Writing Process Blog Chain

Thanks to Jessica Hoefer for tagging me in the Writing Process Blog Chain last Monday. If you're curious about her process, you can visit Jessica at her new blog, here. And, you can even follow the chain from blog to blog to meet lots of writers.

The purpose behind this blog chain is to learn a little more about our fellow writers, so here are my answers!

1. What am I currently working on?

A lot! My comedy-horror novel, How I Spent My Zombie Apocalypse, is currently out with agents and editors, so I expect to hear back about it in the following few months.

I have a YA horror novel in the works, about a teenaged girl who moves from Seattle to Romania, and discovers a haunted forest.

I am also actively working on a collection of humorous memoir pieces.

Lastly, I am in the research and development phase of a novel set in the 1920’s, as well as a television series about an international animal rescue group.

2. How does my work differ from others in its genre?

Hm, how to answer that. It’s true, that every writer has her own perspective and experience that she brings to each story, no two stories are ever alike. In the case of my horror novels, I tend towards the comedic and/or creepier aspects, rather than the blood ‘n’ guts n’ gore of some horror. Obviously, my memoir writing is very personal and unique to me and my life, as well as being focused on the humor to be found in all parts of life.

3. Why do I write what I do?

Because I want to read it! I write what interests me, duh. I enjoy the juxtaposition of life and death, serious topics and humor, and gender equality issues. Some of my stories are based on real people and events (sometimes my own, sometimes those that I’ve been told by others), and some are based on the vivid stories I receive in my nightly dreams. I’ve been known to dream entire movies – title screens, credits, name actors, the whole bit.

4. How does my writing process work? 

That’s something I’m still developing. I can tell you that I am incapable of following an outline! My characters never want to cooperate. They do what they want. So, basically, it goes like this.

1. Get an idea. I might be inspired by a conversation, a photograph, a word, a movie, a dream, or a google search.
2. Write the idea down in my Ideas File: I keep a running list of ideas, characters, cool words, etc. to peruse for future reference.
3. Choose a setting, choose a character or two. 
4. Start writing. Sounds simple, but that’s how I do it. Once I meet a couple of characters, I stick them in a room and let them talk. They tell me what I need I know! I’m usually just as surprised writing the twists and turns of their story as I would be reading it.
5. When the First Draft is done, I give it to my beta readers. I take notes and make notes and mull over changes to be made for several months. Like, six. 
6. When I get into the second, third, fourth, and fifth drafts, I write at least three times a week, usually for about two to three hours each time. This keeps the story line fresh in my mind and allows for better continuity.
7. When I have a new draft that is significantly different from the first one, I send it to my beta readers again. My beta readers come from my writers group, and a few friends that are avid readers. This gives me different perspectives.
8. Rework, edit, format, save, back-up, send out to be published!

With my shorter works, like the memoir essays and short stories, I will read it to my writer’s group and get feedback on the spot. I rework, edit as needed, and, sometimes, re-read to the group. After final edits, I send it out to find a home. I love the Duotrope website, because I can find calls for certain kinds of stories that I then write for, or I can find a publisher for my existing work. It is a breeze! Well worth the nominal cost of membership.


Thanks for letting me share my writing process with you. I'm happy to pass this chain along to one of my very talented colleagues, Mariah Klein who also writes paranormal fiction and urban fantasy. Please visit her blog next Monday to learn more about her writing process.

Mariah Klein is an educator and an avid reader as well as a writer with an overactive imagination. She lives in a floating space shuttle tree house in Oakland, CA with her husband and two young daughters, who may be huldras, but please don’t mention that to her husband as he is blissfully unaware. Mariah loves writing: creating new characters, worlds and even species. Her attempts to create an actual new species have so far been unsuccessful. Her paranormal mystery series features Jolene Birch, who knows she is meant to be a huldra warrior but isn’t having a lot of success so far.

The Bird (My Novel) Has Left The Nest (My Laptop)

Da-di-di-da! FIfth Draft of How I Spent My Zobie Apocalypse was finished two weeks ago. This week, I followed up with queries all--most-- of the agents and editors with which I spoke last summer at PNWA. The response has been encouraging! A few emails were met with automatic receipt replies - I hope to hear from them in the following weeks. Two agents immediately requested my full manuscript, so I am hopeful! And I am putting it out there, to the Great Spirit of Creative Endeavor, that...

• I will know the right agent when I am faced with decision. 
• That I will know the right questions to ask, and the answers, along with the agent, will help me put out the best book I can. 
• That we will place the book with the right editor, in the right publishing house.
• That those who will be interested in, entertained by, and inspired by my novel will all buy a copy!

Okay, now that that is done...

I'm fairly furiously writing away on many personal essay/memoir pieces, ranging in length from 3-10 pages, so far. I'm thinking I can get enough written and assembled by this year's PNWA Conference to title it and pitch it. 

My other project, I believe, is a lot further from completion. It still stands as about 3/4 of a very rough first draft. I do want to get back to it, but right now, I'm writing what is bubbling beneath the surface. 

I have several other projects in the IDEA stage, including a sequel to How I Spent My Zombie Apocalypse. 

