My Writing Process
I want to thank the talented, forward-thinking, entrepreneur, author Kish Knight for tagging me into the blog tour. It was she who came up with the idea to collaborate, along with another great author, Dormaine G, to establish Tintd Teen;
an imprint of young adult novels with protagonists of color. If you
haven't already experienced Kish Knight's young adult fantasy novels
then I highly recommend you go on the ride. Beware, pages turn easily
so hold on. Learn more about this wonderful person and author on her
blog here.
What Are You Working On?
Currently, I'm working on the second novel in the Wak Series. Awakened was the first novel and Descendants is the second. Awakened follows
the journal of Alaya Eveland. A junior at Equinox High in Equinox,
Florida. Alaya 's passion for running track and field kills her and her
mother. Alaya is revived somehow. After her recovery she undergoes
difficulty with the guilt of her mother's death and some developing
physical changes. Changes that cause her to have an insatiable hunger
for something no human would deem edible and she is plagued with
prophetic dreams. But as she changes so does Equinox, Florida. People
end up dead in their seemly safe city and these murders seem to
encompass her. Her peers are getting kidnapped and her crush is one of
them. To add to her drastically changing life, Alaya's father has to
kill her for existing.
I'm writing Descendants
(Wak Series 2), which, continues with Alaya's journey. We get more in
depth of who Alaya is and what her role is among the Waks. We learn why
she is so important to her dying race and experience her attempt to save
them and her family and friends as well as all humans from the demons
known as Lyse. Coming soon late 2014.
How Does Your Work Differ From Others of It's Genre?
Most
young adult fantasy, paranormal, sci-fi novels are Eurocentric which
neglects the melting pot that which is the world. Of course, there is
nothing wrong with that because writers want to always represent their
culture and ethnicity. What's popular is the echo of the majority group
in the population. However, there is still not many fantasy.scifi,
paranormal, novels with protagonist of color. Most African American
novels are in a different genre, not even close to scifi. My novels are
Afrocentric based from my African history and African mythology and
religion. That' s not to say I won't pull from...lets say....Asian
culture or Hispanic Culture; which, quintessentially is derived from
African culture since we all came from Africa and migrated and dispersed
or displaced across the globe.
I always like to do a lot of scientific research on my stories.
Even though it's scifi/fantasy/paranormal romance it has to make sense
scientifically. I know that's strange because as a writer you make up
what ever you want. But to me it has to be a logical reason why, even if
that why is made up. If lightning is after my protagonist there has to
be a reason why besides the gods are after her. It has to be more than
that. In the Wak Series, Lyse are the natural enemies of Waks.
Lyse blood kills Waks by destroying Waks blood cells. But why? Because
Lyse blood creates a hemolysis in the Waks blood thus the demons being
called Lyse. I'm also a poet so my writing tends to use colorful
descriptions and poetic dialogue. I try to find a balance between the
poet in me in the fiction writer in me. I think that's what makes my
writings different.
Why Do You Write What You Do?
I
write what I do because if I don't I will suffocate. I have all these
crazy ideas and visions that pop into my head at any course of the day;
awake or asleep. I yearn to get them out. I have to convey my
perspective of my world outside the ordinary world we see with our eyes
in our mundane daily schedule of coffee, newspapers, and clocking in and
out. I want people to experience what I experience. So I try to
manifest my world into writing rather it be in a novel or in a poem. I
have experienced many things, witnessed many things in my 32 years of
life and I comprise that into my novels. I just wish their were 10 of me
so I could write more stories.
How Does Your Writing Process Work?
I
start with the vision or dream that formulated in my mind. Usually,
that vision or dream came with a protagonist all of it's own. Sometimes
the vision is very detailed or general. Then I get to know my
protagonist. I develop the traits, the name, attributes, idiosyncrasies
and the hometown. The hometown is important because it conditions the
person. If you are from the projects in New Jersey, the person maybe be a
little tougher than someone raised in the suburbs or the country. If
the person is from the south the person may be more polite than a
protag' from the north. Most of the time during the character
development stage I simultaneously think of secondary characters and
develop them. After my characters are well developed and research
documented on Onenote (Can't live without Microscot OneNote), I begin
writing on Microsoft Word. I do like to make an outline of the first few
chapters just to get an idea of what I want to convey. Then I let the
characters write the story. If I feel like my story is losing it's way I
refer to my outline to make sure I get the point across because I can
be verbose. I don't plot because the story sometimes changes while
writing. It kind of writes it self by listening to the characters. So
yes...that would make me crazy.
Who Goes Next?
I'm happy to say on August 7th the talented author, Pamela E. Cash is tagged. She is author of Chausiku -
The Gathering Storm Book 1 and of Chausiku - The Secret Gambit Book
2. She is currently working on the third book in the series. Learn more
about her work and where to buy here. Enjoy.
Word Of The Day