Supernova

Welcome C.L. Parker author of 

SUPERNOVA

Thanks for taking over the blog.  Everyone get comfy. 

Since I’m asked this question a lot, I think I’d like to take this opportunity to tell you a little bit about my writing process.

I have none. There you have it. LOL!

Seriously, I know this might sound odd for an author, but I don’t work with an outline. I find it limits me and stifles the creativity process. Plus, even though I have a general idea of where the story will go, the real writing process comes from actually writing. I don’t know from one chapter to the next where my characters are going to take me. After all, it’s their story. I’m just the conduit through which they have decided to tell it.

I can’t tell you how many times I thought I knew the direction a story was taking me only to have one of my characters throw me for a loop. Gabe does this all the time, but I think he does it just to prove that he can, the sassy bitch. Just the other day I wrote a chapter that was so serious, I had to get up and walk away from it. By the end, Gabe enters the scene in what is a very serious situation for himself, but then he said something that was just off the wall and out of place, and I nearly busted a gut laughing. Guess what? It’s still there. I can’t change it because that’s what he showed me.

When I first started writing, I thought I was crazy because these characters talked to me. It was when I ventured deeper into the literary world and read up on some other authors that I found that I’m not the only one. I kind of think it’s a prerequisite for authors. There’s a fine line between brilliance and insanity, and we all walk it on a daily basis.

For me, these stories play out like a movie in my mind. I just do my best to convey the scene, emotions, and dialogue in a way the reader will see, hear, and feel what the characters show me. JR Ward is my idol, so you can imagine the validation I felt when I heard her describe her writing process in the exact same way.

Writer’s block is something I have no control over. Either the characters are speaking to me, or they aren’t. It’s as simple as that. When they’re in the mood, I will be at their beck and call. Believe you me, my characters can be pretty demanding, which brings me back to Gabe. He says and does whatever he wants. I find myself asking him, “Are you sure that’s what you want to say?” Sometimes he says, “Just write it, bitch,” and others, he narrows his eyes at me, puts his hands on his hips, and stomps his foot, which basically translates to the same thing with an added, “How dare you question me?” LOL!

Listen, the best author is one who lets the writing come naturally. If you try to force it, the reader will know that you forced it. Just have fun with it, and remember to show, don’t tell. And I’ll add one other little morsel as food for thought: If the characters and the story aren’t believable to you, how can you expect them to be believable to anyone else?
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