I was happily surprised to find that, even after ten months, all the people I spoke with at PNWA remembered me. I'm realizing that there are a great number of writers that I met last year that I had hoped to stay in contact with, but if they're not on Facebook or Twitter, it's pretty much a lost cause. I hope I remember those names and faces in person! Looking forward to connecting and reconnecting at the Conference in July. Now to figure out what I'm going to pitch... 

The Night Dreams of A Writer

Earlier tonight I watched a 2011 film called "Twixt" written, produced, and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Val Kilmer plays Hall Baltimore, a horror writer on a book tour who makes a stop in a small town. Sheriff Bobby La Grange piques the writer's interest with tales of a past massacre as well as a more recent local serial killer, whose latest victim is a young girl in the morgue. Baltimore's creative juices really get stimulated by the dream he has that night in his motel room, which is presented in a beautiful black and white cinematography with certain colors accented- red, yellow, etc. Otherworldliness is achieved. 

I enjoyed watching this film, but I loved watching the Behind The Scenes documentary on the making of the film,made and directed by Gia Coppola, one of Francis's grandchildren. Here, we learn the story was conceived in the Dreamtime, for Francis Ford Coppola was in an inebriated sleep in Istanbul when he dreamt the dream portrayed as Val Kilmer's Baltimore's first dream. The morning call to prayer woke Coppola before he could find out the ending, but he recorded what he had anyway, and it became Twixt. 

I love this story, because it mirrors my own. Well, except for the fact that Coppola is an established film genius creator writer director producer and I am not, at this point in time. But, we are both storytellers. I have had many dreams, filled with fantastical elements, funny moments, poignant scenes, quirky characters, and even star casting. I've even had some dreams with titles and credits. But, I'm not looking for a career as a filmmaker, although, as a writer, I envision some of my work transitioning onto film. 

He took this story, that his subconcious mind presented him, while, I might add, he was in a slightly altered state of mind, in a foreign land-- like I often am when I feel my creative juices charge-- and turned it into a finished film, a finished story. This is what I need to practice doing. I haven't yet figured out how to flesh out the characters in my dreams, or fill in the missing parts of the story. Maybe it's because I'm too close to the elements I have that I have difficulty expounding upon them, or maybe it's because I haven't formally studied the process of constructing and deconstructing a story, but I want to be able to do that. 

Mostly, there are a few stand-out dreams that are begging to be polished into stories: 

1. The Story of Peter and Grace and The Bridge
2. The Story of Time Traveling to the Barn in the Seventies Run By Piggy Mama
3. The Story of The Little Boy on the Bridge in The Storm
4. The Black Demon King
5. The Faceless Black Cartoon Things With The Big Smiles

I've worked with the last one in a short story that is as yet unfinished. I also based a large portion of a novel on no. 3, but that, too, is unfinished. 

I hope to complete something with my dream stories. When I was painting canvases, my best work often came from my dreams. 

What Happened To My Draft??

Eighteen pages to go on my fourth draft of How I Spent My Zombie Apocalypse!

But...guess what? I've passed the point where I killed a character off in Draft Three. And...it's not in this version.

What the heck? Did I make my changes on a different file save? I don't know. I'm just taking it as a sign that perhaps that wasn't the way to go. I'm going to rewrite the death scene, elsewhere. I'm sure it will find its place. I'm just slightly mortified that I lost a draft...I'm not even sure my writer's group had that scene in the version I sent them, back in December! Ugh. I seem to recall comments on it, though, so I am not sure what the heck I did with it. Sigh... More work, but I'm sure it will be better, in the long run.

Tomorrow! I may even be finished by Sunday! Woohoo!

Then it's onto my short pieces for editing... I've got about four projects going at the moment. Ha! Fearless writer, I art she.

How To Take Critique

I've never been overly sensitive. I am who I am, and I do what I do. The stuff I wrote twenty years ago in no way compares to the stuff I write now, as far as technique and modus operandi go. Practice, practice, practice! Practice may never make perfect, but it does make the good and not-so-good better. I also recognize that much of me goes into my writing, it is not me. If someone tells me my story is confusing, doesn't make sense, or that character is stupid, or silly, or that I repeated something too often, they are talking about the words on the page, not me. I am not confusing. I don't not make sense. I am not stupid, or silly, or repetitive-- my story is. I have plenty of other words to choose from; plenty of other ways to make myself and my story clear. I take the criticism for what it is, and not to heart.

