“My Process” Blog Hop Hosted by Travis Perry

This post is designed for “My Process Blog Hop” hosted by Travis Perry http://travissbigidea.blogspot.com/2014/03/sharing-my-writing-process-experiment.html, which I’ve joined with several other authors.

My Works-in-Progress

1.  The project taking most of my focus right now is my historical novel Other Side of the River, which is coming out in installments—volumes—as a Kindle and Kobo read. Six volumes are out, three more to go. I wrote this story a couple of years ago, but am now dividing it into segments, each with its own sub-title.
2.  On the organize-and-edit plate is my partially completed sequel to River.
3.  I recently signed a contract to collaborate with a number of other authors on a historical series, but it hasn’t started yet. I have a Scrivener folder earmarked for this project with and filled with as much info as I can scrounge up without knowing the specifics.
4.  Besides the historicals, I have a cozy mystery that’s been sitting impatiently on my computer, awaiting publication. I’m currently going through it with my local writing group and appreciate their critique.
5.  My blogsite is another project that’s always underway. Until late last fall, www.janicedick.com was a wasteland hardly anyone ever ventured into. However, due to a push from my publisher, I’ve been putting more time, energy and creativity into my site, with positive results.
6.   Recently, thoughts came to mind for another historical series. I’ve been planting seeds for this story in my Scrivener folders, and have experienced some sleepless nights thinking about all the elements that need to be figured out.

How Does My Work Differ from Others in its Genre?

My published historicals—Calm Before the Storm, Eye of the Storm and Out of the Storm—are based on family history from the Russian Revolution era, so I have access to family documents, letters, diagrams, maps and drawings, as well as incidents and themes that spark the writing.

My current historicals loosely follow the real experiences of a young man in Manchuria who finds himself and his family caught in a country in the midst of drastic change—for the worse. Truth is stranger than fiction, so I use fictionalize the truth to fit it into the required novel elements. I think this true personal angle adds a unique perspective to the books.

Why Do I Write What I Do?

I grew up hearing stories of times in southern Russia, a once-bountiful land spoiled by war and political greed (sound familiar?). The tales teased my imagination, as did reading classics like War and Peace, Anna Karenina, Crime and Punishment, etc.; and watching movies like Nicholas and Alexandra. When I came upon the documentation mentioned earlier, I felt the time had come to convey these stories of faith under pressure in story form, because that’s how some of us learn best.

My contemporary cozy is a fun attempt at mystery writing, because I love to read mysteries, especially gentle ones.

How Does My Writing Process Work?

Some days I wish I knew. I long ago switched from pen and paper to keyboard, whether for better or worse. I’m always fighting with my internal editor, since I am (she is) somewhat OCD, but I take comfort in the fact that there is no right way to write.

I need an outline, a general idea of how the story will be set out. It may not follow the outline, but I need a realistic goal. If I don’t have that, I feel I waste a lot of time writing things that will never fit.

I use Scrivener to write my books, so I begin by filling Research files, Character and Setting Templates. There will always be more research to do as I go along, and many adjustments, but I need to start by knowing something about the time, place, political situation, world events, etc. I have to find the mood of the piece.

There are numerous rewrites and edits, the earlier ones resembling a bland soup where I almost throw it down the drain, only to realize that this has happened before and will eventually work out. What’s required is a lot of muddling, organizing, messing around with index cards and lists and story/character arcs. Then a printout.

Then it’s back to the grind of re-reading and editing, going through the manuscript many times with a specific goal each time: character arcs, spicing up word usage, literary devices and symbols, consistency of facts, and so on. And eventually I have something I feel good about. Then more polish, and deciding when it’s done.

Why do I keep doing this day after day? Because I can’t not do it. My name is Janice and I’m a writer.

 

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Blog Hop Post #6: My Current WIP

I love the acronym for Work-in-Progress: WIP. It sounds so snappy, so intense. It isn’t always that way in real life; sometimes the WIP is more like lukewarm soup than hot wings, but we press on.

For this 6^th post on Ruth Synder’s Blog Hop, we are asked to discuss our current WIP.

