let's go on a blog hop

Taking a break from writing tips this week to participate in an invitational Blog Hop via my writing pal north of the border, Natalie Sampson. This feisty mom also writes YA. Please visit her page and check out her books. http://www.nataliecorbettsampson.com/

Here’s a little more than you need to know about me. Stick it through to the end where you will find a few other blog recs for your writing bookmarks.

1. What am I working on?
I am 50,000 words into my third contemporary YA novel.  The story follows high school freshman Kathryn Clark and her obsession to track down Michael J. Fox. She hopes he can do for her what his fictional character did for his folks in the film “Back to the Future”. Reignite their passion. She’s desperate to change her past and right her future. Besides the obvious, there are a few problems with this plan: 1, Kathryn’s never met her dad, 2, her mom seems too distracted hopping in bed with other men to care about any reunions. But those aren’t even Kathryn’s biggest issues. This girl hears voices. Even worse, she talks back to them. The kids at school call her a freak. All of them except for her dyslexic BFF Veronica and one skinny toy clerk Mick Falls. When these three outcasts band together, they discover that the only time worth changing is now.  

2. How is my work different from others of its genre?
If we’re talking the genre of Literary Fiction, I don’t think my work is radically different. I try to write from the adolescent’s point of view, focusing on their angst, anxieties and emotions. My characters are real, ordinary, everyday kids you’d meet in school. I try to portray them pimples and all. Hopefully, in the end, they learn something about life and show it to us.

3. Why do I write what I do?
I am a mom and middle school teacher. I see kids going through such worry over simple daily life. Yet the years go on, they grow up and I see they’ve survived and become these amazing young people. I want to tell their stories.

4. How does my writing process work?
I begin with a story seed. I see something and it sparks an idea. I roll from there. Once a book starts to form, I make a goal to write everyday. Sometimes it’s notes on index cards or post-its. Sometimes it’s a thousand words. I usually create a notebook with sections for things like CHARACTERS, THEMES, SCENE IDEAS, SETTINGS, PLOT. I begin writing my story in a linear format, but sooner or later I am hopping back and forth between chapters, time and characters. I rewrite and delete a lot. A lot.

Currently, I am in search of an editor.

Here are three Twitter folks whose blogs I enjoy perusing for ideas and advice:

@morgenwriteruk MorgEn Bailey - https://morgenbailey.wordpress.com/ lots of good advice!

@FionaQuinnBooks Fiona Quinn - http://thrillwriting.blogspot.com/ fabulous tips for thriller writers and more.

@HeatherJacksonW Heather Jackson - http://heatherjacksonwrites.com/blog/ - Lots of juicy articles here.

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