Writing Process Blog Tour


I’m excited to participate in The Writing Process Blog Tour.   It works like this.  A writer answers four questions about her writing and then hands off the baton to two more writers, who do the same.   It gives us a great chance to meet new authors and to visit their blogs

Mary Adler (aka M.A. Adler), member of SheWrites and author of the mystery,  In the Shadow of Lies, http://amzn.to/1pC4LyK handed the gavel to Marylee MacDonald and Marylee handed it on to me.  Marylee is the author of Montpelier Tomorrow, http://amzn.to/Y76mBe a literary novel about a mid-life mom, Coleen Gallagher, who gets sucked into becoming her dying son-in-law’s caregiver but soon discovers that the dying man isn’t noble and she can’t go on being Superwoman.

You can find out more about Marylee on her Authors Guild website, http://www.maryleemacdonald.us or visit her blog on Goodreads. http://bit.ly/1rJQstN

Here are my answers to the four questions

What am I working on?

I am writing  a novel based on the life of a woman in rural N. Louisiana in the years just after the Civil War.  It is fiction, but many incidents and characters are based on real-life experiences.   This is a large undertaking requiring a great deal of research, so in the meantime, I blog about the lives of women in rural Louisiana.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

My challenge, like that of all writers of historical fiction,  is to create authentic characters and place them in historical context in such a way that modern readers identify with and care about them.  My work is somewhat unique in that little is known about this  group of women.

Why do I write what I do? 

The voices of these women have been little heard, if at all.  My hope is that my work can shine a light into the shadows of their heroic lives.

What is my process

I set aside time for writing every morning.  However my best writing is done when I can devote a block of time, at least a  day or two,  solely to writing.   I do my best work when I feel as though the ideas are coming through me and not from me.  I’ve never had anything usable result from forcing myself to write.  If I don’t feel inspired to write, it’s usually because I’m not listening.   I may need more research,  quiet walks in the woods, or just to read some really good writing.  My Goodreads reading list is indispensable for those times.  Once I am awake to them again, my characters begin chattering among themselves, often at maddeningly inappropriate times.  I don’t worry too much if I can’t get to a notebook to write it down;  if they really have something to say, they’ll be back.

Now for next week’s lineup:

PATRICIAN McCARTHY

Patrician McCarthy is the first Mien Shiang expert to translate this ancient art and science for the mainstream American public. She founded in 2000 The Mien Shiang Institute in Santa Monica, Ca., to teach the Taoist techniques of Medical Facial Diagnosis and Face Reading, and Taoist Five Element theory.

For nearly 30 years she has taught the powerful implications of Face Reading and the Taoist Five Elements to medical practitioners, lawyers, Olympic athletes, and corporate CEOs and their teams from Procter & Gamble, The Gap, Mattel, Inc., KPMG and other Fortune 500 companies.

In conjunction with the renowned Yo San University in Los Angles, CA., she established the first Medical Certificate Program in Mien Shiang, as well as the first Medical Certificate courses in Environmental Medicine (Feng Shui).

Connect with her at

Blog: http://mienshiang.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/patrician.mccarthy?fref=hovercard

MARILYN BOSTICK

Marilyn Bostick is a writer of riveting dark romantic fiction and Sci-Fi.  Her enthusiasm for telling tales was cultivated by years of reading Stephen King, Dean Koontz, J.D. Robb, and Ben Bova.  Armed with a flashlight beneath bed covers or in the comfort of a recliner, she became acquainted with the characters that would haunt her for a lifetime.  Marilyn’s unwavering creativity challenged her to refine her writing, and it was that passion that kept her motivated to achieve her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing for Entertainment at Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida.  The tools she learned at the University cemented her resolve to perfect her craft and to bring her descriptively compelling stories to the next level. Her short stories Time and Revenge were published in Full Sail University’s magazine the Aviator. Time was published in the fifth issue on May 29, 2012, and Revenge was published in the eighth issue on March 4, 2013.

Facebook = https://www.facebook.com/marilyntbostick1

Twitter =https://twitter.com/marilyntbostick

LinkedIn = www.linkedin.com/pub/marilyn-bostick/39/2b1/896/

Google+ https://plus.google.com/u/0/115018786419947785735/about

Website http://www.mtbostick.com