Theodore Webb (l), Jessica Woods, Melissa Chesanko Thanks to artist and writer Sally Deskins @ Les Femmes Folles for tagging me & other writers for #TheBlogTour. You can read Sally’s post on the tour here.
Also, be sure to check out how my friend and fellow Morgantown Poets co-founder, author Tamara Woods answered. (Tamara's recently released poetry book, "The Shaping of an 'Angry' Black Woman," is currently available on Amazon.) Tamara chose to share a video responseabout her writing process on her dynamic, popular website for writing & writers, PenPaperPad.com.
With the hashtag #MyWritingProcess, you can learn how writers all over the world answer the same four questions.
What am I working on?
I’ll turn this question around to ask, “What have I recently finished?” This is an important question. It’s easy to spread energies too thin, to the effect, in the past, I was always “working on” something. Today I strive to be finishing a new work. I recently finished two 10-minute plays, submitted to a festival. The festival's deadline forced me to get these short plays DONE.
How does my work differ from others of its genre?
Writers should always be doing something new, or at least putting our unique spin on ideas. Although I write under the banner of certain genres, depending on the work, I don’t exactly think of myself as a genre writer. First and foremost, I try to tell a story I think might have a special meaning to someone. If it happens to be “dystopian fiction” or “contemporary literature,” so be it. I admit to being a fan of “classic” dystopian fiction, i.e., “1984,” “Brave New World,” etc., but I also like the newer “Hunger Games.” There’s less overt physical fighting in my “STARLING” series (No bows and arrows, etc.) In “STARLING,” the teens are students at a near-future high school. They break the rules to exercise free speech.
Why do I write what I do?
Writers should write what they love. Write what you’re most passionate about, what you’re most interested in understanding. We’re all on a journey. For me, I was interested in exploring how our current systems and technologies might converge within the next 30 years. I wanted to know how this might affect young people, particularly kids at the bottom of our society. Thus, I wrote a fiction series, “STARLING,” not only for teenagers, but also for parents, as well as any adult who cares about our future humanity. With my poetry, I write about many subjects, including love. And, with play writing, I write more comedic situations. The themes I’m interested in, human rights, love, hope, finding meaning, etc., find their way into everything I write.
How does my writing process work?
Choose a process that works for you—a process by which you are constantly completing new work. I recommend writers join a writers’ group. As writers, we spend a lot of time by in the worlds we create, so it’s too easy to become isolated. As social creatures, we may be creative in our fictional worlds, but we thrive in the real world. Having a connection to other writers motivates us. It challenges us. It gives us a constant, supportive audience to engage with. All these things are critical to any human endeavor, including literary art. My writing process involves active engagement in three community writing groups, Morgantown Poets, M.T. Pockets Theatre Playwriting Group, and Morgantown Writers Group. Each group challenges me in different ways.
Writers should submit their work wherever there’s good opportunity to expand your horizon. Participate in writers’ events, festivals, readings, workshops, etc.
For example, I recently wrote a short story for an anthology about mom and pop diners. I don’t eat out much, so I never thought about diners. But the anthology encouraged me to try something new. I realized what a rich environment a diner can be for a story, how the diner can become a character. Whether or not the story is accepted into the anthology, I'm happy with how this story turned out. Some of the characters I developed may turn up again in other stories.
What’s your writing process? Leave some comments below. Let us know what works for you.
Continuing #theblogtour #mywritingprocess next week are the following talented authors (and I thank them for being generous of their time, participation. Be sure to visit their websites, links below):
Taylor Evan Fulks is a practicing Registered Nurse First Assistant, specializing in Open Heart Surgery to pay the bills. She's also a wife, a mother of two very challenging (in a good way) adult daughters, and an ardent "nocturnal gardener" due to her ongoing battle with skin cancer. She resides in a quaint and picturesque town in Southern Ohio, along the banks of the Ohio River. Since the age of thirteen, she has been a prolific, verbal storyteller, never dreaming of one day becoming a writer and sharing her stories with the world. Now, with her children almost grown, she feels compelled to tell her own story... My Prison Without Bars: The Journey of a Damaged Woman to Someplace Normal, before she can write what she truly loves...Mystery/Romance.
"This journey has been the beginning of a new life for me," says Fulks. "I wrote this novel with the intention of healing my wounds. That didn't happen. But I found something I wasn't expecting to find...Acceptance. I can leave my past behind. I don't live there anymore. Now the rest of my life will be the best of my life."
MY PRISON WITHOUT BARS by Taylor Evan Fulks
Website: www.taylorfulks.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/taylorevanfulks
Twitter: www.twitter.com/TaylorTfulks20
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16109612-my-prison-without-bars
Sumeeta Patnaik is a poet, non-fiction writer, and educator living in Huntington, West Virginia. She works for INTO-Marshall and teaches English as a Second Language (ESL) to international students. Sumeeta is currently participating in this year's NaPoWriMo 2014, so please check out her blog My Writing in Progress: http://mywritinginprogress.com.
Selah Michelle Townsend lives in the woods with two dogs, a cat, and her favorite human. A hermitess by nature, she prefers nature to all other settings. She is addicted to spontaneous photography and random musings in both poetry and prose format. Peek into her world at Appalachian Princess: www.appalachianprincess.com.
Also, be sure to check out how my friend and fellow Morgantown Poets co-founder, author Tamara Woods answered. (Tamara's recently released poetry book, "The Shaping of an 'Angry' Black Woman," is currently available on Amazon.) Tamara chose to share a video responseabout her writing process on her dynamic, popular website for writing & writers, PenPaperPad.com.