The story I wrote in eight days for the NYC Midnight competition, poorly titled "A Flapper's Story" (I must come up with something better! Usually, I ace the titles, but this one hasn't found it's name, yet), received an Honorable Mention (yay!). This morning, I received my feedback from the judges. It is as follows:

''A Flapper's Story'' by Michele Cacano 113 - WHAT THE JUDGE(S) LIKED ABOUT YOUR SCRIPT - ..............................A good story here. I like the dialogue -- all very well done. The story sustains a momentum and works its way through their histories, both shared and not, very well. Some of the dialogue tries a little too hard to set the mood, especially in the beginning, but I had to chuckle at this: “Aw, applesauce!” I just loved that. I also like the way you have these women come together, find potential moments of conflict, and bond despite anything that may make them rivals. ...Nice opening paragraph.  The reader is pulled in by the clear language and the tension set up immediately. Nice use of 20’s slang too...........................................   WHAT THE JUDGES FEEL NEEDS WORK - ..............................I think the ending is overwritten. Which is a shame because for the most part you show restraint. It's like the writer felt the need to really pour on the power of the ending, to show the bond that is there. But we can sense it already. The story is well done enough that the places of overwriting can be trimmed away. Still, this is well done and a good read, capturing a time and two lives here very well. ...What’s at stake here seems to be memories from the past and the truth telling at the end brings to two characters together.  However, Tommy’s treachery in the past isn’t compelling enough.  There needs to be something more at stake for Marie in order to create true tension. Consider that these these two women don’t get along in the beginning.  Then there is tension at least between them and make the whole story less subtle.  ............…........................

If you would like to read the original story, just message me here or on my Facebook page or Twitter with your request and email. I'll send it to you. I may upload it online sometime, but right now, I'm not.

So, I know I'm good with dialogue. I hear the conversations in my head, and just transcribe them. I play-act in my head all the time. I love the Roaring Twenties and, to me, that era has the best slang ever. So I really enjoyed writing that. Seems like the judges agree with me, there, for the most part. There was another version of this story- a very different ending- for the first draft, so I did feel a bit rushed in the rewrite. (I submitted the piece in the final hour!) So I would agree that the ending may be "over-written", as it was phrased. I would like to sit down and smooth the story out, perhaps making it longer, as well. (I was just under the maximum word count by three words!)

I love this feedback, because it gives me something to work with. One of the judges points out that I showed proper restraint in the rest of piece, but lost it in the ending. Makes sense. I'm wondering what to do with the comment regarding Tommy's treachery; Marie needs to have "more at stake"... what could I do with that? I could add a new character that is still presenting her with a challenge, or I could work out more of Tommy's history with the girls. I will spend some time mulling it over, before I sit down to commit to changes.

When I had my writer's group round-table discussion over my novel (HISMZA), some of the feedback I got was surprising, as it often is. When one of my characters dies, none of the readers even cared! I need to tighten up the relationship between that character and my main character (MC), and develop it better. If the MC cares about the one who dies, then the readers will, too. And that was not as evident as it needed to be. Other relationship issues in the book met with the response of incredulity or weak bonds, and I am aware that I struggle with emotional content (in my writing and in RL!), so I took nearly three months to consider options. I changed the nature of the relationship between my MC and the one who dies. I better addressed their motivations and what is at stake for each of the characters. Some of the suggestions I received were not ones I wanted to do. I thought about it, and said no. I know my characters, and the ones I don't know well I am more willing to alter drastically, for sure, but my main characters are who they are. I am two-thirds through the revised fourth draft, so I will let you know how it goes.

Not every reader wants the same thing from a book or a story. We all have our favorite genres, what draws us into a story, and what repels us. Just because someone hated your story's ending, or couldn't relate to your MC, doesn't mean someone else won't love it and completely identify with your MC. That's why it is important to have a mixed, large pool of beta-readers, and why I love my writers group so much.

Having said that, I need to get back to my fourth draft, so I'll be signing off, now.

Author's Check-in

My intention was to post at least two blog entries per month, but I was surprised to see that three months have passed between posts. So what the heck have I been doing?

It seems that I always have a great idea for a blog post at 3 am, which means I would probably be up writing it until 5 or 6 am, which I'm trying not to do anymore. I'm attempting to reach some semblance of a sleep schedule to match some of the world: say, sleeping from 2am until 10am. I've only been nominally successful thus far, but I will keep trying.

As far as my 2014 Writing Resolutions go, I'm on track.

1. Finish 4th draft of HISZMA novel - I'm 30% through, after seriously starting it in March.s
2. Finish 1st draft of TSoSS novel - not there yet.
3. Compete in NYC Midnight's short story competition - Done. Made Honorable mention in Round 1.
4. Compete in at least one other contest - I'm looking at Lorian Hemingway's short story contest. The deadline is in May. I've already entered three contests for the PNWA Conference - I entered my HISMZA novel, a short story, and a short personal essay/memoir piece.
5. Read at least 30 books - I'm on track, having read 6, or 20% of my goal. No new ones, yet, though.

Inspired by the historical fiction genre that I was required to write for the NYC Midnight contest, I have continued my learning curve of the Roaring Twenties. I've always loved that era-- it was rife with artists, writers, performers, civil rights, modern advancements, and outrageous behavior-- and I've been reading about it a lot lately. Books about the era and its people, books set in that era, and books written in that era. I'm currently reading F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Beautiful and the Damned". I'm thinking that I would like to write more stories set in that time. We'll wee where it leads...

NYC Midnight Short Story Competition 2014

Round One of the NYC Midnight Short Story Competition is over. 1000 contestants, spread over 40 Heats. My heat required me to write a 2500 words or less Historical Fiction piece, featuring a widow and sworn enemies, in eight days.

I got Honorable Mention - not bad! And now I won't be hunched over my laptop while sitting in lines at Emerald City ComiCon for Round Two, at least!