My Writing Process Blog Tour

Since becoming a published author, I’ve had the privilege of meeting many writers—in person and online. One of which was John Heldt, author of The Mine, The Journey, and The Fire, which were books that I reviewed for him. Recently he invited me to participate in the “My Writing Process” blog tour.

 

Here’s how it goes:

1.       Answer questions about your writing process

2.       Nominate three other writers

 

This is basically a game of Author Tag, and I thought it would be fun to play!

 

1)     What are you working on?

Currently I’m working on a collection of short stories.

 

2)     How does your work differ from others of its genre?

My two novels focus on a young Latina striving to escape the stereotypes and hardships to make something of her life. While the works of other Latino writers rendered Hispanics as immigrants and gang members, I wanted to tell the story of a girl who didn’t fit in any of those categories and just wanted to go to college.

 

3)     Why do you write what you do?

When I first started writing Esperanza, I just wanted to utilize my own life experiences to create an inspirational heroine. But like any writer will say, it was the love of books and writing that got me started and why I keep on going. Ultimately, I write my stories for me.

 

4)     How does your writing process work?

As soon as I come up with an idea, I like to do an outline just to have a basic premise of the story. Then I also write my first draft, or what I like to call my “barf draft”, in pencil. A “barf draft” allows me to get whatever I have—anything I have—out on paper in a messy, unfashionable, and undistinguishable way. Once I’m all cleaned out, I go back to it, try to figure my notes, then re-write. The revising process is repeated again and again and again until I have a finely polished manuscript.

 

 

Nominations: (I know I was supposed to nominate 3, but I could only confirm 2. Oh, well!)

Mary Castillo's novels have turned romance and mystery readers into dedicated fans. She is the proud author of Switchcraft, In Between Men and Hot Tamara and novellas featured in the anthologies, Orange County Noir, Names I Call My Sister and Friday Night Chicas. Her latest paranormal mysteries, Lost in the Light and Girl in the Mist have been widely praised by critics and readers! Her work is available in print, Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iBooks and Smashwords.

 

 

Shelby K.Morrison was born in Oregon and grew up in California and Utah. Shattered is Shelby's debut novel, with many more to come. Shelby plans on exploring other genres down the road before claiming a specialty. She currently lives in Utah with her husband and two dogs. When she isn't writing or reading, she enjoys researching, crafting, bargain shopping, and DIY-projects.

Look for their posts next on July 3