With the hashtag #MyWritingProcess, you can learn how writers all over the world answer the same four questions.
What am I working on?
I’ll turn this question around to ask, “What have I recently finished?” This is an important question. It’s easy to spread energies too thin, to the effect, in the past, I was always “working on” something. Today I strive to be finishing a new work. I recently finished two 10-minute plays, submitted to a festival. The festival's deadline forced me to get these short plays DONE.
How does my work differ from others of its genre?
Writers should always be doing something new, or at least putting our unique spin on ideas. Although I write under the banner of certain genres, depending on the work, I don’t exactly think of myself as a genre writer. First and foremost, I try to tell a story I think might have a special meaning to someone. If it happens to be “dystopian fiction” or “contemporary literature,” so be it. I admit to being a fan of “classic” dystopian fiction, i.e., “1984,” “Brave New World,” etc., but I also like the newer “Hunger Games.” There’s less overt physical fighting in my “STARLING” series (No bows and arrows, etc.) In “STARLING,” the teens are students at a near-future high school. They break the rules to exercise free speech.
Why do I write what I do?
Writers should write what they love. Write what you’re most passionate about, what you’re most interested in understanding. We’re all on a journey. For me, I was interested in exploring how our current systems and technologies might converge within the next 30 years. I wanted to know how this might affect young people, particularly kids at the bottom of our society. Thus, I wrote a fiction series, “STARLING,” not only for teenagers, but also for parents, as well as any adult who cares about our future humanity. With my poetry, I write about many subjects, including love. And, with play writing, I write more comedic situations. The themes I’m interested in, human rights, love, hope, finding meaning, etc., find their way into everything I write.
How does my writing process work?
Choose a process that works for you—a process by which you are constantly completing new work. I recommend writers join a writers’ group. As writers, we spend a lot of time by in the worlds we create, so it’s too easy to become isolated. As social creatures, we may be creative in our fictional worlds, but we thrive in the real world. Having a connection to other writers motivates us. It challenges us. It gives us a constant, supportive audience to engage with. All these things are critical to any human endeavor, including literary art. My writing process involves active engagement in three community writing groups, Morgantown Poets, M.T. Pockets Theatre Playwriting Group, and Morgantown Writers Group. Each group challenges me in different ways.
Writers should submit their work wherever there’s good opportunity to expand your horizon. Participate in writers’ events, festivals, readings, workshops, etc.
For example, I recently wrote a short story for an anthology about mom and pop diners. I don’t eat out much, so I never thought about diners. But the anthology encouraged me to try something new. I realized what a rich environment a diner can be for a story, how the diner can become a character. Whether or not the story is accepted into the anthology, I'm happy with how this story turned out. Some of the characters I developed may turn up again in other stories.
What’s your writing process? Leave some comments below. Let us know what works for you.
Continuing #theblogtour #mywritingprocess next week are the following talented authors (and I thank them for being generous of their time, participation. Be sure to visit their websites, links below):
Taylor Evan Fulks is a practicing Registered Nurse First Assistant, specializing in Open Heart Surgery to pay the bills. She's also a wife, a mother of two very challenging (in a good way) adult daughters, and an ardent "nocturnal gardener" due to her ongoing battle with skin cancer. She resides in a quaint and picturesque town in Southern Ohio, along the banks of the Ohio River. Since the age of thirteen, she has been a prolific, verbal storyteller, never dreaming of one day becoming a writer and sharing her stories with the world. Now, with her children almost grown, she feels compelled to tell her own story... My Prison Without Bars: The Journey of a Damaged Woman to Someplace Normal, before she can write what she truly loves...Mystery/Romance.
"This journey has been the beginning of a new life for me," says Fulks. "I wrote this novel with the intention of healing my wounds. That didn't happen. But I found something I wasn't expecting to find...Acceptance. I can leave my past behind. I don't live there anymore. Now the rest of my life will be the best of my life."
MY PRISON WITHOUT BARS by Taylor Evan Fulks
Website: www.taylorfulks.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/taylorevanfulks
Twitter: www.twitter.com/TaylorTfulks20
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16109612-my-prison-without-bars
Sumeeta Patnaik is a poet, non-fiction writer, and educator living in Huntington, West Virginia. She works for INTO-Marshall and teaches English as a Second Language (ESL) to international students. Sumeeta is currently participating in this year's NaPoWriMo 2014, so please check out her blog My Writing in Progress: http://mywritinginprogress.com.
Selah Michelle Townsend lives in the woods with two dogs, a cat, and her favorite human. A hermitess by nature, she prefers nature to all other settings. She is addicted to spontaneous photography and random musings in both poetry and prose format. Peek into her world at Appalachian Princess: www.appalachianprincess.com.
Click pic to read 1st Chapter THEODORE WEBB, a co-founder of Morgantown Poets, actively supports authors of all genres, songwriters, artists and all human beings, in sharing their voices. A poet, short story writer, and aspiring playwright, Webb is the author of the Dystopian fiction short novels, "Lifeline,” “Crucible,” “Colossus” and “Inferno,” which represents “The STARLING Series," available for ALL DEVICES VIA the FREE Kindle Reading APP: smartphone, PC, MAC, via Amazon.com. All 4 books are also available as 1 volume, "The STARLING Connection." Webb's short stories are online, including "Desperate Engine" (Amazon) & "Family Hour" (Smashwords).
