Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?
I do! Haha. I was nine years old and wrote a four "chapter" mystery story called The Diamond Caper. It took up all of two pieces of lined paper. LOL! I gave it to my mom and told her I wanted to be a writer. She read the story and smiled, and then told me I could be whatever I wanted. I found the story safely preserved in my mom's possessions, as I went through her belongings after she died several years ago. I couldn't believe she had kept it for 30 years! Everything I had ever written was in that box, from award winning essays, handmade cards, love notes, letters, poems, amd other short stories. She kept them all. I recently visited with a woman who is a psychic. She told me she felt my mom was the one who loved my writing and was pushing me in that direction. After finding that box with my "firsts" in them, I agree. That box is more precious than gold to me now. (Thanks for believing in me Mom!)
What is your writing process?
I actually get asked this question a lot, and now that I have been at this for several years I don't really see that I have a definitive answer. You see, I am very visual and audio inspired. So instead of necessarily dropping lines of a story, I'm cultivating a whole picture in my head, just like a movie, with action and motion. As with any creative project, they are all different. So I find I tend to approach my stories in the same manner. Depending on what kind of story it is, I will be researching widely different things. I try to experience certain things the characters might, if I'm able to go to the area I'm writing about. Sometimes I dream it all up in my head first. Sometimes I simply pick a beginning, middle, and end point, and then let the characters evolve each chapter as they see fit. I know that sounds crazy...but the characters really do control the story. I always listen to that because it is usually a change for the better. In the end, for me, my process is "just keep writing, the rest will all work out." #GoWithTheFlowProcess
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