1.  I would say the project taking most of my focus right now is my historical novel Other Side of the River,  which is coming out in installments—volumes—as a Kindle or Kobo read. Five volumes are out, four more to go. I wrote this story a couple of years ago, but am now dividing it into segments, each with its own sub-title. The experience is invigorating.

2.  In the back of my mind is the partially completed sequel to River. There are a few things I need to decide soon, such as when to end it. Two books or three?

3.  I recently signed a contract to collaborate with a number of other authors on a historical series, but it hasn’t started yet. I have a Scrivener folder earmarked for this project, so I’m just waiting for the details and the go-ahead.

4.  Besides the historicals, I have a cozy mystery that’s been sitting impatiently on my computer, waiting for publication. I’m currently going through it with my local writing group and loving their helpful suggestions.

5.  I need to include something else in this WIP category, I think. It’s my blogsite. Until late last fall, my website/blogsite was a wasteland hardly anyone ever ventured into. However, due to a push from my publisher, I have been putting much more time, energy and creativity into my site. The results have been good and I’ve discovered that I like to blog. Who knew? The first week of each month I post an inspirational thought, the second week an interview with a fellow author, the third week a review of a book by the aforementioned author, the fourth week a post from my Fiction Writing 101 series. Besides this there are Blog Hop posts such as this one and reposted articles from fellow writers.

6.  One last note: Recently, thoughts came to mind for another historical series. I’ve been planting seeds for this story in my Scrivener folders, and have experienced a couple of sleepless nights this week thinking about all the elements that need to be figured out. Yawn. When I’m not grouchy from lack of sleep, it’s such fun to imagine my way into another place and time.

I’ve so enjoyed this Blog Hop with Ruth and company. Thanks so much, Ruth, for all your work in organizing this effort and to all the other writers who joined in. Maybe we’ll do this again sometime.

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Author Interview: Janet Sketchley

Today I’d like to introduce you to author, Janet Sketchley:

Janet is a Canadian author with a passion for story. She’s also a wife, mom, daughter, and friend who balances relationships and responsibilities while learning how faith applies to real life. Combine all that with her quirky imagination and love of fiction to get inspiring novels about everyday women in suspenseful situations who discover more strength within than they could have dreamed.

 

Janice: Hi Janet. Thanks for agreeing to this interview. First of all, tell me why you write. What’s your motivation, what keeps you on track and when did you start on this path?
JANET: Thanks for inviting me, Janice. I’m looking forward to our chat. Most of my life, I’ve made up stories, so writing fiction was a natural progression. Non-fiction is a bit different. I have things I want to say, but for me conversation can be like a first draft—jumbled and in need of organization.

So I write to express what I’ve learned, or to share the story in my mind with others. One of the things that keeps me going is the desire to bring my “imaginary friends” to life in others’ imaginations. As long as there’s a better way to do that in my fiction, I keep working at it. I played at writing as a child, but fell back into it almost 20 years ago.

Janice: Do you have a specific audience in mind as you write?
JANET: I think it’s me! Not to be self-centred, but I want to discover the characters and their stories. To broaden that, my revisions aim to appeal to women who enjoy suspense and characters they can relate to, and who are either Christian or comfortable reading about Christians. I work to keep churchy jargon out, though, so readers won’t be confused or feel preached at.

Janice: As a writer myself, I know this requires self-motivation and discipline. How do you approach your daily writing? Do you work on more than one project at a time, and do you edit as you go?
JANET: I’m always writing content for my blog, but until now fiction has been one story at a time. I edit as I go, but there’s plenty more editing to be done at the end of the draft. I don’t think I could create two stories at once, but now that I have a series contract, once I turn in the story I’m currently revising, I’ll be writing a new story while doing edits on the other one.

Janice: Your debut novel—Heaven’s Prey—was released in November of 2013. Can you give us a brief summary of the storyline and what inspired the original idea?

