That’s right. You heard me. It’s cliché but true.
The buck is going to have to stop here. I’m gonna make the call. You see, Lisha
Cauthen, my writer friend with so many tricks up her sleeve you are just gonna
have to go check them out yourselves, (the woman must have humongous sleeves,
let me tell ya) tagged me in this #myworkprocess blog hop thingy. You can read
her Writing Process in the Shell of a Nut.
Now the game is that I tell you my process then tag
some more writers. The thing is, everyone I know seems to have done it or,
well, isn’t interested. So I’m not tagging anyone, sorry. But I will answer a
few prying questions about my writing process, if you’re interested.
What am I working on?
I’m always working on at least a few projects at
once--picture books in different stages. Always picture books. I’m trying to
write a YA that I have my heart set on but I keep changing the beginning and am
trying to settle on what that should be while resisting outlining which is what
should probably be done. So who knows what the heck is gonna happen with that.
I just keep telling myself that I will finish it. I also have an adult
nonfiction that I’m writing in pieces. The question is never am I working, it’s
will I finish. I tend to figure out whether or not a piece is worth it to me as
I work through it. There is one thing that is for certain, when my agent asks
for revisions on something it is definitely my main focus.
How does my work differ from others of its genre?
I like to try come up with wacky concepts that
haven’t been done before. And I like to be silly. Sometimes too silly probably.
Why do I write what I do?
I have ideas. I write them down. Otherwise my head
gets too full and I can’t sleep.
How does your writing process work?
I’m not sure that it does work. For the most part I
write stuff when I feel like it. I revise when I feel like it. It can be in the
morning when I wake up and scribble a few words down, out in the field in my
notebook while I’m working, in the afternoon when the kids are running around
the house roughhousing like lunatics while I ignore them, or at night when the
house is dark and quiet. I just try to write whenever I have a moment to fit it
in. Life is busy but you have to make the time to do what you love!
So, that's it! If you want to share your process just let me know and I'll tag you. Otherwise this leg of the blog hop is out. Peace!
A big THANK YOU to agent Erica Rand Silverman of Sterling Lord Literistic who was kind enough to email me a list of the picture book authors and illustrators she represents. I have added them to her Monster List of Picture Book Agents listing. If you're on the search for an agent be sure to go check out Erica's updated listing. Knowing who an agent represents can help you get a feel for the type of work they like which helps you sub well.
Speaking of submitting your work well, I also did a post today about Finding Critique Partners over at the Sub It Club blog. I've got some advice along with loads of great links where you can find them no matter what genre you write in. There's no excuse for not getting your work critiqued and revising before you send it out on submission!
