My Writing Process ( A Blog Tour)

At first glance, I thought “This is like a chain-letter of the blogosphere.” I dismissed the invitation but was drawn back to it. Remember that first chain-letter? Remember being in grammar school and feeling “chosen” for receiving that scrawled, smudged letter in the mail that called upon you to “keep it going?” You had to write something. A response would be forwarded. You would buy the stamps and write the letters and drop them into the mail box then await the responses… you were part of a chain of writers.

I fell for it again and again it was with the wonder of a child experiencing the invitation. My invitation came from a woman I have met through my writing. “Me”t is a bit of a stretch. We correspond, (what a quaint old term!) through our shared reading of our blogs. Cindy Shea writes about life in New Hampshire, her antique business, the ancient house she is turning into a home. Her blog is At Home In New Hampshire.

The invitation to this blog tour had rules. The ones I recall were:

Find someone else you could count on to keep it going

and

Answer a couple of simple questions.

I called upon two women I have spent face-time with who also write blogs. Our relationships are deeper for having shared experiences, unlike Cindy and I. In other words, I can guilt them into participating, if necessary, with blackmail. One kindly declined and her reasoning was solid. So I’m introducing Aline Kaplan, check her out at aknextphase.com.

I first met Aline when we worked together at one of the multitude of struggling, yet promising, high-tech firms of the 1980s. Through many years and many periods of unemployment on both our parts, we held each other up with lunches that included tears. She is a talented and prolific author of science fiction and wonderful blog posts.

In my professional career I was a senior Communications Director with a strong track record of generating and implementing high-impact corporate and marketing strategies, messages and programs. I worked for both big public companies and small, VC-funded start-ups in the high-technology industry.I have been writing science fiction since 1980. Since then, I have published two novels and written three others. My current novel is stuck at Chapter 37, mostly because I have been putting more effort into The Next Phase blog. I have also written nearly two dozen short stories and one novella.
Since 1989 I have been a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA),a professional organization for authors of science fiction, fantasy and related genres. For approximately 15 years I have participated in the SpaceCrafts writing group, which helps writers to improve and publish their science fiction and fantasy work.I’m also a docent for Boston by Foot, a volunteer organization that gives historical and architectural tours of Boston, and my particular tour is the Victorian Back Bay. My other interests include going to the 1. movies, gardening, snorkeling, reading just about anything, riding big fast roller coasters and antique hand-carved carousels, and cooking. I also exercise nearly every day.

Now on to those pesky questions I’m supposed to answer…

What am I working on?

Keeping my head above water; financially, emotionally, spiritually and with my writing projects. But then, isn’t everyone? I finished my memoir a year ago and have moved on to drafting the next chapter, literally and figuratively. I have my journals to fall back on for the next book but what I am enjoying the most is writing daily for my blog and finding kindred spirits in that space.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I’m not sure what genre I fit into so this is a tough question to answer. I like to think my blog represents the journey I’m on, a way to remind myself of what has been and how it influences the present and future. I cheat with my memoirs because I have always kept journals and was a consummate letter-writer when my mom was alive. It’s all been written before, I just need to  capture, organize, and bring it to life.

Why do I write what I do?

I’ve tried poetry. It stinks. I’ve taken a stab at fiction. It was laughably awful. I don’t know how to write any differently. Stream of consciousness, corralling all the thoughts that crowd through my head constantly, I write to quiet the questions in my mind.

How does my writing process work?

I’m embarrassed to say “process” would be stretching the truth. It is haphazard and chaotic, just like my mind. There are snippets, rants and letters all sitting in my drafts folder. They marinate until I feel a grain, a seed start to grow and take on a life of its own. Some of my best thoughts come to me when I am vacuuming or just before I fall asleep. I feel pressured to produce a decent post five days a week. At other times, I just let my fingers roam along, telling myself a story.

OK Aline, up to you to buy some proverbial stamps and put that smudged letter in the post office box…