Month: June 2017

Creating a New Story: Part 1

Cinderella Cover3I have a million story ideas in my head and I want to write them all. The problem is, there are only so many hours in a day and I have to do things like sleep occasionally. Instead of waiting to start a brand new story until I finish editing my other finished works, I decided I’d reward myself with time to write new words on the side. I created a brand new story on Wattpad that I will be adding to exclusively there. Unlike Rose Circus, this story hasn’t been written yet. You will be seeing a true first draft in all it’s imperfect glory. Curious what my process is like? This is your chance to follow along as I create something new. I’ll post a new scene or chapter 2-3 times per week and will work on creating a regular posting schedule as the story evolves. This is a fun story that I wanted to play around with and I’m excited to get it out there. It gives me a break from my other work (including editing).

I have found that there are people who are interested in the process an author takes when creating a work. While every author is different, I thought it would be fun to share with you how I do things. I will post updates on that as I work on this story.

Process Update 1: All of my works usually start with a simple idea or a what-if. I LOVE fairy tales and I love when they are adapted in new, fun ways. I have also read my share of Vampire books and come from the school of thought that Vampires are supposed to be scary. But this story was actually triggered by the picture of the girl in the mask. When I saw that picture, I thought it would make a great cover for a Cinderella story. So I added it to my stock photo list and figured I’d go back to it when I had a better idea for it. A few days later, the image was still nagging at me and I went back to look at it. I started to think about how Cinderella could be modernized. Why would she put up with the mental and emotional abuse of an evil stepmother? Then, the wheels started turning and the idea came together. So I made a quick cover and wrote a description for Wattpad.

Story Description: After a tragic accident costs Ella’s father his life, she spends the next ten years living under the rules of her terrible stepmother. Forced to do the housework and living in the damp basement of her family’s home, Ella can’t wait for the day she turns 18 so she can leave it all behind. Everything changes when she discovers her father’s secret study and her family’s past. That’s when she realizes, her father’s death wasn’t an accident, he was killed by the very thing he hunted: Vampires. Now, Ella wants revenge against her father’s killer. Drawn into a world of magic, wealth, and superstition, Ella learns that the world wasn’t what she thought it was. The deeper she gets, the more dangerous it becomes. Can Ella learn how to fight against the creatures her father gave his life to hunt? Or will she become the hunted?

Usually, I outline stories before I write them. This time, I am starting with just the description. I’ll keep you posted as to where I go next!

Click here to find me on Wattpad and follow along!

Rose Circus – Legacy of the Fae, Book 1

Rose CircusI’m trying something a little different with the first book of my newest series. I’m publishing it on Wattpad a chapter at a time before I start editing it. This freaks me out a little bit, but I figure it’s good to try things that scare you.

The first draft is finished, but there are a couple of little story changes I’ll be making as I post. I’m excited to share this new book in this format before I publish it later this summer or early fall.

You can follow the link here to read it on Wattpad.

Make sure you follow me on Wattpad so you get updates about new chapters!

My Editing Process

It’s editing time again!

Editing is my least favorite part of writing, which makes sense. I’m guessing most writers write to create new worlds and live in new stories. When you stop to edit, you aren’t creating anything new. I even took a break from Illaria, thinking I’d finish one more new book in a different series before I started editing. However, the completed Illaria book is calling to me.

This book was finished in November. That’s right. It’s been sitting there, waiting since November. When I started writing a short story from Max’s point of view, I ended up down a rabbit hole that became Oracle of Illaria. Now, I’m in the position where I need to make sure the second book I wrote – which is now book 3 in the series – fits with the world. Thankfully, this book started 2 months after Heir of Illaria ended so there was room in between.

So where does that leave me now? Starting the editing process for Book 3.

Everyone has a different process and I’ve found it interesting to see how other authors go about this stage. So I figured I’d share what I do. Here’s how it goes down:

  1. Create a Kindle File of the book and read the entire thing for content. At this stage, I try to read the book the way a reader would. Looking for any plot holes, places I skipped things, or need to add more info. Really, anything that would leave a reader confused if I didn’t put it in there. Notes in this section are minimal. Unless it’s a major problem, I don’t allow myself to make notes during this stage.
  2. Print the whole thing. Yikes. It’s a big document. I print it out and get it bound at Kinkos in a nice little sprial thing. It looks official and makes me feel like it is complete. Kind of a nice part of my process.
  3. Red pen time. I read it again, on paper this time, and make notes on everything major. I make notes on plot issues, places to add detail or remove unnescessary things, and any grammer / usage / sentence structrue things that are too big to ignore. However, I try not to do much with the grammar, etc. stuff at this stage. This is just notes to myself. I don’t actually fix things here.
  4. Back to the computer. Time to add in my notes from the paper into the actual draft. This is where I actually type in the changes. While I’m doing this, I might even catch more things to fix.
  5. Read through on the computer to check for grammar, punctuation, spelling, typos, etc.
  6. Send to editor for comprehensive edits – check for story flow and overall feel of the work.
  7. Make changes based on editor recommendations.
  8. Send back to editor for line edits – checking grammar, spelling, word choice, sentence structure, etc.
  9. Make changes based on editor recommendations.
  10. Create updated kindle file – read through for any typos.
  11. Update file based on my proof-reading.
  12. Send copies to proof-readers.
  13. Make corrections based on proof-reader comments.
  14. Format for Kindle again. Send to ARC team.

Note: I didn’t create a step for my procrastination blog post….looking back, I’ve noticed that I write a lot more blog posts while editing. So, I suppose that’s part of my process, too!