New Blog series: How I write--Melisse Aires

I love learning how other writers work--sometimes I pick up a valuable tip that helps me improve my own writing. For the next several Wednesdays I have some authors joining me here to discus their writing process. 

If you would like to contribute with a  blog on your writing process, plus a promo of your work and important links, email me at melisseaires@gmail etc etc.

HOW I WRITE

I usually get a visual glimpse of a scene. Sometimes it is a setting with some action. Here's my latest: 

I've had this picture in my brain: A thin young woman with punked out auburn hair dressed in dark clothing, sitting next to crates near a space ship landing tarmac, She has a pet, an enormous black raven type bird. As I consider this scene I learn she is looking for work as a guide, hoping to show someone from the spaceport around where she lives. She is poor and probably hungry.

I take that and start asking questions--What is her name? Where is she? How did she get there?  Those questions lead to background and world building.

Soon after fleshing some of that out I need to make WRITER DECISIONS. Market type decisions. I do them early, before I get too invested, or else I would be writing in eighty genres.Lol. Sometimes I need to tweak the initial background.

How old is my character? Unless I want to break into YA with a new pen name, she needs to be of legal age. It's a romance, because again, that is my market and my interest level. It is obviously scifi rom. YAY! Does it fit in a series I already have, or is it a stand alone?

The raven. It's an alien raven. Does it have special properties? Is it intelligent? Can it carry my skinny little woman  through the air? Laser eyes? Sonic bird calls?? Decisions decisions!

I need a hero and a problem. I already have one problem--my heroine is poor. I'm pretty sure my hero is going to drop on that tarmac in a space ship, and she'll be his guide...

So that is how I start a story. I put this info in Scrivener. I find pictures for characters, add them to my inspiration file.

I continue to flesh out the characters and plot--what are the problems and challenges? What are the obstacles? How do the H/h feel?

Eventually I get a rough synopsis of the story.  Then I do a nitty gritty organization--names, place names, object names and descriptions. As I write I can refer to that--it makes editing simpler. I also choose point of view per scene, or decide if both have pov in a certain scene--again, so much easier than rewriting!

After I have my synopsis I start the actual first draft, though I may have written the opening scene already, while answering questions. If I stick to my synopsis, then things go smoothly. If I deviate, it can throw off a  the whole section(the middle!!). I try not to do that, but sometimes...