blogging – Page 17 – Linda Nelson

Four years ago, I published Witch Book. I was able to set a record for myself when I wrote that book by having the first draft done in 90 days. It just seemed to flow across the screen. I did struggle with the world building. I hope to master that by the time I write the next book in the Orgarlan Series.

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The cover has changed a couple of times since I first published it, but the story has remained the same. It is one of my all-time favorites for my readers and myself.

I kind of drifted away from Orgarlan and went back to writing contemporary. It is a tendency I have when I write, moving back and forth between genre. Not that I don’t like writing fantasy. It is my most favorite to read. I also like suspense, mystery, action and adventure. Romances are my newest endeavor, which I find is hard to slip into my stories.

I never considered myself to be a romanticist. We all have different opinions of what a romance novel should be. I hear the main ingredient for romance is the happy ending. Cinderella comes to mind, she and Prince Charmin lived happily ever after.

As I write in the coming months I will be concentrating on finding my happy endings to any story I plot out. Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of plotting and planning. Instead of writing diligently on the next thing, I’m planning and plotting out one story after another. A pile of them is starting to form.

The first step in writing a story is planning. I want a plot outlining every event that is to take place in the story before I head out. When I get stuck in the plot, then I move on to the next plot outline. My goal is to have a big stack of them that I will be able to work off of when I’m finished with getting my degree.

I’m really looking forward to my composition classes. I have a feeling that my blog posts will center around those two classes once they start.

I believe my inability to write for the past six months has been due to the need to fill the brain with facts and knowledge. Lack of confidence too probably has had something to do with being blocked. Recently, I’ve been finding my self-confidence once again. Making the Dean’s List helped along with this sudden resurgence of co-workers taking an immediate interest in Witch Book.

I recently told one co-worker, if a sudden demand happened, I probably would be motivated to write the next book in the Orgarlan Series.

GRRM takes several years between books. Though his books are over a thousand pages long. I can understand why it takes him so long to write the next book. Mine are not as long, but world building takes a lot of thought, especially when you want to build some sort of back story to tie a series together.

I have three weeks left to this term. I wonder how many plot outlines I can make in the next three weeks?

Image courtesy of creative commonsBy: Ray MacLean – CC BY 2.0 via flickr.com

Writing is an expression, and I express myself much more freely in writing than oral. I like stories, and love to tell them. I don’t write to make money. Nor do I expect to make a lot of money. Things happen, and I am inspired by day to day life.

I could overhear a conversation that makes me think of a similar incident. It may not have happened to me, but maybe to someone else. It could spark a warning that I need to convey to those who might only hear it in the form of a story. As in “Road Salt”, four teens take a road trip while stealing cars. One of the teens is an addict that uses the substance called Bath Salts. It has a devastating effect on the other three teens. Thankfully the drug isn’t as widely used now a day, but I wrote the story when there was a cry to the public to become knowledgeable of its devastating effects on the families, friends and the individuals that were using the substance.

“Aaron and Keja came about from my love of animals. I kept thinking of what my dog and cat would say if they happened to hold a conversation. Fantasy is one of my favorite genres to read, so naturally, it would become one of my favorite to write. I was a JRR Tolkien fan while in high school. When I started my Orgarlan series, I wanted to write a fantasy series that was different from the usual high-fantasy we have come to know. So I made the Orcs and Goblins the good guys, the humans minorities, and the elves to be the enemy.

Perspectives are always subject to change.

The next book, “Witch Book”, was kind of a fluke. I wanted to attempt some more poetry while writing fiction, which I did as a spell. I fell in love with the story and wrote the whole thing in ninety days.

Yes, I know, I need to expand the series. But I became involved in Romance Writers of America, so the fantasy series took a temporary back seat while I learned to write a new genre. My next goal is to advance my writing by integrating romance into fantasy and adventures.

My writing has slowed down; it is only a temporary situation. Currently, I am attending school and will return to writing when I am done with my degree. Though, now that I don’t have the time to write, I want to write. It will be a challenge to schedule writing time in the coming months, but I may do so anyway.