#MyWritingProcess Blog Hop

Time for my round in the Blog Hop! I've never done one of these before (though I used to do art memes all the time; I forgot how much fun these things are!).

I was tagged by Tracie Martin, who can be found blogging here and tweeting here. I met her recently through a Twitter contest and can't wait to read her stuff; from what I've seen on her blog and in personal communication, she's a pretty damned good writer.

OK, without further ado...

1. What I'm working on
I've got a novel I've been querying out to agents called The Front Range, but it's beginning to feel like an albatross, in all honesty. It's an adult fantasy/adventure about a biologist, a hidden world, and a mythical spirit that exists in Nature but has been forgotten by pretty much everyone. I may never get it published but it's been a joy to write and has, hopefully, made me a better writer.

one of my TLK fanarts

I also have started three other WIPs that are much different (more contemporary). I tend to like writing Adult fiction rather than YA or MG, though I've toyed with the idea of  making a picture book since I love to draw wildlife (especially cartoony wildlife).

2. How does my work differ from others in the genre?
I'm really not sure I know how to answer this question, partly because I'm not sure what my genre is (at least for The Front Range). In general, I feel like there's not as much just plain Adventure writing out there for adults anymore - it all has to be either contemporary, or fantasy, or science fiction, or romance - but I like all of these things rolled up into one, and that's what I tried to do. The novel is very much based on real life, with real-life characters, real-life settings, and real-life problems, but with a secret, grand, almost fantastic mythology rooted in old legends and theologies.

Maybe another thing that's different is that I like to incorporate my own life experiences, which, in my case, might be considered unique. I'm a scientist (wildlife biology as well as genetics) with a passion for wildlife conservation, and I want to instill a love for animals and the outdoors in my readers. One of my current WIPs stars a girl (like me) who's a nerdy geneticist (like me), and while genetics ends up playing a minor role in the plot, I love the chances I have to take something as complicated as DNA and PCRs and make it interesting for laymen (without losing them in the process - it's a fine line, and a great challenge).

3. Why do I write what I do?

a little non-TLK art

Like I said, I've got a passion for wildlife/wilderness. When I was little I was always writing stories about talking animals (usually either wolves or, after 1994, The Lion King fan-fiction). I drew (and still draw) wildlife all the time. Watership Down is one of my favorite books of all time; unfortunately talking-animal stories aren't really marketable anymore, or so I'm led to believe, at least not for adults.

me with a bat I caught in TX

However, I ended up becoming a wildlife biologist, and I've come to believe that the human dimension is often the most interesting facet of conservation - the conflicts between predators and ranchers (I have worked with both), the problem of exurban development into wildlife habitat, etc. It's still amazing to me how clueless people often are to these very real problems. My greatest fear is that I'll wake up one morning to a world where the animals and wildernesses I love no longer exist and it's all because people just have no idea this is going on. I think that drive to instill an appreciation for our natural world is what inspired The Front Range.

For my other WIPs, that inspiration is still there, but to a lesser degree. A side effect of writing the Front Range was learning that I like to write characters (usually NA-aged) who learn and grow from adversity in life, or who think they're happy living in a sheltered bubble only to discover things are so much more interesting on the outside. I've had many experiences to help me with this!

4. How does my writing process work?
It started off with me taking a cute little notebook to Starbucks on my time off (I was working at a different Starbucks at the time) and just writing things down for hours. Then I built a vague outline on my laptop and started writing (still at Starbucks).

arg this makes me want a latte every time I look at it

Things are a little more structured now, I guess. Instead of a notebook I prefer Notebook - I can type really quickly and for some reason, the simplicity of Notebook is just perfect for brainstorming. Then I may or may not come up with an outline, but more often than not I just write down the main plot points so I don't forget them, and start writing in Microsoft Word.

I do have a full-time job as a wildlife biologist, so it really limits how much time I have to write. I hate my current situation right now - I love writing in coffee shops and there AREN'T ANY where I live. So I basically just sit down in my chair and write whenever I feel like it, mostly on weekend mornings when I can do it right when I wake up.

A few little things, though:
-I write things as I feel like it, not necessarily in order. I wrote the climax of the Front Range's sequel when I was only 1/3 or so done with it because I just couldn't get it out of my head.
-I can't listen to music when I write. I love music, but I pay too much attention to it to be able to write simultaneously.
-I don't revise very systematically. I should probably change this.
-I like to spend a lot of time driving/walking so I can daydream my books and flesh things out in my head.

And now it's someone else's turn!

I am tagging Eva Gibson! Her blog at http://mamamuzzle.com is frickin' hilarious and makes me both want and not want kids at the same time. She tweets at https://twitter.com/EvaVBGibson.

I also tag Carl Hackman, who blogs at http://www.carlhackman.com and tweets at https://twitter.com/CarlHackman. He's a fantasy writer, SCBWI member, and woodturner (check his blog to find out about that!).