to get involved with the blog tour I was plate spinning at the time but I think the fact that she calls her blog ‘feel the fear and write it anyway’ made me think ‘what’s another plate?’. So here is my contribution to the blog tour…
1. What am I working on?
I like that we started this with an easy one. I can do easy! I am currently writing the first draft of my second novel which has the working title, Virtual Family. I am loving the characters and the world I have created so I like to escape there as often as possible. I fear that there may be a grieving process when I finish this one.
2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?
I write Romantic Comedy but I like to think that it has a slightly darker side, which brings out the characters and hopefully keeps the pages turning as well as giving the reader a few laughs along the way. Life can be testing, to say the least, so I feel that finding laughter in unlikely places is the key to getting through the tough bits.
3. Why do I write what I do?
Umm, ponders for a moment and eats a custard cream. I really wish I had a very intelligent answer for this but I’m afraid the simple truth is that it’s just what develops in my head and that’s how it comes out. I’m not a versatile writer, I doubt I could turn my hand to historical fiction for example; Romantic Comedy is what I do. I also love to read this genre and I’m a bit of a Richard Curtis geek.
4. How does your writing process work?
I’m a project manager by profession so I am perpetually organised and that comes through in my writing process too. I know this doesn’t work for a lot of writers but it works a treat for me. I like to set targets, currently I am trying to write one thousand words a day. I love to plan, so I have a giant cork board with key plot points pinned to it that are colour co-ordinated depending on which characters are involved – I did warn you. I also have a word document that charts each chapter in a bit more detail and a scrap book detailing my characters and … OK I’ll stop there, does anyone know of a good therapist?
Well that was fun! Thank you Anna for that extra plate. I am now handing the baton to the lovely Bernadette O’Dwyer who I met at the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s Conference last July and whom I am eternally grateful to for recognising a lost soul and taking me in.
Bernadette O'Dwyer is a member of the RNA's New Writers' Scheme, an English teacher by day; an aspiring author by night. Currently writing her third novel, while her first and second novels wait patiently for an interested publisher. Her weekly blog at www.secretwriter1.blogspot.com depicts her journey, the highs and lows, of being an aspiring writer. To follow via Twitter search for @odwyer_author.
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