JANET: A grieving woman is abducted by a serial killer—and it may be the answer to her prayers. Despite her husband’s objections, 40-something Ruth Warner finds healing through prayer for Harry Silver, the serial killer who brutally raped and murdered her niece. When a kidnapping-gone-wrong pegs her as his next victim, Harry claims that the chance to destroy the one person who’d pray for him proves God can’t—or won’t—look after His own. Can Ruth’s faith sustain her to the end—whatever the cost?

The original idea was a question: it’s one thing to pray for an offender locked away in jail, but what would you do if you met the person face to face?

Janice: How did you create / develop the characters? Are they based on real people or totally figments of your imagination?
JANET: They came out of my head, but my imagination drew on my own character and on impressions I’ve picked up from real and fictional people along the way. They’re not based on specific individuals or situations, though.

Janice: The book is set in Canada. Why did you choose that setting?
JANET: Canada is my home, and the story fit here. Plus, in dealing with an escaped convict etc, I wanted to work within a justice system I more or less understood, with easy access to input when I had questions.

Janice: What was the most difficult part of this project for you?
JANET: You know, there’s a bit of reflected shame when you’re writing about a serial rapist-murderer. At least that’s been my fear. How will people react when I tell them it’s a redemption story of someone this bad? As Ruth’s pastor says in the novel, there are some villains we just don’t want to see saved. [And yes, it was also difficult writing about him. I tried not to think too much about what he’d done, and he didn’t “volunteer” any information I didn’t ask for.]

Janice: And your favorite part?
JANET: Every so often, an aspect of the story would spring to life spontaneously and I’d write as fast as I could to keep up. Those moments are rare, but I love them.

Janice: What is your take-away value from Heaven’s Prey?
JANET: Whatever happens, Jesus will be there. Ruth discovers this, and it’s something I’ve learned along the way too.

Janice: I know you are an avid social media user. How did you learn to use it and what do you think is the most effective social media for you as an author?
JANET: I was a reluctant starter, but for a shy person with limited local contacts, it’s a great way to connect with people. My website/blog is my main focus, and I started small and learned as it grew. Other than that I like Facebook. It’s not as restrictive length-wise as Twitter and it incorporates links and images into the posts. I’m on Twitter but don’t know how effective I am. Haven’t risked Pinterest yet, although it sounds fun. There are lots of free resources online for authors wanting to learn social media. The two that have helped me most are Author Media [http://www.authormedia.com/]

and Kristen Lamb [http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/].

Janice: Do you write in other genres besides suspense fiction? Any non-fiction?
JANET: I’ve been dabbling a bit in speculative fiction for fun, but that’s on hold right now. And I have a non-fiction story, “The Road Trip that Wasn’t,” in A Second Cup of Hot Apple Cider. The only non-fiction I’m writing these days is for blog posts: reviews, devotionals and Christian living.

Janice: Tell us a little about yourself: home, work, hobbies, interests, talents…
JANET: I live in Nova Scotia, on Canada’s east coast. I’ve just finished a few months’ full-time work, so I’m a writer-homemaker, learning to set boundaries between work-at-home and free time. I love reading, music, knitting and cross-stitch… and tea. TV isn’t on my radar, except for Doctor Who and Babylon 5. A year ago I joined a gym, and actually enjoy the group exercise classes. Who knew? So I feel stronger, and a bit more confident. I sing in our church worship team, too.

Janice: Can you give us a hint as to future plans in your writing career?
JANET: There are two more books in the Redemption’s Edge series: Secrets and Lies and one to be named later. That’s my focus right now, and beyond that I have a few ideas for other stories, but nothing clear. I love writing novels, though, and hope to keep it up long-term.

Janice: Is there anything else you’d like to include here for our readers?
JANET: Thank you for the chance to chat, Janice. I’m a long-time fan of your historical fiction, and it’s so good to see your newest story out. Readers who are curious about Heaven’s Prey can read chapter 1 for free at http://ow.ly/smyDU.

Janice: Thanks so much for your time and for giving us a glimpse of you and your work. I wish you all the best in your future writing.

Check out Janet’s social media sites below:

Website: http://janetsketchley.ca
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JanetSketchley
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JanetSketchley
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/janetsketchley

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